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HISTORY, PLAN AND SCOPE

MERICAN MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY

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THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
OF THE
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY

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HISTORY, PLAN AND SCOPE

OF THE

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY

BY

HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN

PRESIDENT

PRELIMINARY REPORT PRINTED FOR THE
FORTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING OF THE TRUSTEES
FEBRUARY 14, 1910

NEW YORK
THE IRVING PRESS
1910

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FOREWORD

follow the work of our Board, to see what the Museum is

and what it contains, to think of the present and coming
Ciry oF New York, and then to endeavor to be as large minded
as the FounpERs were forty-one years ago.

There are no models in this country or abroad to follow. Let us
make our own model and set our own standard of a public educational
institution and home of science in every branch of nature.

The plan outlined in this Report is not a crystal. It is a growing
thing to be developed and improved under criticism and suggestion
and with the advance of science and discovery. But it is well to have
a clear vision ahead for the next two or three decades at least, so that
everything which may be done now will finally fit into its place as
part of a continuous scheme, with an arrangement and sequence of the
whole designed to give as clear an impression to the public as is given
in each of the single exhibits of the present time.

In preparing the materials for this Report I have been assisted by
Director, Hermon C. Bumpus, by the Assistant Secretary, George H.
Sherwood, and by members of the Scientific Staff. The basis of the
history is that prepared by Mr. Louis P. Gratacap some years ago.
It will be interesting to fill out many details as time goes on.

iu plan for the future it is well, first, to review the past, to

HeNrRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN,

President.
AMERICAN MUusEvuM,

January 31, 1910.

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CONTENTS

PAGE

I. ORIGIN OF THE MUSEUM . : : : ; ; a lt
II. History or THE Museum ; : : : : Js 19
III. Hisrory or THE DEPARTMENTS : : : ; . 41
IV. FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION . : : % : » 125

V. FuTureE OF THE MUSEUM . : ; : . : » AT

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ORIGIN OF THE MUSEUM

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I. ORIGIN OF THE MUSEUM

in 1848 on a call to Harvard College, and his influence

was immediate and far-reaching. One of his best gifts
was that of inspiring all who heard him with a love of natural
history. Among his many pupils at Cambridge was Albert S. Bick-
more, who studied under him for four years (1861-65) and who
caught his enthusiasm. Coming to New York in 1865 to arrange for
an exploring expedition into the Far East, funds for which had been
provided by New England friends, Mr. Bickmore made the acquaint-
ance of Mr. William Earle Dodge, 2d, and broached to him his plan
for a great museum of natural history in the metropolis. Such a
museum had been projected by Agassiz for Harvard College.

After three years (1865-67) spent in the Dutch East Indies,
China, Japan, and Siberia, Mr. Bickmore, on his way home, stopped in
London where he showed Sir Richard Owen, Director of the British
Museum of Natural History, his plans for a natural history museum
in New York, which had been maturing during his long journey in the
East. Owen expressed general approval of the plan, thereby greatly
encouraging the young traveler.

This general conception of a very large and comprehensive museum,
as developed through the action of the Trustees and the original
architects, Calvert Vaux and J. Wrey Moulder, together with the
fortunate selection of the site of Manhattan Square, resulted in the
bold projection of the great American Museum building, one-third of
which is now completed.

On his return from London, Mr. Bickmore again called upon Mr.
Dodge, who at that time was too much occupied with other matters
to give his personal attention to the new project, and therefore sent the
young man with a message to Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., in whom

[13 ]

| OUIS AGASSIZ, the great Swiss naturalist, came to this country

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

the museum project found a strong friend and energetic supporter.
Through Mr. Roosevelt and through Messrs. William A. Haines,
Benjamin H. Field, and Robert Colgate, a remarkable group of men
was brought together which ultimately resulted in the establishment
of the first Board of Trustees. Mr. William A. Haines was both a
merchant and a student; he had brought together a large collection of
shells; he had in conversation and in correspondence emphasized his
hope of seeing a museum of natural history erected in New York, and
his talent as an organizer led to his taking a prominent part in the
movement and being elected chairman of the Executive Committee.
The Founders, or original Board, included the following:

John David Wolfe, William T. Blodgett,
Robert L. Stuart, Andrew H. Green,
Robert Colgate, Morris K. Jesup,
Benjamin H. Field, D. Jackson Steward,
Richard M. Blatchford, J. Pierpont Morgan,
Adrian Iselin, Moses H. Grinnell,
Benjamin B. Sherman, A. G. Phelps Dodge,
William A. Haines, Charles A. Dana,
Theodore Roosevelt, Joseph H. Choate,
Henry G. Stebbins, Henry Parish,

Howard Potter.

