Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution

SECTIOlSr I. REP () K T VrON THK CONDITION AND PROGRESS OF THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM DURING THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1891. G. BROWN GOODE, ASSISTANT SKCKETARY OF THK SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, IN CHARGE OF V. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. SM 91, PT 2 1 KEPORT UPON S. NATIONAL MUSEUM THF CONDITION AND PROGRESS OF THE U. DURING THE YEAR ENDING JUNE BO, 1891. BY G. Brown Goode, Museum, Institution, in charge of U. S. National Assistant Secretan,, Smmsonian A.—GENERAL CONSIDEEATIONS. statement of the operations of the Before, entering upon a detailed Report, it is perhaps not Musenni during the period covered by tliis organization, and aims, in order undesirable to briefly outline its history, work now to be reported upon, as the that the true relationships of the be comprehended. outoTowth of the activities of other years, may by act of Congress m The Smithsonian Institution was established that '' all objects of art and 184G One of the provisions of the act was and all objects of natural history, of foreign and curious research, mineralogical specimens " belonging to the plants, and geological and of the Institution, to be ar- United States should be placed in the custody students. It was also pro- r-m-ed and classified so as to be available for of objects known as - the National ^dded that a miscellaneous collection accumulated in the Patent Oftice, Cabinet of Curiosities," which had beginning was thus made should be transferred to the Institution.* A which, however, was not recognized othcially for the National Museum, The various steps which under that designation until a later date. National Museum are pointed out at resulted in the formation of the iii of this Report, and en- some length in a paper printed in Section National Museum." titled " The Genesis of the explorations, and its The Institution from its foundation fostered and natural history Museum was enriched by the numerous ethnological gifts were received from objects brought home by the explorers. Many kinds were deposited m the private sources, and objects of various Museum for safekeeping. Institution numerous impor- At the time of the establishment of tlie public domain had recently tant naval expeditions and surveys of the been, or were being, organized byjaieJloveiwnent,^nd_d^^^ lustitution u»tiU858, T^î^î^ll^^îi^T^^ ^ccept^d^md transferred to the 4 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1891. progress very extensive collections of uatural history and other objects were made. lmi)ortant collections from foreign countries were made by the Wilkes Exploring Expedition, Perry's Japan Expedition, and numerous other naval expeditions, while the naturalists attached to the Pacific Kailroad Survey, the Mexican Boundary Survey, and other surveys under the Engineer Corps of the Army, brought together great collections of objects illustrating the natural resources and ethnology of the United States. At a somewhat later period, when the geological surveys of the Terri- tories were organized, large additional collections were formed. A new source of increment was opened by the investigation of the Fish Commission into the aquatic fauna of the continent. At the close of the Centennial Exhibition in 1876 the exhibits of the United States Government, as well as those of numerous foreign gov- ernments and of private exhibitors, came into the possession of the Na- tional Museum. Since 1876, though the growth of the Museum has been much more rapid, no single source of increment has predominated. The complexity of the collections, however, has been greatly increased. The collections are now more than sixteen times as large as in 1882, which was the first year of systematic work in the new Museum building. Among the principal sources of miscellaneous increase since the Cen- tennial Exhibition may be mentioned the Fisheries Exhibitions of Ber- lin and London, the New Orleans Cotton Centennial Exposition in 1884 and 1885, and the Cincinnati Exposition in 1887. A large amount of material has also been derived through exchange with museums and individuals at home and abroad. With the acquisitions from the Centennial Exhibition a new epoch began in the history of the Museum. The storage rooms and exhibition halls of the Smithsonian building were overflowing with the accumula- tions of thirty years, and the small number of persons employed in car- ing for them were overburdened and unable to keep abreast with the necessary work. Furthermore, as already stated, the complexity of the collections had very largely increased, necessitating a new and broader classification. The growth of the country in wealth and culture led to the establishment of numy local museums, and the educational influen(;es flowing from these and from the Centennial Exhibition caused a demand for better systems of installation and explanation of the collections. On account of these circumstances an appeal was made to Congress for a new l)uilding lor the National Museum and for increased appro- priations for its maintenance. A new building was provided for in 1879 and a complete reor "anization of the Museum was undertaken two years later. By law the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution is ex officio director of the Miiseum, He is empowered to employ suitable assistants for REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 5 carrying- on the work of the Museum, for whose action he is responsible to the Regents of the Institution. For many years the work was car- ried on by Prof. Baird with no more than two or three assistants. The Museum was not formally divided into departments. When the reor- ganization was made, the diversity of the collections made it necessary to institute numerous departments, each of which was placed in charge of a curator. The number of curators changes with the changing ne cessities <»f the Museum. At present tiie scientitic staff is composed of the assistant secietary of the Smithsonian Institution in charge of the National Museum, and thirty -two curators and acting curators, twenty- two of whom receive no salary from the Museum, There are also eleven administrative departments, (A list ot the scientiiic departments and of the officers in charge of them is given on page Ul.) Three factors at least are necessary for tiie proper administrati<ni of a large nuiseum. A i>hilosoi)hical classification must be adopted, sufli ciently comprehensive and elastic to facilitate tlie distribution of the objects in the collections, A staff of assistants must be employed, com l)etent to make the proper classification of the objects ])laced in their care, and to prevent their deterioration. A system of installati<ni and arrangement must be devised, which will permit a satisfactory examina- tion of the collections by students and others. The matter of classification has engaged the thought of the officers of the Museum for many years. The chief difficidties are encountered in th(^ classification of those collections which illustrate the history of human culture, on account of the intricacy of the subject and its manifold aspects and relationships. Some remarks on this branch of classification, which can not be repeated in this outline, will be found in the report for the year 1884, In the zoological, botanical, and geological departments, which form a considerable portion of the Museum, a satisfactory classification is more easily determined upon on account of the labors of systematic naturalists, running back for two centuries. In the arrangement and installation of the collections the interests of three classes of persons have to be kept in view—those engaged in independent researches, students in colleges and schools, and casual visitors. So far as the investigator is concerned, it is only necessary that the objects in a Museum should be preserved in good condition and so arranged as to be available for study. The college student demands something more. To be of the highest service to him, objects must be arranged in series, without duplication, each showing the various phases of some one subject or the development of an idea or the modifications of a tyi)e of structure; and nuist, furthermore, be labeled in such a manner that the reason for their exhibition is unmistakaljle. He must, in other words, have presented to him a variety of objett- lessons. The casual visitors, who in point of numbers exceed the other classes, make quite different demands. They do not come to a Museum to study in detail any single group of objects, but from intelli- 6 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1891. j2,ent curiosity to see tlie wonders of nature, tiie masterpieces of art, and those tilings wbicli illustrate in tlie most striking manner the history and progress of civilization. They demand that the collections shall be conveniently and attractively arranged and provided with ])rief aud legible labels. An attempt is nuide in tbe National Museum to meet the demands of all these classes. Large numbers of specimens, in addition to those in the exhibition cases, are jireserved for use in researches, and these are freqiu^ntly loaned for study, or (in the zoological departments) are given freely to investigators for dissection and other similar purjjoses. As far as possible, educational series of objects similar to those in the Museum are nuide up from the duplicate specimens f»nd distributed to educational institutions tliroughout the country. In this way the advantages of the Museum are extended to many who have never been within its Avails. (A statement of the distribu- tions dnring the year will l)e found on page 35.) In the matter of cases and appliances the Museum majês use of those forms which experience at home and the study of the museums of Europe have demonstrated to be the best.

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