Abstract

VEGA Y ORTEGA BAEZ, Rodrigo Antonio. Public life in the National Museum of Mexico, based on the press from the capital, 1825-1851. Tzintzun. Rev. estud. históricos [online]. 2014, n.59, pp.94-138. ISSN 2007-963X.

The National Museum of Mexico was founded in 1825 as part of a series of public cultural institutions that the newly born nation needed. The collections found in the museum during the first 30 years of its existence were Natural History, Antiquities, History and Industrial Products. Between 1825 and 1851, men-of-letters from the capital supported public collections through newspapers and magazines and gave room to public debate on the role of the museum in Mexican society, as well as initiated a discussion on the criteria of how the heritage should be formed. The museum hosted numerous Mexican and foreign visitors during its first years, as a result of which some of them expressed their observations in the Mexico City press. The studied period has been lowly valued by Mexican historiography, which has always considered that the museum had a limited institutional and cultural development and that it was ignored by Mexican society. Nevertheless, literature on press history from the first half of the 19th century has played a secondary role in the historical studies on this institution, although these bibliographies address questions on the public life of the National Museum.

Keywords : museum; press; natural history; archeology; history.

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