The steps in the organization of the Museum were as follows: The
first letter to the Commissioners of Central Park, dated December
30, 1868, with nineteen signers, received favorable response from
Mr. Andrew H. Green, as Comptroller of Central Park, dated January
13, 1869. The signers of the letter then took immediate steps to raise
a fund for the purchase of important collections which were then offered
for sale.

The Special Committee appointed to perfect the organization con-
sisted of

William A. Haines, Howard Potter,
Theodore Roosevelt.

[14]

ORIGIN OF THE MUSEUM

This Committee nominated the Trustees of the new Museum. Mr.
John D. Wolfe was elected Chairman, and Mr. Howard Potter, Treasurer
pro tem. The next meeting of the Trustees was held at the residence
of Mr. Haines, and Theodore Roosevelt was made Secretary. A plan
for subscriptions was then considered and this eventful meeting, the
results of which actually installed the first great museum devoted to
natural science in New York City, adjourned.

The conception of the Museum, its original purposes and its future
may be gathered from passages in the First Annual Report of President
Wolfe: ‘That, recognizing the necessity of such a Museum as a means
of education and recreation, and desiring its establishment upon a
scale commensurate with the wealth and importance of our great
city . . . we have, if properly supported and aided with funds by
our fellow citizens, a guarantee of a prosperous future in the formation
of a Museum of Natural History that will be second to none, and which,
while affording amusement and instruction to the public, will be the
means of teaching our youth to appreciate the wonderful works of the
Creator.”

The original officers were the following:

President
JoHN Davip WOLFE

Vice-Presidents
Rosert L. STuartT WiuuiaM A. HAINES

Secretary
A. G. PuHeutes DopGE

Treasurer
Howarp PoTtTEeR

Chairman of the Executive Committee
Wiituiam A. HAINES

The original letter of application was sent to the Commissioners of
Central Park on December 30, 1868. The commissioners accepted
on January 13, 1869, the responsibility of ‘the establishment of a

[15]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Museum in the Park that shall become an aid in the Great Educa-
tional System of the City, concentrate and develop Scientific efforts
in all departments of Natural History, and at the same time be an
instructive and acceptable resort for the people of the city, and for
the throng of strangers that visit it.” Under the presidency of John
David Wolfe and the able guidance of William A. Haines, Chairman
of the Executive Committee, the Museum was incorporated April 6,
1869. The financial relations between the Trustees and the City were
laid down December 23, 1869, and finally became embodied in the
law relating to the Department of Parks.

A most fortunate circumstance in the educational history of the
City of New York was the discovery and embodiment in the Con-
tract with the City of a new idea in municipal government, namely,
the erection of the building and its maintenance by the munici-
pality, and the donation by Trustees and other citizens of all the col-
lections. This idea appeared in all the early correspondence, in the
first contract, and was finally and formally expressed in the contract
drawn up by Mr. Choate and Mr. Green when the Museum entered the
original building on Manhattan Square.

This reciprocal adjustment was stimulating both to public expendi-
ture and to private munificence; it formed the model on which the re-
lations of the American Museum and of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art were established, and on which, in later years, the Botanical
Garden and the Zodlogical Park were founded. It is by far the wisest
and best adjustment which has ever been devised, since it has proved,
by experience, to be superior to exclusive municipal or state control,
or to private control. The essential features in these agreements are
as follows:

“The Trustees of the American Museum to employ their
own Curators for the care and arrangement of their collection,
and to pay them their salaries, all such persons to be subjected
to the regulations of the Park Commissioners.

“The collections already acquired and those which may
from time to time be acquired and so deposited, to remain

[ 16]

ORIGIN OF THE MUSEUM

the property of the American Museum of Natural History, to
be removed by them immediately after the expiration of six
months’ previous notice in writing to the Commissioners of
the Park, or within six months after receiving a written
notice from the Commissioners asking them to withdraw their
property from the Park.” *

“The Board of Commissioners of the Department of
Public Parks in the City of New York is hereby authorized
to contract, direct, and to maintain in and upon that portion
of the Central Park, formerly known as Manhattan Square,
or any other public park, square, or place in said city, a
suitable fireproof building . . . for the purpose of establish-
ing and maintaining therein ...a Museum of Natural
History, by the American Museum of Natural History .. .
and it shall be the duty of and lawful for the Comptroller
of the City of New York to create and issue in the manner
in this act provided such additional amounts of a public
fund or stock, to be denominated ‘The Museums of Art
and Natural History Stock,’ as shall be necessary to provide
the money required for erecting said buildings, for an amount
not exceeding the aforesaid limitations.”’+

* Letter from W. A. Haines to Andrew H. Green, December 23, 1869. The terms

were accepted by Mr. Green, January 21, 1870.
t Act of the Legislature of the State of New York, passed April 22, 1876.

