In their second collaboration, Finders Keepers (1992), Purcell and Gould delve into the remains of eight historical collections, including that of Peter the Great of Russia. Some of these collectors themselves mined other people's wares. Peter the Great built a "cabinet of curiosities" inspired by the premier European scientific collections and wonder cabinets of the day, buying taxidermic preparations, skeletons, and wet specimens from a myriad of sources. (Purcell features his two-headed sheep and four-legged rooster.) He also bought a collection of anatomical specimens from Dutch physician Frederik Ruysch, who was known for embalming fetuses and creating montages in which arteries and veins might serve as "trees" and coils of intestine might represent snakes or worms.

Peter added objects of strange personal significance to his collection as well, and Purcell homes in on them. Consider the array of teeth at right: Peter, a self-proclaimed dentist, yanked them personally from the mouths of friends, assistants, and passers-by.