ABCs

I have written a number of times about the exhibits at one of Mexico City's quirkiest museums... "Museo del Objeto del Objeto" (Museum of the Object of the Object).  The museum's collection contains everyday objects (and some rather obscure objects) from the 19th and 20th centuries.  A lot of the stuff would probably be thrown into the trash or stashed away in the basement by most people, but these objects provide a snapshot of what life was like over the course of the last couple of centuries.  The museum was the brainchild of Bruno Newman.  As a teenager he started buying things at flea markets, and over the course of forty years, the collection grew to 140,000 objects.  With donations from other collectors, it now has over 200,000 objects.

The museum was opened in 2010 in Newman's former home, an art nouveau house in the Roma Norte neighborhood.

Obviously, all 200,000 objects are not on display.  There are several exhibits each year which draw on the vast collection.  Some of the shows have been interesting; others have left me scratching my head.  The current exhibit is, in my opinion, the best one I have seen.  It is called "The Collection from A to Z", and it showcases the scope and variety of the collection.  For each letter of the alphabet, they have chosen one or more words, and then selected objects that go with that word.

So, let's begin going through the alphabet.  (I have only selected one word for each letter.)

A is for "automóvil" (automobile)

A selection of small toy cars

B is for "brocha" (paint brush)

C is for "cerveza" (beer)

Oh, no!  They only had one word for the letter "D".

D is for "desnudo" (nude)

A collection of antique dirty photos

I hope this doesn't give my blog an "adult" rating.

E is for "escuela" (school)

A variety of school related objects... boxes of chalk, protractors, compasses, abacuses and student credentials.

F is for "farmacia" (pharmacy)

G is for "gato" (cat)

H is for "herramienta" (tool)

I is for "insecto" (insect)

Old time insecticides

J is for "jabón" (soap)

With this box of Tide, you got a coupon for a free bar of Camay.

(Do they still make Camay?)

K is for "kilogramo" (kilogram)

A collection of scales

L is for "letrero" (sign)

We will continue the alphabet in the next post...