[17]

Il

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

UNDER THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF

JOHN DAVID WOLFE
1869-1872

ROBERT bE. STUART
1872-1881

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP
1881-1908

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JOHN DAVID WOLFE

FIRST PRESIDENT
1869-1872

Irom Museum Portrait by Daniel Huntington

THE PRESIDENCY OF
JOHN DAVID WOLFE
1869-1872

stitution, and public administrators as well as individuals
welcomed its foundation, endorsed its aims, and promised
assistance. ‘

It was almost immediately realized that the Museum, thus tenta-
tively organized, needed a charter, to give it corporate functions and
responsibility, and Messrs. Joseph H. Choate, William A. Haines, and
Howard Potter were made a committee to prepare a charter, suggest
a name and apply to the Legislature for the passage of an act of in-
corporation.

On February 26 a meeting of the Trustees was held at the resi-
dence of the President, and the committee appointed at the previous
meeting to prepare a draft of a charter presented their report which
was adopted section by section, and as a whole.

This charter, which first contained the name American Museum
of Natural History, was referred back to the committee under in-
structions to present it to the Legislature.

It was introduced to the Assembly by Mr. Kiernan, to the Senate
by Mr. William M. Tweed, read twice, and referred to the Committee
on Public Education—reported favorably from that committee, and
committed to the Committee of the Whole—and on April 6, 1869, it
had passed both houses of the Legislature. It was immediately ac-
cepted by the Trustees. This act, significant (by its prompt passage
by the Legislature) of general recognition of its utility, and signifi-
cant as emanating from a representative body qualified to support the
claims it created, was hailed with general pleasure.

[21]

CD is was a universal predisposition to assist the new in-

The Charter.

Constitution.

Subscriptions.

Collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

The Trustees at once, on motion of Charles A. Dana, at the same
meeting in which the Act of Incorporation was accepted, appointed
a committee of three to draft a constitution. This committee was
composed of Messrs. Charles A. Dana, Theodore Roosevelt, and Joseph
H. Choate.

The Constitution of The American Museum of Natural History was
carefully framed and was adopted May 4, 1869, precisely as originally
drafted by Mr. Choate. It was a document embodying fundamentally
the aim of the founders of the Museum to restrain and limit all gov-
ernment of the Museum within the body of Trustees. This design
appears throughout the document, and its wisdom has been amply
illustrated in the whole subsequent history of the institution. The
Constitution was a simple and adequate fabric. It was purely regu-
lative, and its provisions have met the requirements of nearly forty
years.

Meanwhile the financial outlook was unexpectedly promising, and
the response to solicitation generous. The personal prestige repre-
sented in its Trustees, their own pledges and the quick appreciation
of the educational purposes of the Museum, established at once a basis
of appeal that was irresistible. By November of the first year (1869)
of the Museum’s corporate existence $44,500 had been subscribed.

Several large collections had been offered and negotiations were
opened for their purchase. The Trustees finally acquired the col-
lection of American birds of the ornithologist, D. G. Elliot, consisting
of about 2,500 specimens; the important collections of Prince Maxi-
millian of Neuwied on the Rhine above Bonn, comprising 4,000
mounted birds, 600 mounted animals, and about 2,000 fishes and
reptiles mounted and in alcohol, and the principal parts of the Ver-
reaux and Vedray collections—the former embracing 2,800 mounted
birds, 220 mounted animals and 4,000 mounted skeletons of mammals,
birds, reptiles, and fishes, and the latter, 250 specimens of mounted
mammals and birds of Siberia. These four collections formed the
nucleus about which the Museum has grown.

[22]

JOHN DAVID WOLFE

THE ARSENAL—THE FIRST HOME OF THE MUSEUM

At first there was no building, no hall or room for the exhibition
of the collections, and this urgency caused the President and Trustees
first to look to the Cooper Union, that hospitable center for all public
efforts in education and culture, ‘and subsequently (December 30, 1868)
to the Commissioners of the Central Park, correspondence with whom
led later to the occupancy of the old Arsenal building in Central Park.

The Arsenal was an oblong structure of four stories with its corners
broken by four polygonal towers, and four more placed midway be-
tween them. The second and third stories were surrendered to the
Museum. New cases were furnished by the Commissioners, numerous
repairs effected, and, through the efforts of Professor Bickmore and
Dr. Holder, it was made attractive. In reality, the conjunction of
this first position of the Museum with the Park Menagerie, or Zoélogical
gardens, in the midst of which it stood, was a fortunate coincidence.
It assisted greatly the Museum’s popularity.

