Books

The Cultures of Collecting (Hardback)

The Cultures of Collecting

Roger Cardinal, John Elsner
Critical Views

1 March 1994

9780948462511

x | 312 pages

Paperback | £17.95

World Rights: Reaktion

PRINTED ON DEMAND

Print-On-Demand titles take approximately two weeks to supply from the date of order, as they are printed as each order is received. Please note Print-On-Demand titles do not contain any colour illustrations.

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Traces the psychology, history and theory of the compulsion to collect, focusing on the normative collections of the Western canon. This title includes essays on the Neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, Sigmund Freud and Kurt Schwitters, one of the masters of collage.

with essays by Jean Baudrillard, Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Nicholas Thomas, Mieke Bal, John Forrester, John Windsor, Naomi Schor, Susan Stewart, Anthony Alan Shelton, Jaś Elsner, Roger Cardinal and an interview with Robert Opie.

This book traces the psychology, history and theory of the compulsion to collect, focusing not just on the normative collections of the Western canon, but also on collections that reflect a fascination with the ‘Other’ and the marginal – the ephemeral, exotic, or just plain curious.

There are essays on the Neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, Sigmund Freud and Kurt Schwitters, one of the masters of collage. Others examine imperialist encounters with remote cultures – the conquistadors in America in the sixteenth century, and the British in the Pacific in the eighteenth - and the more recent collectors of popular culture, be they of Swatch watches, Elvis Presley memorabilia or of packaging and advertising.

Critical Views

10 March 1994

9780948462504

x | 312 pages

60 illustrations

Hardback | £25

World Rights: Reaktion


Traces the psychology, history and theory of the compulsion to collect, focusing on the normative collections of the Western canon. This title includes essays on the Neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, Sigmund Freud and Kurt Schwitters, one of the masters of collage.

with essays by Jean Baudrillard, Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Nicholas Thomas, Mieke Bal, John Forrester, John Windsor, Naomi Schor, Susan Stewart, Anthony Alan Shelton, Jaś Elsner, Roger Cardinal and an interview with Robert Opie.

This book traces the psychology, history and theory of the compulsion to collect, focusing not just on the normative collections of the Western canon, but also on collections that reflect a fascination with the ‘Other’ and the marginal – the ephemeral, exotic, or just plain curious.

There are essays on the Neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, Sigmund Freud and Kurt Schwitters, one of the masters of collage. Others examine imperialist encounters with remote cultures – the conquistadors in America in the sixteenth century, and the British in the Pacific in the eighteenth - and the more recent collectors of popular culture, be they of Swatch watches, Elvis Presley memorabilia or of packaging and advertising.

Critical Views

16 June 2011

9781861894212

Ebook | £17.95

BUY EBOOK

Traces the psychology, history and theory of the compulsion to collect, focusing on the normative collections of the Western canon. This title includes essays on the Neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, Sigmund Freud and Kurt Schwitters, one of the masters of collage.

with essays by Jean Baudrillard, Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Nicholas Thomas, Mieke Bal, John Forrester, John Windsor, Naomi Schor, Susan Stewart, Anthony Alan Shelton, Jaś Elsner, Roger Cardinal and an interview with Robert Opie.

This book traces the psychology, history and theory of the compulsion to collect, focusing not just on the normative collections of the Western canon, but also on collections that reflect a fascination with the ‘Other’ and the marginal – the ephemeral, exotic, or just plain curious.

There are essays on the Neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, Sigmund Freud and Kurt Schwitters, one of the masters of collage. Others examine imperialist encounters with remote cultures – the conquistadors in America in the sixteenth century, and the British in the Pacific in the eighteenth - and the more recent collectors of popular culture, be they of Swatch watches, Elvis Presley memorabilia or of packaging and advertising.

  • '

    [a] brilliant book . . . a good read. Analysis of the relationship of collecting to identity, memory, and psychosexual development raises fascinating questions.

    '

    The Modern Review

  • '

    It is by challenging and expanding upon previous ideas and histories of collecting that the book offers ways of rethinking not only the nature of collecting but also the nature of museum practice.

    '

    Art History

  • '

    Informative and thought-provoking stuff.

    '

    The Independent

Roger Cardinal (Anthology Editor)
Roger Cardinal is Emeritus Professor of Literary and Visual Studies at the University of Kent at Canterbury. The author of many books and articles, he has written extensively on Surrealism and is an international authority on Art Brut.

John Elsner (Anthology Editor)
John Elsner is Humfrey Payne Senior Research Fellow in Classical Archaeology and Art at Corpus Christi College Oxford.

More books by Roger Cardinal