Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Title: The Perth Literary and Antiquarian Society 1784–1914: Collecting Scotland, collecting the World
Speaker: Dr Mark Hall (Collections Officer for Culture Perth & Kinross, Perth Museum & Art Gallery, Scotland)
Abstract: Perth Museum & Art Gallery, Scotland, is currently managed on behalf of Perth & Kinross Council by the cultural trust, Culture Perth & Kinross. The Museum’s history as a local authority service dates back just over a century, to the first decade of the twentieth century. It is part of a history of collecting spanning four centuries, beginning in the late-eighteenth century. Its formative iteration, both in terms of a collection and a physical museum, was the Perth Literary and Antiquarian Society, founded in 1784.
The Museum is looking back at this history as part of its project to create a new museum in Perth. In the context of that project, this contribution will summarise the collecting significance and history of the Perth Literary and Antiquarian Society from its Enlightenement origins and including its colonial legacy.
Throughout the presentation a range of collecting case studies will be discussed to further emphasis the local and international network of collectors and donors the Society relied on and to demonstrate the rich range of the collections. The case studies will include the Cambus Bronze Age sword, collecting John Knox and the collectors Colin Robertson, David Ramsay and the Riach Brothers, active respectively in America, Oceania and the Middle-East.
Title: The Perth Literary and Antiquarian Society 1784–1914: Collecting Scotland, collecting the World
Speaker: Dr Mark Hall (Collections Officer for Culture Perth & Kinross, Perth Museum & Art Gallery, Scotland)
Abstract: Perth Museum & Art Gallery, Scotland, is currently managed on behalf of Perth & Kinross Council by the cultural trust, Culture Perth & Kinross. The Museum’s history as a local authority service dates back just over a century, to the first decade of the twentieth century. It is part of a history of collecting spanning four centuries, beginning in the late-eighteenth century. Its formative iteration, both in terms of a collection and a physical museum, was the Perth Literary and Antiquarian Society, founded in 1784.
The Museum is looking back at this history as part of its project to create a new museum in Perth. In the context of that project, this contribution will summarise the collecting significance and history of the Perth Literary and Antiquarian Society from its Enlightenement origins and including its colonial legacy.
Throughout the presentation a range of collecting case studies will be discussed to further emphasis the local and international network of collectors and donors the Society relied on and to demonstrate the rich range of the collections. The case studies will include the Cambus Bronze Age sword, collecting John Knox and the collectors Colin Robertson, David Ramsay and the Riach Brothers, active respectively in America, Oceania and the Middle-East.