With the additions almost daily made to the collections, and the
complete absence of space for the accommodation of duplicates, and
preparation of specimens, as well as the obvious temporary and danger-
ous nature of the Arsenal building, the Trustees became more and
more impressed with the need of erecting a different and suitable struc-
ture. From the outset of this enterprise it was intended eventually to
erect a building which in its capacity and architectural features would
command attention, and by permitting a proper exhibition of its col-
lections lead to a scientific revival in New York. Messrs. Blodgett,
Roosevelt, and Morgan were therefore early (November 14, 1870)
appointed ‘“‘to take in charge and procure such legislation as may be
necessary to promote the interests of the Museum.”

The moment was propitious. The sister Museum of Art, already
in its personnel, partly identified with the Museum of Natural History,
wished also a better home than a wandering locus in private residences.
The movements combined. Their united strength was irresistible. A
great petition actually enclosing 40,000 names was prepared, a body

[23]

The
Building.

The General
Design.

Discussion
as to Site.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

of citizens made up of what was best and most valuable in New York
society. The petition begged for an appropriation sufficient to begin
the building of an Art and of a Scientific Museum, and the unanimity
of the appeal, its extraordinary strength, brought almost instant ac-
quiescence to this request.

The Legislature responded to this appeal, and passed an act
authorizing the Department of Parks to contract for, erect, and main-
tain in and upon that portion of the Central Park formerly known as
Manhattan Square, or any other public park, square or place in said
city, a suitable fireproof building for the purpose of establishing and
maintaining therein, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by
the said Board from time to time, a museum of natural history to be
occupied by the American Museum of Natural History.

Steps were taken to grade Manhattan Square and to prepare it for
the erection of the building. It is interesting to note that the original
committee in preparing a report containing preliminary recommenda-
tions as a basis for the designs, was instructed to consider both the
Metropolitan Museum and the American Museum. The preliminary
preparatory stages toward the submission of designs for the new
building were entered upon in earnest. Meetings of the Trustees were
convened for a discussion of the location of the new building, and
inspection trips were taken through the Park to consider this important
question in detail. At first there was an evident impression that the
site should be near the Menagerie or Zodlogical Gardens, that is, near
the Arsenal. The first position offered for the American Museum
was the site subsequently allotted to the Museum of Art. A special
Committee on Site, composed of Messrs. Haines, Jesup, and Stuart,
was finally appointed to confer with the Department of Parks with
reference to selecting a site for the new building, either within Central
Park, Reservoir Square, or Manhattan Square. Thus the sites of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and of the New York Public Library
were both originally considered by the American Museum, and we
must regard it as a most fortunate circumstance that both were re-
jected and that Manhattan Square was finally chosen. This, however,

[24]

JOHN DAVID WOLFE

as described below, was not until after a site within the Park itself was
first selected.

The action regarding plans was most broad-minded. It was first
resolved that Messrs. R. M. Hunt, Russell Sturgis, Jr., and Renwick
and Sands be invited to be united to furnish designs. The united
plans were received by the Trustees on May 13, 1872, and again referred
to a Committee on Plans composed of Messrs. Haines, Steward, Blodgett
and Roosevelt. At the same time, to insure a full discussion, it was
resolved that letters be written to prominent scientific gentlemen
asking their views in regard to the scope that should be comprised at
this day in a Museum of Natural History for the City of New York,
and Mr. D. G. Elliot was requested to communicate with Professor
Asa Gray and Professor Richard Owen, asking them to submit a
report furnishing a plan and a policy best calculated to promote the
success of the Museum.

In the midst of these promising steps toward the founding of a
great Museum, President Wolfe died on Friday evening, May 17,
1872, after a long and very honorable career of service to the city of
New York. His presidency covered only three years, but this forma-
tive period fixed the outlines and assured the future of the Museum.
He lived long enough to see the prospect of its future greatness. The
Museum owes its foundation in large measure to his aid and wise
counsel, and will always count among its best treasures the name and
character of its First President.

[25]

The Plans.

Trustees,

Site.

PRESIDENCY OF

ROBERT L. STUART
1872-1881

Mr. Wolfe. His identification with the Museum had been

close from the start; he had been one of the first contributors
and his sympathies were thoroughly enlisted in its success. He was a
deeply interested observer of the beauties of nature, and his succes-
sion, influenced doubtless by considerations of his age and standing in
the community and his financial responsibilities, was natural.

The Board of Trustees at that time included two men of some
scientific training, William A. Haines and D. Jackson Steward; the
former prominent as a collector, the latter skilful as a critic. A
few changes in the personnel of the Board occurred in 1872: five
of the Founders, Messrs. Blatchford, Grinnell, Dodge, Dana, and
Parish retired and to their places succeeded five Trustees who became
strong supporters of the Museum, namely, Messrs. Percy R. Pyne,
John B. Trevor, James M. Constable, William E. Dodge, 2d, and Joseph
W. Drexel. :

The plans of the new building, the purchase of new collections
and the financial interests of the Museum principally engaged the at-
tention of the Trustees. Manhattan Square on the west side of the
Park, comprising eighteen acres of very rough land, quite inaccessible
from the lower part of the City, was assigned. It had been proposed
to make a Zodlogical Garden of this square, and extravagant plans
had been prepared. These plans, however, were pronounced immature
by the Park Department, and when the Museum proposition arose,
somewhat against the deliberate judgment of the Trustees, Manhattan
Square was chosen as its site.

