PRELUDE . . 7
CHAPTER I: The Theatre of the World . . 12
CHAPTER II: Opening the Cabinets . . 88
CHAPTER III: The Collector: 'senex puerilis' . . 156
CHAPTER IV: The Phantom Cabinet: 18th-l9th Centuries . . 184
CHAPTER V: Resurgences: the Spirit of Curiosity . . 210

NOTES . . 253
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . 253
SOURCES OF ILLUSTRATIONS . . 254
INDEX . . 256