My Own Kunstkammer

I think it appropriate that I explain my choice of "My Own Kunstkammer" as the name of my blog. About a year ago I read the book, The Magic Circle of Rudolf II, by Peter Marshall. It was essentially a biography of this Holy Roman Emperor but I was especially interested in the Kunstkammer that the Emperor created for himself. Kunstkammer in German means a cabinet of curiosities or works of art. I used it for a collection of articles about antiques, art, and curiosities that Jean and I have accumulated over the years because we liked them and knew in many cases that they had some particular curiosity. The internet opened new possibilities of information that made what we only had as a minor curiosity into in depth details about the object's history and provenance. I had never dreamed this possible without days of research in far flung university libraries. Some day I might put some of these stories into book form but for now I am borrowing the title for my blog. I anticipate it will include opinions, curiosities, bits of historical information that may perform the function once performed by Rudolf's Kunstkammer.