Ru: L. STUART was unanimously elected to succeed

[ 26 ]

ROBERT L. STUART

SECOND PRESIDENT
1872-1881

From Museum Portrait by Daniel Huntington

ROBERT L. STUART

Calvert Vaux was selected as the architect. The grand design Original

offered by Mr. Vaux was accepted. It contemplated for the entire
edifice a hollow square whose sides were to be formed of four great
buildings 700 feet long, ornate in material and detail, and distinguished
by large entrances of architectural dignity and strength. The whole
structure was intended to cover fifteen acres and fill a space three
times larger than the basement area of the British Museum. A build-
ing of this great size would embrace the most diverse and apposite
kingdoms of nature. The exact sciences might even find here a home;
and the technical applications in the arts, room for the exhibition of
their numberless adaptations.

On June 2, 1874, the corner-stone of the first section of the Museum
was laid with great ceremony. The President of the United States,
the Governor of the State, and the Mayor of the City were present.
The President was accompanied by three of his Cabinet. Joseph
Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, added a scientific
prestige and delivered a memorable address. Many other prominent
men were present. President Stuart’s address recited the history of
the Museum, paying high tribute to John David Wolfe and to Albert
S. Bickmore ‘‘whose services and devotion to the interests of the
institution and untiring industry in carrying out the wishes of the
Executive Committee, have done much to advance the prosperity of
the Museum.” Mr. H. G. Stebbins, President of the Department of
Parks, spoke for the Park Commissioners in language which now appears
singularly prophetic: |

“To the stranger who comes here to-day these rugged
foundation walls and these rough surroundings are not well
calculated to make a pleasant impression; but to us who
have watched the rapid growth northward of this city, and
who were familiar with the barren and rocky ground upon
which the Central Park has been created, it requires but little
strain upon the imagination to conceive of the speedy occu-
pation of all these vacant lots by substantial dwellings, and
to picture to ourselves the spot upon which we now stand,
known as Manhattan Square, as covered by the proposed

[27]

Design.

Dedication.

Equipment.

Study
Collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Museum of Natural History, costing ere its final completion,
not less than $6,000,000, and embracing a collection of objects
of scientific interest second to none other in the world. . . .
What nobler exhibitions could be given of the crowning
achievements of this municipality than those which this
Museum and its sister institution, the Art Gallery, will
afford!”

From June 2, 1874, to December 22, 1877, was occupied in the
building and equipping of this section, the City having appropriated
$200,000 for the purpose. The new building was opened to the pub-
lic on December 22, 1877, and at this time a contract of great
importance was concluded between the Trustees of the Museum and
the Department of Parks. This contract, or it might be called
Charter of the institution, was drawn by Messrs. Andrew H. Green
and Joseph H. Choate. It was entitled ‘‘Contract with the Depart-
ment of Public Parks for the Occupation of the New Building.” It
recited the previous correspondence and legislation relating to the
respective rights and obligations of the Museum and of the City, and
embodied all the previous provisions in a new and comprehensive
document. It was adopted by the Park Commissioners January 30,
1878.

The Museum’s collections had now greatly increased in all depart-
ments of natural history. A generous donation by Miss Catherine
L. Wolfe, in memory of her father, had established the Library,
in March, 1874.

The building up of the study collections, as distinguished from
the exhibition collections, had begun in 1873, and from this time on
the Museum as a center of study and research became increasingly
prominent. The great collection of fossils of the State of New York,
brought together by Professor James Hall, was acquired. It had been
said by Louis Agassiz that ‘‘whoever gets Hall’s collection gets the
Geological Collection of America.” The Trustees acquired it for
$65,000, a sum which put a severe strain upon the finances of the
Museum for several years.

[28]

ROBERT L. STUART

The question of maintenance was also a serious difficulty. The Maintenance.
City had not carried out its original agreement to maintain the insti-
tution, and in 1878, Messrs. Potter and Choate were appointed a special
committee to prepare a bill to enable a permanent contract to be made
between the Museum and the Department of Parks for adequate
annual maintenance. In 1879, Messrs. Auchincloss and Bickmore
solicited the Legislature for an increase in maintenance to $20,000.
The appropriation obtained for the Museums of Art and Natural His-
tory for a common maintenance had been $40,000. In 1875 they
received $1,390, and in 1876, $1,538. The growth of the mainte-
nance fund from the beginning to the present time is shown in another
part of this report.

