Curiosities and Texts: The Culture of Collecting in Early Modern England (Material Texts)

A craze for collecting swept England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Aristocrats and middling-sort men alike crammed their homes full of a bewildering variety of physical objects: antique coins, scientific instruments, minerals, mummified corpses, zoological specimens, plants, ethnographic objects from Asia and the Americas, statues, portraits. Why were these bizarre jumbles of artifacts so popular? In __Curiosities and Texts__, Marjorie Swann demonstrates that collections of physical objects were central to early modern English literature and culture. Swann examines the famous collection of rarities assembled by the Tradescant family; the development of English natural history; narrative catalogs of English landscape features that began to appear in the Tudor and Stuart periods; the writings of Ben Jonson and Robert Herrick; and the foundation of the British Museum. Through this wide-ranging series of case studies, Swann addresses two important questions: How was the collection, which was understood as a form of cultural capital, appropriated in early modern England to construct new social selves and modes of subjectivity? And how did literary texts—both as material objects and as vehicles of representation—participate in the process of negotiating the cultural significance of collectors and collecting? Crafting her unique argument with a balance of detail and insight, Swann sheds new light on material culture's relationship to literature, social authority, and personal identity. In Curiosities And Texts, Marjorie Swann Examines The Imperatives Behind The Craze For Collecting Physical Objects And Discusses Its Relationship To The Literary Culture Of The Period. Through A Wide-ranging Series Of Case Studies, She Addresses Two Important Questions: How Was The Collection, Which Was Understood As A Form Of Cultural Capital, Appropriated In Early Modern England To Construct New Social Selves And Modes Of Subjectivity? And How Did Literary Texts - Both As Material Objects And As Vehicles Of Representation - Participate In The Process Of Negotiating The Cultural Significance Of Collectors And Collecting? For Swann, Such Superficially Disparate Artifacts As A Gentleman's Prized African Charm Made Out Of Teeth, The Narrative Catalogs Of English Landscape Features That Begin To Appear In The Tudor And Stuart Periods, And The Famous 1616 Folio Edition Of Ben Jonson, In Which A Living Author For The First Time Issued His Own Collected Works, Can Be Profitably Viewed As Parts Of A Single Cultural Dynamic. Constructing Her Argument With A Balance Of Detail And Insight, Swann Sheds New Light On Material Culture's Relationship To Literature, Social Authority, And Personal Identity.--jacket. 1. Cultures Of Collecting In Early Modern England -- 2. Sons Of Science: Natural History And Collecting -- 3. The Countryside As Collection: Chorography, Antiquarianism, And The Politics Of Landscape -- 4. The Author As Collector: Jonson, Herrick, And Textual Self-fashioning -- Epilogue: An Ornament To The Nation. Marjorie Swann. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [245]-271) And Index.

A craze for collecting swept England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Aristocrats and middling-sort men alike crammed their homes full of a bewildering variety of physical objects: antique coins, scientific instruments, minerals, mummified corpses, zoological specimens, plants, ethnographic objects from Asia and the Americas, statues, portraits. Why were these bizarre jumbles of artifacts so popular?

In Curiosities and Texts, Marjorie Swann demonstrates that collections of physical objects were central to early modern English literature and culture. Swann examines the famous collection of rarities assembled by the Tradescant family; the development of English natural history; narrative catalogs of English landscape features that began to appear in the Tudor and Stuart periods; the writings of Ben Jonson and Robert Herrick; and the foundation of the British Museum.

Through this wide-ranging series of case studies, Swann addresses two important questions: How was the collection, which was understood as a form of cultural capital, appropriated in early modern England to construct new social selves and modes of subjectivity? And how did literary texts—both as material objects and as vehicles of representation—participate in the process of negotiating the cultural significance of collectors and collecting? Crafting her unique argument with a balance of detail and insight, Swann sheds new light on material culture's relationship to literature, social authority, and personal identity.

A craze for collecting swept England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Aristocrats and middling-sort men alike crammed their homes full of a bewildering variety of physical objects: antique coins, scientific instruments, minerals, mummified corpses, zoological specimens, plants, ethnographic objects from Asia and the Americas, statues, portraits. Why were these bizarre jumbles of artifacts so popular?In Curiosities and Texts, Marjorie Swann demonstrates that collections of physical objects were central to early modern English literature and culture. Swann examines the famous collection of rarities assembled by the Tradescant family; the development of English natural history; narrative catalogs of English landscape features that began to appear in the Tudor and Stuart periods; the writings of Ben Jonson and Robert Herrick; and the foundation of the British Museum. Through this wide-ranging series of case studies, Swann addresses two important questions: How was the collection, which was understood as a form of cultural capital, appropriated in early modern England to construct new social selves and modes of subjectivity? And how did literary texts -- both as material objects and as vehicles of representation -- participate in the process of negotiating the cultural significance of collectors and collecting? Crafting her unique argument with a balance of detail and insight, Swann sheds new light on material culture's relationship to literature, social authority, and personal identity. "In Curiosities and Texts, Marjorie Swann examines the imperatives behind the craze for collecting physical objects and discusses its relationship to the literary culture of the period. Through a wide-ranging series of case studies, she addresses two important questions: How was the collection, which was understood as a form of cultural capital, appropriated in early modern England to construct new social selves and modes of subjectivity? And how did literary texts - both as material objects and as vehicles of representation - participate in the process of negotiating the cultural significance of collectors and collecting? For Swann, such superficially disparate artifacts as a gentleman's prized "african charm made out of teeth," the narrative catalogs of English landscape features that begin to appear in the Tudor and Stuart periods, and the famous 1616 folio edition of Ben Jonson, in which a living author for the first time issued his own collected "Works," can be profitably viewed as parts of a single cultural dynamic. Constructing her argument with a balance of detail and insight, Swann sheds new light on material culture's relationship to literature, social authority, and personal identity."--BOOK JACKET. Contents Introduction Chapter 1. Cultures of Collecting in Early Modern England Chapter 2. Sons of Science Chapter 3. The Countryside as Collection Chapter 4. The Author as Collector Epilogue: An Ornament to the Nation Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments