Andrea,

You might want to have a look at Krzysztof Pomian's "Collectors and
Curiosities: Paris and Venice, 1500-1800" (London, 1990), and Paula
Findlen's "Possessing Nature: Museums, Collecting and Scientific Culture
in early Modern Italy" (Berkeley, 1996). The exhibition catalogue, "The
Age of the Marvelous" (Joy Kenseth, editor. Hanover, 1986) is a useful
source for info on early European collecting practices. "Wonders and the
Order of Nature 1150-1750" by Lorraine Daston & Katharine Park (Zone
Books, 1998) is also worth investigating.

Hope these help!

Greg Davies
Ph.D. Candidate
Graduate Dept. of History of Art
University of Toronto
________________________________

On Mon, 15 Feb 1999, Andrea Hauenschild wrote:

> Another title and the right e-mail address to respond to, but the same message :
> I am looking for some literature and/or thoughts on the philosophies that underlie the various systems of object classification. I am working on a research project about the act of classifying the universe as applied to collections, about how people take possession of reality and create sense by categorizing and rationalizing things.
> Any ideas, thoughts, hints, advice from the museum list ?
> Thanks a lot in advance for your help and interest,
> Andrea Hauenschild
> [log in to unmask]
> 514-495-1378
>