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.

 
This special event is organised in conjunction with the exhibition ‘A cabinet of rarities’: the curious collections of Sir Thomas Browne at the Royal College of Physicians and concluding with refreshments and a guided after hours visit to the display.

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.