The Urge to Collect

Why do we collect? Where does the urge to collect come from? This book explores the phenomenon of collecting in various contexts. Collecting is an illustration of a strong human-thing entanglement. It can be caused by psychological incentives that are deeply rooted in human doubts and anxieties. It is also related to building a pleasant, unthreatening, and even paradisical, environment to compensate for the uncertainties of everyday life.The chapters in this book range from psychological perspectives in the Habsburg empire to Rococo collecting in France, from a fanatic English book collector to a 16th/17th century encyclopaedic Dutch collector. And finally the fascinating story of Baron Edmond de Rothschilds boxes.The contributions to this book were first presented as papers at the seminar The Psychology of Collecting in April 2022, organised by the Interdisciplinary Research Group Museums, Collections and Society of Leiden University, Netherlands.Edited by Prof. Dr. Pieter ter Keurs and Dr. Holly OFarrell.ContentsForewordThe Urge to Collect: An IntroductionPieter ter KeursWhat Drives the Collector? The Case of Rococo CollectingCaroline van EckFrom Hegel to Freud. Imperial Museums and the Rise of Psychology in the History of Culture, between Triumphalism and CriticismPascal GrienerTulips, Rabies and BooksCécilia Hurley-GrienerHow to Form a Wunderkammer in 1600? The Encyclopedic Collection of Bernardus Paludanus (1550-1633)Marika KeblusekStoring and Staging: Baron Edmonds BoxesJuliet Carey