Curators and Culture: The Museum Movement in America, 1740-1870

Contents

Contents Preface IX Prologue: Thesis, Definitions, and Structure I I. The Curio Cabinet Transplanted to the New World, 1740-1780 II 2. The Moderate Enlightenment, 1780-1800: The Museum for the Respectability 26 3· The Didactic Enlightenment, 1800-1820: The Decline of the Respectability 68 4· The Age of Egalitarianism, 1820-1840: The Ideal of Popular 108 Education viii Contents 5. The Age of Professionalism, 1840-1850: The Scientists Lead the Way 140 6. The American Compromise, 18501870 : The Synthesis of Popular Education and Professionalism 180 Epilogue: The American Compromise and Museum Historiography 238 Notes 257 Select Bibliography: Manuscript Sources 281 Secondary Sources 284 Index 295 ...