Collecting the known III: Mineralia

Complete set of 6 Lavazza coffee cards Minerals and Their Uses (1955) mounted and framed. The series Collecting the known continues my interest in collectables, highly specialised objects that hold particular value to those experienced in reading the particular worth of these items. Devised for brand promotion, coffee cards gathered categories of information into sets available for collection and trade. Frequently designed with a printed image and a description on the reverse, they are both art objects and systems of learning, and act as a potent example of the manner by which knowledge is collected, mediated and distributed.