Posts com a Tag ‘WEBBER Kimberley (Ed)’

DAVISON, Graeme; WEBBER, Kimberley (Ed). The Powerhouse Museum and its Precursors 1880-2005. Sydney: Powerehouse Publisching; University of NWW Press, 2005. 288p. Resenha de: SCORRANO, Armanda. Public History Review, v.12, 2006.

The Powerhouse Museum was conceived by the trustees of the Australian Museum in 1878. By 1880, Australia’s first Technological and Industrial Museum was open to the public. Over the next 125 years, the museum experienced various metamorphoses and name changes, most notably its transformation into the Powerhouse Museum which opened during Australia’s Bicentenary in 1988. On the 125th anniversary of the birth of this world-renown museum comes Yesterday’s Tomorrows: the Powerhouse Museum and its precursors 1880-2005, edited by eminent urban and public historian Graeme Davison and Powerhouse Museum curator of social history Kimberley Webber.

This visually appealing book approaches the history of the museum from a thematic perspective, focusing on innovative exhibitions and bold personalities that have peppered the museum’s past. Broken into three sections – ‘Visions’, ‘Stories from the Collections’, and ‘Tomorrows’ – this collection of essays covers a broad spectrum of topics in the museum’s history. Quirky stories of past curators and popular objects ensure an entertaining read, with copious images providing engaging illustrations of bygone days. The book positions the Powerhouse Museum as an innovative educational institution providing a window on cutting-edge technological advances, bringing the world of technology to the everyday visitor. The history of the museum is dealt with in sufficient detail to ensure the general reader gains a comprehensive understanding of the vision, struggles and triumphs of this pioneering institution. Leia Mais