The staff of the Museum at the opening of the year 1878, was as Staff.
follows:

Professor Albert S. Bickmore, Superintendent.
J.B. Holder, Assistant.
Professor R. P. Whitfield, Curator of Geology.

The coming of Professor Whitfield added greatly to the scientific
strength and prestige of the Museum. Alliances had been formed with
the United States National Survey of the 40th parallel, and several
distinguished members of its Corps were housed in the Museum, includ-
ing Clarence King, Raphael Pumpelly, Arnold Hague and others.

In 1875, the Museum lost one of its Founders, Mr. William T.
Blodgett, and in 1878, Mr. Theodore Roosevelt died in the forty-fifth
year of his age. In 1880, Mr. William A. Haines died in the fifty-
eighth year of his age. The Trustees recorded their great appreciation
of the services of these founders and active friends.

Manhattan Square, far beyond the residence district, was grad-
ually becoming approachable. The Park Board developed its walks
on the south side. It is of interest to record that the Trustees in 1876
petitioned the Legislature to allow them to establish an Aquarium
in connection with the Museum, of sufficient size to enable the public
to learn on a somewhat satisfactory scale the form and habits of a

[29]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

large class of marine fauna. The estimated cost was $50,000. In this
connection it was stated that the visitors to the Museum at that time
exceeded by 2,000 per week the number visiting the British Museum
in London. This petition was one of the last acts of Mr. Stuart’s
administration.

Mr. Stuart resigned the presidency on February 14, 1881. His
connection with the Museum had been made memorable by important
changes both in the erection of the building and in the equipment of
the collections. An increase in maintenance had been secured from
the City. It can be said that the Museum had entered in a way upon
its present scientific career.

[30]

La

‘
age :

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

THIRD PRESIDENT
IS81—1908

From Museum Portrait by Pastman Johnson

PRESIDENCY OF
MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

1881-1908

R. JESUP was elected to the presidency on February 14,
1881, at a time both promising and critical. The prospects

of the Museum were broadening, but the responsibilities
were increasing in the same proportion. The institution had out-
grown its original organization, and scientific and educational devel-
opment was needed, as well as more building space. The revenues
from the City were very inadequate, and the foundation of an endow-
ment fund was imperative. Little advance had been made in the
methods of display of the collections, or in meeting the real educational
needs of the public.

Mr. Jesup had been fitted for the office by his connection with the
founding of the Museum and by his long service on the Executive,
Auditing, Nominating, Legislative, and Building Committees. He
was elected Chairman of the Executive Committee on March 29, 1880,
and immediately qualified himself for this office by a thorough ex-
amination of the work of every department of the Museum: its col-
lections, its scientific officers, its methods of exhibition, and the im-
pression it was making upon visitors. His observations were embodied
in a report to President Stuart of April 13, 1880. He especially
observed that the grand collection of birds and mammals was not
exhibited in attractive form, and that it was desirable to show some
of the applications of science both in forestry and geology. As regards
income, he pointed out that the only fixed annual income of the Museum
was the City’s appropriation of $145,000, and the interest from the
$55,000 of invested funds.

[31]

Experience.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

The spirit of Mr. Jesup’s administration is, perhaps, best expressed
in his own language in one of his later reports (1884):

‘“‘Tt would appear to be very desirable to place the Museum
on such a permanent basis of maintenance that the annual con-
tributions of the Trustees and Members could be appropriated
exclusively to the purchase of objects of science. Valuable
collections, which the Museum needs, are continually being
offered us for sale, but we are obliged to decline their pur-
chase for want of funds.

“The great Museums of Europe are chiefly sustained by
public funds, through the force of an enlightened public
sentiment both as to their educational and economic value.

“The value of what you have already accumulated in your
halls rises to a large figure commercially, but it is a difficult
task to estimate the money value of what belongs to science
and scientific institutions. To their value must be added
their ameliorating power, their educational force, and the
scope they afford the higher faculties of man to apprehend
the wonderful phenomena of nature, and to master and
utilize her great forces.

“To the multitude shut up in stone walls, to whom are
denied an acquaintance with the beauty of natural objects, or
the study of nature in its usual aspects and conditions, the
advantage of your Museum is, that it affords opportunity ; and
out of a great number who look on vaguely and experience only
the healthful excitement of a natural curiosity, one here
and there may be found endowed with special aptitude and
tastes. Perhaps some child of genius, whose susceptibili-
ties and faculties once aroused and quickened, will repay
in the field of discovery and science, through the force of
some new law in its manifold applications, all your expendi-
ture a hundred fold.

