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Samuel J. M. M. Alberti
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Morbid Curiosities: Medical Museums in Nineteenth-Century Britain 1st Edition

by Samuel J.M.M. Alberti (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 2 ratings
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Morbid Curiosities is the first comprehensive study of nineteenth-century medical museums in Britain. It traces the afterlives of diseased body parts, asking how they came to be in these collections, what happened to them there, and who used them.

Pathologists dismembered the dead body and preserved it, whether by injection or by storage in fluid, thereby transforming it into material culture. Thus fragmented body parts followed complex paths - harvested from hospital wards, given to a prestigious institution, or once again fragmented at auction. Human remains acquired new meanings as they were exchanged and, once in museums, specimens were re-integrated to form a physical map of disease. Curators juxtaposed organic specimens with paintings, photographs, and models, and rendered them legible with extensive catalogues - paper, wax, and text formed a series of overlapping systems. They were intended to standardize the educational experience that was the ostensible purpose of most of the museums, and yet visitors refused to be policed, responding powerfully, whether with wonder or disgust.

Morbid Curiosities is a history of the material culture of medical knowledge, from prepared human remains to models, illustrations, and even architectural pillars and galleries.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0199584583
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199584581
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    June 20, 2011
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    0.8 x 5.7 x 8.6 inches
  8. Print length
    256 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"As both a museum professional and a historian, Samuel J. M. M. Alberti is excellently placed to write Morbid Curiosities, a well-researched and engaging contribution to this growing field centered on nineteenth-century medical museums in Britain...Morbid Curiosities provides new insights into the material culture of medical knowledge through its primary focus on human body parts as specimens and artifacts...[T]his study provides a valuable contribution into what deserves to be a fruitful avenue of future research into the material culture of medical knowledge."--The Historian

"This highly readable work about a seemingly niche topic provides historical context for contemporary debates about cultural phenomena as it clarifies how the various meanings attached to human remains in the medical marketplace are always culturally contingent."--Canadian Bulletin of Medical History

"Samuel J.M.M. Alberti's informative and meticulously referenced book takes the reader on a comprehensive tou of the world of the nineteenth-century medical museum...an excellent and wide-ranging treatment of the subject."--Victorian Studies

About the Author

Samuel J.M.M. Alberti previously he held a joint position at the University of Manchester, where he was a researcher at the Manchester Museum and a lecturer at the Centre for Museology. He is author of Nature and Culture: Objects, Disciplines and the Manchester Museum and editor of The Afterlives of Animals: A Museum Menagerie.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (June 20, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199584583
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199584581
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.8 x 5.7 x 8.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 2 ratings

About the author

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Samuel J. M. M. Alberti

Samuel J. M. M. Alberti

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Samuel J M M Alberti is Director of Collections at National Museums Scotland, having been Keeper of Science and Technology there. Previously he worked at the Manchester Museum and at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
2 global ratings

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jessica grove
5.0 out of 5 stars Completely Captivating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 29, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is a first rate book and I strongly recommend anyone interested in anatomy, pathology or indeed, morbid curiosities to read this. The scholarship and erudition is top drawer and I was completely captivated by it. I learnt so much and am indebted to the author for writing such a concise and wonderful book. Fab illustrations to boot, and I will never look at any eyeball in quite the same way, again.
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