Public life in the National Museum of Mexico, based on the press from the capital, 1825-1851

Abstract

he National Museum of Mexico was founded in 1825 as part of a series of public
cultural institutions that the newly born nation needed. he collections
found in the museum during the irst 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. he museum hosted numerous Mexican
and foreign visitors during its irst years, as a result of which some of them
expressed their observations in the Mexico City press. he 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 irst 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.