“Commercial values and purely scientific values meet
often on common ground; but their essential life belongs
to opposite poles. To some it appears necessary to vindicate
the employment of large amounts of public money in such
an institution as that which you control from the charge
of extravagance; their ideas of value appear to be limited to

[32]

J. PIERPONT MORGAN

A FOUNDER AND TRUSTEE

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

that which is exchangeable in the current coin of the market;
but the highest results of character and life offer something
which cannot be weighed in the balances of the merchant,
be he ever so wise in his generation.”

This remarkable series of sentences contains the secret of Mr.
Jesup’s administration which crowned it with success: his sympathy
with the ideals of science, his dominant desire that they should be
brought within the comprehension of all classes of people, his firm
conviction that truth values are higher than money values, his love
of the beautiful. It does not, of course, indicate the other qualities
‘of character which enabled him to carry these ideals into effect, namely,
his business instinct, his incessant energy of mind, his excellent judg-
ment, his liberality.

The Board of Trustees at the opening of his administration was
constituted as follows:

Morris K. Jesup, James M. Constable,
Robert L. Stuart, William E. Dodge, 2d,
Robert Colgate, Joseph W. Drexel,
Benjamin H. Field, Andrew H. Green,
Adrian Iselin, Frederick W. Stevens,
J. Pierpont Morgan, Abram 8S. Hewitt,

D. Jackson Steward, Charles Lanier,
Joseph H. Choate, Hugh Auchincloss,
Percy R. Pyne, Oliver Harriman,
John B. Trevor, Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Many of these Trustees contributed largely both of their time
and of their means to the support of the administration.

Among Mr. Jesup’s first acts was the establishment of the Depart-
ment of Woods and Forestry, under the direction of Professor Charles
S. Sargent, of Cambridge, the leading authority on this subject. The
opportunity of making the collection arose in connection with the
preparation of the Tenth Census of the United States, which embodied
the plan of a report upon the wood resources of this country. Parties

[33 ]

Trustees.

Woods.

Stones.

Bulletins.

Sunday
Opening.

Taxidermy.

Exploration.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

were sent to all parts of the United States to gather the woods, and
the services of Mrs. Sargent were engaged to add the element of beauty
to the collection through her paintings of the leaves, flowers, and fruits.

At the same time the collection of Building Stones forecast the
ultimate development of an economic department which should em-
brace the ores and industrial products of the earth, and give also
sections of mines and the products and systems of metallurgy. After
thirty years this project is in the way of being put into execution.

A rapid review of the chief steps in this administration will, per-
haps, give the best idea of Mr. Jesup’s originality and of his high ideals
for the scientific future of the Museum. The year preceding his ap-
pointment, popular lectures in natural history had been instituted
by Professor Bickmore. In 1881 came the issue of the first number
of the Scientific Bulletins. In 1884 Professor Joel A. Allen, a dis-
tinguished zodlogist and pupil of Agassiz, was appointed as head of the
Department of Zodlogy. ‘To systematize the free lecture courses the
Department of Public Instruction was organized under Professor
Bickmore. Mr. Jesup’s religious views were constantly broadening;
in 1885 he issued an elaborate pamphlet advocating the Sunday opening
of the Museum, a step which was regarded by many persons at the time
as hostile to religion and which led to the withdrawal of certain financial
support of the Museum. The plan, however, was pursued, and, in
1887 the Sunday opening was carried through with the result that more
visitors—especially among the laboring classes—were attracted than
ever before. With the same motive, evening opening was arranged
for in 1888.

The first step toward the artistic display of the collections of
zoology was taken in the engagement of Mrs. Mogridge, an English
lady, from the British Museum, who introduced the first bird groups
and accessories. This opened the way for the perfected series of
Habitat groups in which the American Museum now leads the world.

A new policy of exploration in the field was instituted in 1888 by
an expedition for the fast-vanishing bison, supported by Messrs. Jesup
and Constable. This was the first step toward an exploring policy

[34]

oa? JOSEPH H, CHOATE

A FOUNDER ANP THCUSTER

JOSEPH H. CHOATE

A FOUNDER AND TRUSTEE

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

which has now developed (as the history of the various departments
shows in subsequent pages of this report) into the sending of expedi-
tions to all regions of the world.

In 1888 the economic importance of insect life was emphasized in
the appointment of Mr. Beutenmiiller as Curator of Entomology and
in the beginning of a collection of economic entomology showing the
relations of insect life to forestry. The naturalistic methods introduced
in the bird and mammal department were followed here with equal
success.

In 1891 Professor Henry F. Osborn was called from Princeton as
Curator of Mammalian Paleontology, and the Museum entered on a
new line of scientific development in the long history of the vertebrate
life of the earth, in which it has now attained first rank. Mr. Jesup
contributed liberally to the purchase of three great collections and to
the despatching of an expedition to Africa.

