VERY SPECIFIC MUSEUMS

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V19 2016 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 19, Number 46, November 13, 2016, Article 20

VERY SPECIFIC MUSEUMS

Speaking of museums, here's a non-numismatic article from the Atlas Obscura blog, As numismatists we're all blessed with the collecting gene (although our spouses would probably call it an "affliction"). There are some real head-scratchers here, but why not have a Museum of Noses? -Editor

Museums like the Smithsonian or the American Museum of Natural History, visitors can see a whole swath of artifacts relating to diverse pockets of human culture. These museums are not like that. Instead, they tirelessly devote themselves to appreciating one incredibly specific item.

You might wonder, how can a museum sustain an entire collection of bananas? Or kazoos? Or snoring? These museums mostly grew out of one person’s obsession, who then opened their collection to the public. And in delving deep into these oft-overlooked items, the curators of these niche museums do us a great service.

By amassing thousands of the same object, these 66 collections reveal unexpected details about the very particular passions of humans. That, or you’ve just got a whole mess of silly items on your hands.

You've GOT to browse these. Here's a sampling.

American Banjo Museum
Spam Museum
Kansas Barbed Wire Museum
Toy and Action Figure Collection
The Button Museum
The Thimble Museum
Lunch Box Museum
Icelandic Phallological Museum (look it up)
Vacuum Cleaner Museum

And don't forget the Antique Vibrator Museum, or the world's largest collection of ventriloquism dummies. Who knew?

One I'd never heard of but of possible interest to numismatists is the John M. Mossmann Lock Collection, a New York City exhibit of hundreds of antique bank vault locks. -Editor

To read the complete article, see:
66 Museums Each Dedicated to One Very Specific Thing (www.atlasobscura.com/lists/66-museums-each-dedicated-to-one-very-specific-thing)

Wayne Homren, Editor

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

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