Mauries, Patrick: — Cabinets of Curiosities.

London 2019, (18,8 x 25,5 cm), 256 pp. Engl. text, 272 ills. (139 in colour, 133 in duotone), clothbound/d-jacket. 'Cabinets of Curiosities' is a study of rooms of wonder. Built during the Baroque Age in Europe, these rooms--sometimes large chambers and in other cases simply elaborate cabinets--held the natural and mechanical treasures that wealthy collectors assembled, often in an attempt to structure for themselves an entire universe. Consistent with the sumptuous nature of these collections and the complex manner in which they were displayed, "Cabinets of Curiosities" is distinguished above all by its color photography, its complex design scheme, and a use of cropping and perspective that give the reader a sense of personally entering the collection spaces shown.