For as long as humanity has existed, there has been the desire to collect, especially to collect the strange, the unusual, the bizarre and the exotic. This drive led to the Cabinets of Wonder--collections of exotic objects gathered by wealthy and often eccentric Europeans prior to the 19th Century. These personal collections were the spiritual ancestors of the ultimate collections: the Dime Museums. Dime Museums showcased live human entertainment as well, and in their later phases (1910's-1950's) transformed themselves into sideshows set up in temporary store-fronts in many downtown areas of America.

