The Wildgoose Memorial Library – London, England - Atlas Obscura
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The Wildgoose Memorial Library

London, England

A mysterious artist-run cabinet of curiosities and library. 

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202
1839
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In the words of patron Evan Michelson from Obscura Antiques and Oddities in New York

“The Wildgoose Memorial Library is a beautiful oasis. Through a passage, up a staircase, and there you are - in a perfect little cabinet of curiosities. Jane Wildgoose herself is gracious and knowledgeable, and her library is extensive.”

Collected and compiled by Jane Wildgoose, an “Artists’ Mentor for Commissions East in Cambridge” the library is a mixture of both books and objects, including many skulls, “indian statuettes, a prisma of glass, medical pots and a small replica of the coffin of Lord Nelson,” among crocodile and raven taxidermy pieces, Victorian hair art, and many other curios.

In Wildgoose’s words the objects are “designed to facilitate meditation and free associations on subjects pertaining to the mysteries of the living in relation to the dead, transience, memory and immortality” all while drinking tea graciously provided by Mrs. Wildgoose herself.

Beyond this not much is known and there is a certain mystery to the library, and though the library has an unlisted address these directions could be found “keep the clock tower on your right… turn right into the mews… the second wooden gate on the left after a pair of pointed old-fashioned bollards, then up the cast iron stairs up to the front door lined with many flower pots…”

repositories of knowledge libraries
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