'I visited the natural history museum, which is very good, and also the mining museum...' Frederick Horniman and his reviews of museum practices at the end of the nineteenth century

Throughout his life Member of Parliament, tea merchant, and museum founder Frederick Horniman (1835-1906) possessed a strong interest in museums, collecting objects, and visiting museums and exhibitions. Through his journals, which appeared serialized in local London newspapers, Horniman documented two extended trips between 1894 and 1896. He provided descriptions of museums in North America, Asia, and Africa
as well as noted his praise or criticism of museum practices. This work details the museum practices Horniman applauded and those he criticized during his travels, including the creation of complete collections, labelling objects in museums, and the use of models in museums for educational purposes. This work provides an example of how a British businessman and museum founder viewed museum practices and how museums displayed and presented knowledge on the world and other cultures at the end of the nineteenth century. By examining how Horniman described visiting museums, this work presents new perspectives on understanding how late nineteenth-century private individuals and museums constructed, depicted, and propagated knowledge as well as collected, displayed, and interpreted objects