50 1] Museum-History and Museums of History. 257 
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there grew up 
little museums of curiosities from foreign lands, while in 
the great fairs were always exhibited sundry gatherings of 
strange and entertaining objects. 
At the middle of the last century there appear to have 
been several such collections of curiosities in Britain. 
In Artedi’s ichthyological works there are numerous 
references to places where he had seen American fishes, 
especially at Spring Garden (later known as the Vauxhall 
Garden, a famous place of resort), and at the “ Nag’s Head,” 
and the “ White Bear,” and the Green Dragon in Stepney, 
in those days a famous hostelry in London. He speaks 
also of collections at the houses of Mr. Lillia and in that of 
Master Saltero (the barber-virtuoso, described by Bulwer in 
his Devereux ”), in Chelsea and at Stratford, and also in 
the collection of Seba, in Amsterdam, and in that of Hans 
Sloane. 
With the exception o{ tke monk or Angel-fishy Anglis, 
aliis Mermaid- fishy" probably a species of Squatinay which 
he saw at the Nag’s Head, all the fishes in these London 
collections belonged to the order Plectognathi. 
Josselyn, in his “ Two Voyages to New England ” (1638- 
73), after telling us how a Piscataway colonist had the for- 
tune to kill a Pilhannaw — the king of the birds of prey — 
continues, How he disposed of her I know not, but had 
he taken her alive and sent her over into England, neither 
Bartholomew or Sturbridge Fair could have produced such 
another sight.” 
Shakespeare’s mirror strongly reflects the spirit of the 
day. When Trinculo, cast ashore upon a lonesome island, 
catches a glimpse of Caliban, he exclaims : 
“What have we here? A man or a fish? Dead or alive? A fish : he 
smells like a fish ; a very ancient and fish-like smell. ... A strange fish ! 
Were I in England now, as once I was, and had but this fish painted, not a 
holiday fool there but would give a piece of silver ; there would this monster 
make a man ; any strange beast there makes a man ; when they will not give 
a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian.” 
The idea of a great national museum of science and art 
was first worked out by Lord Bacon in his ‘‘ New Atlantis,” 
a philosophical romance published at the close of the 
