false 2801230 1 The study of collection is a growth point in cultural studies, conceived a a study of practice, of the ways in which people make sense of the world by bringing elements together. This volume focuses on 19th and earlier 20th-century collectors, roughly spanning 1835 to 1960. The essence of the imperial theme is described as a belief in the real, a confidence in the positivist, essential nature of things. The belief in the sovereignty of reason and its potential to command nature fuelled both the scientific expertise of the time and the "can-do" technology upon with both global communication and industrial development depended. Interwined with this was the steady shift from the production of material as a way of life to that of consumption. This shift created the lavishly over-furnished homes of middle-class Britain and the elaborate lifestyle based upon many sets of thing.s 2827099 1 2001 The Collector's Voice: Critical Readings in the Practice of total:1|4:1| 1 4 1 0 4 0 false false Sat Dec 27 00:42:10 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 00:42:10 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2801230