Introduction
The introduction highlights the changes and transitions that accompanied the development of museums in the early nineteenth century. Tracing ideas about “useful knowledge” from cabinets and lyceums to museums and galleries, the introduction explores competing ideas about the scope and purpose of museum collections during this period. The discussions that surrounded museums in travel narratives, fiction, and periodicals reveal the unpredictable and imaginative reflections evoked by their collections, as writers and visitors frequently saw opportunities to consider how objects were preserved, classified, and displayed. Much like the books, specimens, and artifacts housed together in museum collections, these debates crossed fields and disciplines, raising broader questions about the role of museums in determining what counts as “useful knowledge” and who participates in the conversation.