In the three-volume A World History of the Museum, we trace how this institution evolved from ancient treasuries to contemporary challenges, becoming one of the key sites of culture and memory, with its development always inseparably linked to the history of Europe and the shaping of the European idea. All three volumes are available in Polish and French.
The first volume illustrates the formation of the modern museum, which emerged from Enlightenment collections of art and archaeology.
The second volume covers the years 1789–1850, when the modern museum was born under the influence of liberal and nationalist ideas.
From the 1851 Great Exhibition onward, the global history of museums begins – entangled with colonialism, wars, and politics, while also shaping identity and memory – continuing up to their pandemic closures, explored in the third volume.
On the occasion of this monumental publication, we also wish to recall the important journal Le Débat, frequently mentioned by the author in the third volume. The journal, co-edited by Prof. Krzysztof Pomian, was published until 2020, and we subscribed to it from 2009 through its final, 210th issue. All print issues are available on the 1st floor of the Library.