Dublin's Natural History Museum is a uniquely preserved sliver of the past, an intact example of a nineteenth-century natural science collection. This book is the first detailed exploration of its early history, showing how and why it came into being, and what it meant in nineteenth-century Irish culture.

Dublin's Natural History Museum is a uniquely preserved sliver of the past, an intact example of a nineteenth-century natural science collection. While its polished cases and stuffed animals show us what the museum looked like in its heyday, this book is the first detailed exploration of its early history, showing how and why it came into being, and what it meant in nineteenth-century Irish culture.