Tristran Hunt

Hardcover | 19.43 x 3.05 x 23.37 cm | 256 pp

V&A | 2019 | 9781851779727

In this intriguing insight into the work and history of a museum, V&A director and historian Dr Tristram Hunt brings together ten renowned V&A curators to tell the stories behind ten of their most treasured objects. ‘Tipu’s Tiger’ (an almost life-size wooden semi-automaton mauling a European soldier), the ‘Great Bed of Ware’ (an Elizabethan bed for 8 people) and a Shakespeare First Folio are among the featured highlights whose route to the V&A collections are entertainingly revealed.

Through these stories, this insightful history of museum curation – a world of careful study and sometimes remarkable fortuity – shows how the priorities of a museum are shaped and change over time. Published to explore in more depth some of the stories featured in the BBC six part series Secrets of the Museum.