Reconstructed visions: The philosophies that shaped part of the Scottish national collections

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The shifting location of one institution within a knowledge-space that is itself dynamic is examined through a brief case-study of one of the constituent museums which, in 1985, became a part of the then newly established National Museums of Scotland. Through examination of the declared intentions of successive directors over the 151 year history of the institution successively known as the Industrial Museum of Scotland, the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, the Royal Scottish Museum, and the Royal Museum of Scotland, it attempts to reveal changes in that institution's perception of its own role, its corporate vision, and its sense of place within the social, intellectual and political landscape.