The grandiose Palais Strousberg at 70 Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin was built for the notorious railway entrepreneur Bethel Henry Strousberg . In 1876 the British acquired it as their Embassy. This book tells the story of this long-vanished, magnificent and atmospheric palace at the heart of Berlin’s government district. Located on the very doorstep of the dramatic and far-reaching political events of the next seven decades, the building bore witness to Germany’s painful journey through monarchy, civil war, republic, fascist dictatorship and two World Wars.

Drawing extensively on many original and previously unpublished sources, this is the story of the many famous personalities who visited, lived or worked in the Embassy from the 1870s until the Second World War.

Centre stage is the building’s diplomatic representational role, from the 1878 Congress of Berlin to the 1926 Berlin Olympic Games and the events that led up to the outbreak of the Second World War. It is a story of great contrasts and famous celebrities, from imperial balls and the drama of the start of the Great War, to the Embassy’s increasingly strained dealings with the higher echelons of the Third Reich.

This is an account of diplomatic drama, glamour, international tension and, finally, destruction during the Second World War. Five decades later, following Germany’s reunification after the Cold War, the building was eventually ‘reborn’ as a spectacular piece of modern architecture on the very same site.

Assigning values to items in the collection is one of the many tasks of the curator, whether in a gallery, museum, archive or library, yet it is a role for which few have had training and that many approach with a lack of confidence. Even with profound knowledge of the subject-matter, there may be insufficient experience of the market for cultural objects. Besides, valuation is not an exact science and it is easy to get wrong.

This book examines the issues concerning valuing objects in cultural collections. It looks at the difference between value and worth, and at how cultural value cannot be translated into monetary terms. It outlines the arguments about whether financial values should be assigned at all, since many items will never be for sale and assigning a monetary value may lead to unforeseen consequences.

The focus is on fine art, but the book also draws on a range of collections, including natural history and science, and a range of items from high-value fine art to low- or no-value objects, such as mass-produced or everyday items. Examples describe current practice in museums, libraries and archives and advice is given on how to assign values. There are helpful templates listing the types of questions to ask. Overall, the book is designed to give confidence in decision making.

A study (by the author) commissioned by the European Union placed valuation as one of the key issues in exchanging cultural collections. Exhibitions activity is increasing to all corners of the world, while at the same time lenders are becoming more risk-averse. This book will address the issues and offer some solutions.

This book follows on from Freda’s previous publications, Museum Collections Management: A Handbook (2011) and Organizing Exhibitions (2014).