Promotional Information

"What is fascinating in this collection is the diverse ways in which the authors, whose backgrounds and intellectual styles differ significantly, attempt to comprehend not just their fascination with certain objects but also to describe meaningfully the objects' widespread uses. Important, useful, beautiful things are in this sense things that matter. Things that matter have meaning. And meaningful things are things that talk." Miguel Tamen , University of Lisbon "What is fascinating in this collection is the diverse ways in which the authors, whose backgrounds and intellectual styles differ significantly, attempt to comprehend not just their fascination with certain objects but also to describe meaningfully the objects' widespread uses. Important, useful, beautiful things are in this sense things that matter. Things that matter have meaning. And meaningful things are things that talk." Miguel Tamen, University of Lisbon

About the Author

Lorraine Daston is Director at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, Germany. She is the coauthor of Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150-1750 and the editor of Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science (both Zone Books).

Reviews

"What is fascinating in this collection is the diverse ways in which the authors, whose backgrounds and intellectual styles differ significantly, attempt to comprehend not just their fascination with certain objects but also to describe meaningfully the objects' widespread uses. Important, useful, beautiful things are in this sense things that matter. Things that matter have meaning. And meaningful things are things that talk." - Miguel Tamen, University of Lisbon"