Explore London’s cabinets of curiosity
From mystical libraries to Egyptian antiquities, apothecaries’ jars to animal (and human) remains, surgical instruments to magical equipment, London is home to some of the world’s most exquisite and extraordinary collections, many of which started life as personal ‘cabinets of curiosity’ and assortments of rarities, often assembled by physicians and other learned doctors.
Join this voyage of discovery to meet some of the collectors, object hunters and adventurers behind these arrays from Sir Hans Sloane to John Hunter, Richard Mead to Max Mallowan, Kathleen Kenyon to Henry Wellcome. Hear their stories and wonder at a selection of their acquisitions, how they were sourced and the range of uses they have been put to through time.
En route, the tour will visit at least three London collections, both world famous and lesser known, passing by many more with information on their founders and contents, how, when and why to visit their treasures. The collections to be visited will be agreed as part of the booking process.
Event details and how to book…
Start: British Museum
End: outside the medicinal garden of the Royal College of Physicians
Dates: Private tours by arrangement only
Times: duration 5-7 hours
Price: £40 per person
A minimum group fee applies to parties of 15 persons or fewer.
Available only as a private tour for further details contact us at discovermedicallondon@gmail.com
Click here for more information about the British Museum, directions and a map
Click here for more information about the Royal College of Physicians, directions and a map
Image credits from top: (1) Royal College of Physicians (2) Trustees of the British Museum (3) The Grant Museum, UCL (c) Royal College of Physicians