Download or read book Magpies, Squirrels and Thieves written by Jacqueline Yallop and published by Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Victorian age, British collectors were among the most active, passionate, and eccentric in the world. This book tells the stories of some of the 19th century's most intriguing collectors, following their perilous journeys across the globe in the hunt for rare and beautiful objects. From art connoisseur John Charles Robinson, to the aristocratic scholar Charlotte Schreiber, who ransacked Europe for treasure, and from London's fashionable Pre-Raphaelite circle, to pioneering Orientalists in Beijing, Jacqueline Yallop plunges us into the cut-throat world of the Victorian mania for collecting.