Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018 - 22

Book Reviews
Museums: A History

2016, John E. Simmons. (Rowman & Littlefield. Lanham, MD. 304 pp.).
As Simmons states, Museums: A
History is a critical examination of
the history of museums from the
point of view of museum collections.
Simmons spans the globe in time and
geography, covering the development of collecting and the evolution
of museums from Neanderthals to
the present day and beyond. He even
speculates on what might happen to
museums in the future. As Simmons
explains, the book is centered on two
principal frameworks, (1) the evolution of collections and
their chronological history in different parts of the world,
and (2) the significance of objects within their particular
collection, and how objects are classified as reflections and
refractions of human culture.
In the Preface, Simmons provides an explanation of his
intentions for writing the book and a succinct summary of
the contents of each chapter. There is a section defining
terms used for components of collections, such as "object,"
"artifact," "specimen," "element," "item" and "thing," the
distinctions between them and why and when one term may
be preferable over another or even unsatisfactory to use.
There is also a section on theoretical perspectives as they
relate to the stance that Simmons takes to address the history
of collecting and the development of museums through time.
Simmons states that most past discourses on the history of
collecting focus on individual collectors, rather than discussing the relationships between private collections and
museum collections. What makes Simmons' book unique is
his emphasis on what objects were collected, why they were
collected, how they were preserved, how they were used,
and how and why this affected the evolution of museums
across time and space. The Preface is an excellent introduction and a good place to start before one dives into the meat
of the book.
In Chapter 1, "What is a Collection? What is a Museum,"
Simmons begins by defining collections and museums and
discussing what distinguishes museums from other assemblages of objects. He explains how collected objects become
"musealized," that is, objects become documents of reality
by being relocated from their authentic environments into
museum realities. Simmons also discusses why humans
make collections, and why the concept of preservation is so
important to museum collections. Chapter 2, "Hoards and
22 * SPNHC Connection

Tombs: Collections in the Ancient World, to 700 BCE,"
explores the evolution of museums by first examining
ancient collections (those of everyday objects and grave
goods known from archaeological contexts and oral traditions). In this chapter, Simmons describes the evolution of
material culture from the dawn of humans. He explains how
cultures became diverse as humans spread across the globe,
and how this diversification impacted collecting. He then
describes the nature of collections from 3000-700 BCE. The
information and examples provided in Chapter 2 provide
evidence of a continuous, worldwide culture of collecting
and exhibiting objects. In Chapter 3, "The Temple of the
Muses: The Conjunction of Objects and Knowledge, Classical Antiquity, 700 BCE-400 CE," Simmons describes
collections from this time period, and the ancient institution
whose philosophical foundation gave rise to the modern
museum. Simmons discusses how the Greeks, Romans, and
Mesopotamian, Indian and Asian cultures influenced collecting and the musealization of objects. As the period of
classical antiquity came to a close and the influence of the
Christian church grew as a center of learning and knowledge
preservation, the content of collections and the perceptions
of objects shifted. The motivations of collectors for acquiring and donating objects changed dramatically as religious
organizations became collections depositories and places of
exhibition. Simmons' conclusions at the end of Chapter 3
lead the reader directly into Chapters 4 and 5. These two
chapters focus on the years 400-1600 CE, when the precursors to modern museums arose and the power of the object
was established. This is the time period when the emphasis
shifts from private collections to the development of museums. Chapter 4, "The Power of Objects: Medieval Collections, 400-1400," explores the influence of the Crusades,
Islam, and the exploration of Africa and the Americas on
collecting, the nature of repositories and object interpretation. Although he discusses the influence of oral history on
collecting, Chapter 4 is the first place where Simmons
devotes a separate section to the role of literature in the
evolution of collections and development of museums.
Chapter 5, "Of Cabinets and Kings: Renaissance Collections, 1400-1600," focuses on the era when collecting
objects became fashionable as a social activity and an
intellectual pursuit for individuals. In an attempt to make
sense of the unfamiliar objects and unknown species being
brought back to Europe by explorers, organizing and classifying objects and specimens became important. This is the
era when the first cabinets of curiosities appear. In the years
that followed, known as the Age of Enlightenment, modern
museums arose and collections were fragmented into
specializations (art, history, and science). Simmons next
explores the interplay and conflict between commercial

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2018