Publisher's Synopsis
The Manchester Museum is the first accessible guide to the collections and activities of the UK's largest university museum and one of the most significant museums in the country. There are approximately 4.5 million objects in the Museum and most are kept in storage, inaccessible to the public. The illustrated guide highlights the growth of each collection area and focuses on the detail of featured items. Initially consisting of the donations of the large collections of Victorian and Edwardian amateurs, they subsequently developed through a combination of continued donations and fieldwork research around the world by academics and curators. This publication traces the history of the Museum, from its beginnings as the collection of the Manchester Society for the Promotion of Natural History, through its transfer to John Owens College, to its current position as a major asset of the University of Manchester. The Manchester Museum frames the discussion of the collections with the Museum's award-winning work with schools and colleges, its wider work to engage its many communities and its use of digital communication to enhance the visitor's interaction with the collections.
