The Sir John Soane Museum in 1900

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Arthur H. Beavan continued his survey of London's museums in Imperial London, 1901, with this look at the Sir John Soane Museum:

No. 13, Lincoln's Inn Fields, north side, was a tall and externally ornate private house, with the door apparently always locked.

But the explorer, having previously studied his guide-book or his Whitaker, would find that on certain days of the week during certain months in the year, he could gain admission free to the Sir John Soane Museum located there.

Soane was the well-known architect of his day, and, being a virtuoso, gathered around him an extensive collection of antiquities, books, manuscripts, etc, in the house he had built (1792), leaving both with a handsome endowment in trust for the benefit of the nation.

From cellar to attic the place was crammed with rare objects; and the trustees, as they could not extend the building laterally, or indefinitely upwards, were at their wits' end to know where to store "additions"; even the curator's cosy set of rooms at the top of the house being crowded with treasures that ought to be exhibited, but could not.

Miscellaneous were the contents of this museum: models, folio editions of Shakespeare, an alabaster sarcophagus from Egypt discovered by Belzoni, gems and intaglios, architectural drawings and designs, antique bronzes, medals, coins, rare porcelain, tiles, cinerary urns and vases, etc.

Next: London museums in 1900: The Royal College of Surgeons Museum