-
1. The Origins of the Dime Museum, 1782-1840
- NYU Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
1. Th e Origin s o f th e Dim e Museum , 1782-184 0 Come hither , com e hithe r b y night o r by day , There's plenty to loo k a t and little t o pay ; You may stroll throug h th e room s an d a t every tur n There's somethin g t o pleas e you an d somethin g t o learn . If weary and heated, res t her e a t your ease , There's a fountain t o coo l you an d music t o please . —Advertisement fo r the Western Museum o f Cincinnati, 183 4 The earlies t museum s i n thi s country , unlik e dim e museums , wer e create d in the spirit of the Enlightenment an d were meant t o b e centers o f scientifi c study.1 Privat e collections—ofte n calle d "cabinet s o f wonders an d curiosi ties "—were generall y owne d b y wealthy citizen s o r b y organization s suc h as libraries or so-called philosophical societies. 2 Most o f the object s i n thes e cabinets wer e labele d an d displaye d accordin g t o th e Linnaea n syste m o f classification, whic h relate d eac h objec t t o anothe r i n th e so-calle d grea t chain o f being. 3 Cabinet s als o include d painting s an d books , an d man y functioned a s libraries. Postrevolutionary America , however , wa s no t a wealth y country , an d philanthropy di d no t abound . Bu t patriotis m an d a sens e o f democracy , coupled wit h th e hop e o f disseminatin g knowledg e an d preservin g Ne w World culture , cause d man y eighteenth-centur y American s wh o ha d amassed collection s o f book s an d object s t o invit e th e publi c t o vie w their assemblages , sometime s fo r a smal l fee . Som e bega n gatherin g an d displaying thei r collection s a s a wa y t o ear n a livelihood , o r a t leas t t o supplement a meage r income . Unlik e th e wealth y privat e cabine t owners , this new bree d o f museum proprieto r depende d o n ticke t sale s to maintai n his collection . Man y museu m manager s wh o pride d themselve s o n exhib iting onl y high-qualit y items , however , wer e soo n compelle d t o displa y sensational noveltie s t o attrac t crowd s an d remai n solvent . A s museum s began t o compet e wit h on e anothe r fo r patrons , proprietors wer e drive n t o 1 O R I G I N S O F TH E D I M E M U S E U M , i782-i84 0 concoct gimmick s an d creat e phon y relics . Th e "associated-valu e items " (artifacts tha t achieve d importanc e b y virtu e o f thei r associatio n wit h a famous person, for example George Washington's shaving brush and nightcap o r th e bedroo m curtain s o f Mar y Quee n o f Scots ) becam e essentia l displays. Obtaining the most novel and unusual exhibits, in fact, eventuall y became more important than maintaining a museum's pedagogical goals. By the early nineteenth century , such live performers a s musicians, hypnotists , and freak s ha d penetrate d scientifi c museums. 4 Manager s justifie d this innovation by claiming that their museums were repositories of rational amusements, establishments tha t helpe d diver t pleasure seeker s from suc h vices a s gambling, drinking , an d prostitution . Thes e manager s clearl y expected live performers t o attrac t rather than repel the bourgeoi s public. I t was difficult, however , for the m t o strik e the righ t balanc e betwee n high brow scientifi c exhibit s an d popula r theatrica l displays . Som e collections , once reputed to be rational amusements, transformed themselve s into...