In the eighteenth century sugar planters, merchants, aristocrats, politicians, and governments erected hundreds of commemorative monuments throughout the British Empire as expressions of social status, personal dynasties, territorial occupation, and imperial ambitions. In a culture transformed by the rising merchant class, these monuments - inherently public and hopefully permanent - underscored the economic, political, and cultural complexities of the emerging empire. While examining the rise of the idea of the public in the modern world, Joan Coutu also explores how "empire" was constantly...

In the mid-eighteenth century, English gentlemen filled their houses with copies and casts of classical statuary while the following generation preferred authentic antique originals. By charting this changing preference within a broader study of material culture, Joan Coutu examines the evolving articulation of the English gentleman. Then and Now consists of four case studies of mid-century collections. Three were amassed by young aristocrats - the Marquis of Rockingham, the Duke of Richmond, and the Earl of Huntingdon - who, consistent with their social standing, were touted as natural...