Topic description and stories

Necklet worn by a royal bodyguard, gifted in 1902 by Apolo Kagwa, Katikiro of Uganda

Two million years of human stories

12 Oct 2017

Every object in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology tells not just one but many stories. The Museum’s collections chronicle two million years...

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‘France’s Samuel Pepys’ is elevated from the footnotes of history

29 Jun 2017

The journals and scrapbooks of Pierre de L’Estoile have for generations provided a vivid picture of France in a time of religious upheaval. Now...

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Twilight at the Museums, The Fitzwilliam Museum

Cambridge museums recognised with substantial Arts Council England funding

27 Jun 2017

Cambridge’s reputation as a centre of excellence for museums and culture in the UK received a vital boost today when Arts Council England (ACE)...

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Spirit Trumpet, Manchester, 1920s

Ectoplasm, spirit trumpets and paintings from Pompeii: 600 years of Curious Objects

03 Nov 2016

Why does one of the world’s great research libraries have ‘ectoplasm’, a spirit trumpet and beard hair posted to Charles Darwin among its eight...

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From Shakespeare to Austen: King’s College celebrates the Thackeray Collection of rare books

18 Jun 2016

A generous award will allow King’s College to catalogue and conserve an important part of an outstanding collection of rare books given to the...

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Illustration from 'The Book Hunter In London' (1895) by William Roberts.

Men and books: narratives of desire

28 Jun 2014

Our choice of books says a lot about us – and our relationships with books as objects can be complex. At a conference taking place today (28 June...

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Francesco Calzolari Cabinet of curiosities

What William Courten bought on 9 June 1698: 1 young Pelican, 2 Land Tortoises and a cap of seafowles skin

09 Jun 2014

A remarkable archive records the purchases made by William Courten (1642–1702) whose museum was praised by visitors as a noble collection of...

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Wine cellar

Investing from the heart

23 May 2014

Cars, art, wine and watches: emotional assets are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to traditional investments. But while the returns may...

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Drawer of ammonoids from the Woodwardian collection, the founding collection of the Sedgwick Museum, dating to the late 17th and early 18th century

We ask the experts: why do we put things into museums?

26 Nov 2013

Our lives are bound up with objects. Museums are evidence of our deep preoccupation with the things that surround us, whether natural or the product...

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The importance of university museums

22 Nov 2013

University of Cambridge museums are among those highlighted as examples of best practice in a new report focusing on the outstanding contributions...

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Books at Belton House, Lincolnshire

An enchantment with Italy: one family and their books

02 Jul 2013

Belton House boasts one of the most extensive libraries among National Trust properties, representing 350 years of book collecting. Dr Abigail...

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A miniature showing a bishop joining the hands of a couple, from the section of the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX concerning marriage, in a copy produced in Venice around 1475.

University Library’s greatest treasures on show

18 Jan 2012

An unpublished Rupert Brooke poem will sit alongside some of Cambridge University Library’s greatest treasures when a free exhibition of highlights...

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