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The Things About Henry Wellcome

Bibliographic Data

ID2390939
AuthorsFrances Larson (Durham University, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume15
Issue1
Pages83-104
Publication date2010-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Material Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1359-1835 • E-ISSN: 1460-3586
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1359183510355225
OpenAlexW2131297644
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited9

This article explores the material legacy of Henry Wellcome (1853-1936). Wellcome worked closely with objects throughout his life, both as a business-man and as a collector. These objects have biographical significance. In his relationships with things, Wellcome was drawn to the miniature and the gigantic. As a founding partner of the pharmaceuticals firm Burroughs Wellcome and Company, he designed 'compressed medicines' that were valued for their convenience and small size. They embody Wellcome's methodical, perfectionist nature. But, as a museum collector, he created a collection that was so enormous it became unmanageable and was left unfinished. This article seeks to reconcile these two aspects of Wellcome's interactions with things, and argues that Wellcome's professional work manufacturing pharmaceutical products on a miniature scale sheds light on his actions as a collector who created a truly gigantic assemblage of artefacts

Archaeology · Art history · Assemblage (archaeology · Biography · Environmental ethics · Sociology · Historical and Scientific Studies · Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Philosophy

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Unique citing works5
Citations per year0,45
Citation span2015 - 2025 (11)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 4

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Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae