Museum History

On an afternoon in January 1865, a roaring fire swept through the Smithsonian Institution. Dazed soldiers and worried citizens could only watch as the flames engulfed the museum's castle. Rare objects and valuable paintings were destroyed. The flames at the Smithsonian were not the first—and certainly would not be the last—disaster to upend a museum in the United States. The Museum explores the concepts of "crisis" as it relates to museums, and how these historic institutions have dealt with challenges ranging from depression and war to pandemic and philosophical uncertainty.

This collection contains: Twelve Years a Slave, Up from Slavery, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, The Life of an American Slave (Fifty Years in Chains), The Experience of Rev. Thomas H. Jones, Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley, a Native African and a Slave, From Log Cabin to the Pulpit, and many more.

Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with bean bags and children’s drawings - the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident.

The British Museum devoted itself to acquiring historical artifacts that showcased the influence and prestige of the British Empire, as well as the facilities in which to house them, surviving wars, financial challenges, controversies, and political pressures. In the process, it became one of the British Empire’s greatest cultural jewels, and to this day, it holds the distinctions of being the world’s first national public museum and the most venerated museum of its kind in Britain.

Capitol City's Natural History Museum is haunted—or at least that's what someone wants people to think. But Wilson Kipper, son of the museum's head paleontologist, knows better. When the mysterious occurrences go from spooky to dangerous, the museum is forced to close its doors. Can Wilson and his friends get to the bottom of things, or will the Natural History Museum be closed for good?

The fascinating and little-known story of the Louvre, from its inception as a humble fortress to its transformation into the palatial residence of the kings of France and then into the world's greatest art museum.

In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that had fallen into obscurity. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the incredible story of how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist and historian from the legendary city of Timbuktu, later became one of the world's greatest and most brazen smugglers.

When a summer intern at the Preservation Society discovers an aged document hidden in the binding of an antique book, Society President Nell Pratt is intrigued by the possibilities: Is it a valuable historic document or just a useless scrap of paper? When analysis reveals that it's a hand-drawn map of one of Philadelphia's oldest neighborhoods, Nell learns that the area is being excavated for a new real-estate development and may hold long-buried secrets from the city's historic heyday.

Libraries are much more than mere collections of volumes. The best are magical, fabled places whose fame has become part of the cultural wealth they are designed to preserve. The Library is a celebration of books as objects, a celebration of the anthropology and physicality of books and bookish space, and an account of the human side of these hallowed spaces by a leading and passionate bibliophile.

Exploring Colonial Williamsburg: The Complete Guide to America’s Premier Living History Museum is your essential companion for discovering the rich heritage, unforgettable attractions, and immersive experiences that make Colonial Williamsburg a must-visit destination for history lovers, families, educators, and curious travelers alike. Whether you're planning your first visit or returning for a deeper dive, this guidebook offers everything you need to make the most of your journey. Inside, you'll find a concise history of 18th-century Williamsburg, detailed descriptions of top attractions...

The Louvre is the most famous museum in the world, attracting millions of visitors every year with its masterpieces. In Adventures in the Louvre, Elaine Sciolino immerses herself in this magical space and helps us fall in love with what was once a forbidding fortress. Exploring galleries, basements, rooftops, and gardens, Sciolino demystifies the Louvre, introducing us to her favorite artworks, both legendary and overlooked, and to the people who are the museum's lifeblood.

Stories of growing up in an Irish village told with a "blend of history, tradition and humour". Siobhán Lincoln records the social history of Ardmore village, tales of school days, dances, fishing, work, language and tradition. This book will be of interest to anyone who wants a picture of life in rural Ireland from the late 19th century to the dawning of the Millennium. From the forword by Fergal Keane: "The past slips away from us quietly. We are too consumed with the drama of the present to notice the departure of old ways and traditions. In an age of economic growth without parallel in...

London, 1895. Daniel Wilson and Abigail Fenton have been hired by the Natural History Museum to find out who deliberately smashed the fossilised skeleton of a small dinosaur. At first Daniel is reluctant to take the case, pointing out that they deal in murders, not vandalism. But then one of the attendants in the dinosaur room is murdered, his body found tied to a dinosaur skeleton and a note pinned to him saying 'The price of betrayal'. As Daniel and Abigail investigate, they must negotiate a web of legal and professional tensions.

The sea is the largest museum on earth, with more than a million lost ships resting in its depths. Those shipwrecks date back thousands of years, some from civilizations long vanished, others from more recent history. Some are famous, others obscure and unremembered but each has a story to tell. In The Great Museum of the Sea, archaeologist, museum director, television host, journalist, and award-winning author James Delgado takes the listener on a personal tour of the world's wrecks, including many of the more than a hundred lost ships he has personally discovered and investigated.

A firsthand account of life as a captain flying Concorde - the supersonic marvel that redefined air travel. With breathtaking speed and unparalleled luxury, Concorde soared at 60,000 feet, allowing its passengers to witness the earth's curvature and the deep blue of outer space. For Brian Walpole, who piloted this engineering masterpiece at Mach 2, it was an experience like no other - a demanding, thrilling and ultimately life-changing career. Captain Concorde by Brian Walpole OBE (with Graham Lacey) provides a unique perspective on the precision and skill required to control an aircraft ...

James Gleick, the author of the best sellers Chaos and Genius, now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly: A revelatory chronicle and meditation that shows how information has become the modern era’s defining quality - the blood, the fuel, the vital principle of our world. The story of information begins in a time profoundly unlike our own, when every thought and utterance vanishes as soon as it is born.

America's Black intellectuals have made many important contributions to American intellectual life as writers, historians, educators, and social activists. Various lines of thought, which form the black intellectual traditions, emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries and continue to influence the present.

On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, 20-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History. Home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world, the Tring museum was full of rare bird specimens whose gorgeous feathers were worth staggering amounts of money to the men who shared Edwin's obsession: the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Once inside the museum, the champion fly-tier grabbed hundreds of bird skins - some collected 150 years earlier.

What happens when the truth is no longer enough—and stories are all that’s left to fight tyranny? Divided We Fall: Operation Neverland is a cerebral, thrilling, and audacious entry in the anthology that imagines a near-future America spiraling into authoritarianism. In this mind-bending tale, a covert trio of operatives weaponizes nostalgia itself, planting psychological triggers into beloved animated classics to unravel the fractured psyche of a dangerously unstable president. As the fairy tales roll, reality bends—and democracy itself teeters on the edge of madness. Told through ...

The Shadow Directive – A Gripping Political Thriller You Can’t Put Down In the shadows of modern America, LGBTQIA+ citizens are vanishing—discreetly, efficiently, without a trace. No raids. No bar scenes. Just everyday people, taken off the streets by hooded figures claiming to be federal agents. The government denies everything. The media stays silent. And a chilling agenda creeps forward under the radar. When a gay investigative journalist and a tough ex-cop turned private investigator join forces, they uncover a disturbing network of data-driven surveillance, extremist influence, ...