Informal Empire

Behind the ancient artifacts displayed in our museums lies a secret history - of travel, desire, the quest for knowledge, and even theft. Such is the case with the objects of Mesoamerican culture so avidly collected, cataloged and displayed by the British in the nineteenth century. This book recaptures the history of those artifacts from Mexico and Central America that stirred Victorian interest - a history that reveals how such objects and the cultures they embodied were...
More Description

Behind the ancient artifacts displayed in our museums lies a secret history - of travel, desire, the quest for knowledge, and even theft. Such is the case with the objects of Mesoamerican culture so avidly collected, cataloged and displayed by the British in the nineteenth century. This book recaptures the history of those artifacts from Mexico and Central America that stirred Victorian interest - a history that reveals how such objects and the cultures they embodied were incorporated into British museum collections, panoramas, freak shows, adventure novels, and records of imperial administrators.