A historical exhibition title can suggest a complete survey while its catalogue describes a much more particular assembly of gifts and loans. The introduction is worth reading before treating the display as a sample of an era.
Identify how the objects came together
The Cooper Union museum chronicle for Four Thousand and One Buttons describes an exhibition assembled largely from gifts associated with Sarah Cooper Hewitt and Eleanor Garnier Hewitt, supplemented by other contributions. That history helps explain the collection behind the theme.
Keep contributor names attached to what the document actually says. A gift to a museum does not make the donor the manufacturer of every object in it.
Ask what the exhibition can represent
A large number of buttons offers many possible comparisons, but the quantity alone does not establish a complete or balanced history of button making. Look for the organisers’ stated scope and the material available to them.
For a research note, pair one display category with a sentence about the exhibition’s formation. You can then enjoy the range of objects while understanding that a museum arrangement is also the result of collecting decisions, opportunities and relationships that deserve a place in its history.