The Museum of the Mind: Art and Memory in World Cultures

The British Museum was founded in 1753 amidst an atmosphere of enthusiasm and optimism for collating knowledge about the past and objects from the past. Published to coincide with the BM's 250th anniversary, this book looks at the role of the museum as a `theatre of memory' and examines `how and why we commemorate, indeed how and why we remember'. Based purely on the collections of the BM, John Mack discusses and describes the mnemonic knotted handkerchiefs of the past - the portraits, medals, coins, memorials, religious relics, sourvenirs, inscriptions and memorabilia. This is a well-written and well-illustrated study of the different ways in which our ancestors have sought to mark and remember the past, through to the present-day penchant for capturing moments in time through photography.