About the museum

Most archives start with the assumption that something is worth keeping. This one runs on the assumption that anything might be, if you look at it closely enough. The items we keep are the ones that are thrown away.

Every object here has two histories, the conditions in which it came to be, and the life it had afterwards. A note is defined by what it says, yet it also represents whatever's left once it's been folded, pocketed, defaced, dropped and then found. We aim to catalogue both.

Out of a desire to provide greater access to the collection, the museum podcast allows you to step into the stories these curiosities have to offer.

Each episode, we delve into the vaults and pull something out that piques our interest, before seeing where it takes us.

If you're a first-time visitor and want a bit more context, Episode #000 (Orientation) is the place to start. Otherwise, feel free to stick around, we are sure you'll pick things up as you go.

About the name

"Museum," not "collection": a museum reflects our method — a detailed catalogue, archival storage, stabilising preservation and research. "Of John," not "John's": the same as The Victoria and Albert Museum, not Victoria and Albert's Attic. The name reflects what an item in our collection does: takes something too small to be consequential, and catalogues it like it matters.