In the meantime the spirit of hospitality to various scientific insti-
tutions of the city and country, and of codperation with other institu-
tions, led to the opening of courses of lectures both by Columbia
University and by the Board of Education, in addition to the multi-
plying courses given in the Museum’s Department of Public Instruction.

The year 1895 was noteworthy as marking the first effort to bring
Robert E. Peary home from the Arctic regions. In response to an
appeal from Mrs. Peary, Mr. Jesup fitted out a relief expedition, and
thus began his interest in the work of the explorer, which was con-
tinued in successive contributions to Peary’s expeditions, finally result-
ing in the discovery of the Pole. Indirectly the Museum has benefited
by becoming the depository of all of Peary’s remarkable collections,
including several animals new to science.

The most noteworthy scientific feature of Mr. Jesup’s administra-
tion was the establishment of the Department of Anthropology on a
commanding basis, under the inspiring direction of Professor Frederick
W. Putnam of Cambridge. The beginning of the Department dates
back to the inception of the Museum and includes the acquisition of
many valuable collections which were now rounded into more complete

[35 ]

Vertebrate
Paleontology.

Scientific
Societies.

Peary.

Anthropology.

North
Pacific
Expedition.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

form under the direction of a remarkable group of men, including
Messrs. Putnam, Boas, Saville, Bandelier, Lumholtz, Smith, Jochelson,
and Bogoras and others. The financial and scientific codperation of
Messrs. Hyde, Loubat, Villard, and others was enlisted, and the Museum
sprang into the front rank, both of exploring and of special institutions
in the field of archeology and ethnology. British Columbia, the Plains
region, the Southwest, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru were visited by
special parties and rich collections brought back.

The central feature of this great work was the North Pacific Expedi-
tion, which began in 1897 and which bore Mr. Jesup’s name. In his
annual report of that year, Mr. Jesup says: “‘In closing my reference
to the work of this Department it is proper to add a few words regard-
ing a subject of great interest, not only to the student of Anthropology,
but also to persons interested in scientific research in other fields. I
refer to the theory that America was originally peopled by migratory
tribes from the Asiatic continent. The opportunities favorable for
solving this problem are rapidly disappearing, and I would be deeply
gratified to learn that some friends of the Museum may feel disposed
to contribute means for the prosecution of systematic investigation
in the hope of securing the data to demonstrate the truth or falsity
of the claims set forth by various prominent men of science. A map
of the localities which should be covered by such system of research
appears in this report.’’ His interest in this purely scientific problem
of the origin of American races, like that in the discovery of the Pole,
illustrates Mr. Jesup’s enthusiasm for pure scientific investigation and
exploration.

During the closing years of Mr. Jesup’s administration, he was
relieved of much detail and his labors were lightened by the appoint-
ment of Professor Hermon C. Bumpus of Brown University as Scientific
Director of the Museum. The institution of this office had been
strongly urged by Professor Osborn, who for some years had been
closely associated with the President in the administration of the
Museum.

[ 36 ]

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

SUMMARY OF Mr. JEsup’s GIFTS TO THE MusEUM Gifts.

Collection of North American Woods and Forestry, 1884-1908.
Collection of Building Stones, 1886.

Portraits of Audubon and of von Humboldt.

Anthropological Collection from southern Mexico, 1894.
Materials from the Peary Arctic Expeditions, 1896-1908.

Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1897-1903.

Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1899-1908.
Anthropological Collection from Colombia and Costa Rica, 1899.
Anthropological Collection from the Plains Indians, 1899.

Cope Collection of North American Fossil Vertebrates, 1902.
Robinson Collection of Prehistoric Copper Implements, 1902.
Anthropological Collection from the Philippine Islands, 1905.
Japanese Reception Room, 1905.

Series of ten marble portraits in the Foyer, 1906.

Egyptian Faytim Expedition, 1906-1907.

Anthropological Collection from Amazonas, 1907.

Robley Collection of Maori Heads, 1907.

Altogether Mr. Jesup contributed upwards of $450,000 to the Growth
Museum, and in his will he left a bequest of $1,000,000. ree

The material development of the Museum; the growth of its build-
ings from one wing to the magnitude shown in the present report; the
increase of its maintenance by the City from $10,000 a year to $160,-
000 a year; the increase of its endowment fund from $55,000 to $1,047,-
750; the increase of its annual attendance from 250,000, in 1884, to
537,000 in 1907; the extension of the influence and example of the
Museum to every part of the country, were the results of the continuous
effort of the President and of the generous co6éperation of several of
the Trustees.

The conscientious administration of public funds is notably illus-
trated in the economic construction of the Museum itself. The build-
ing, up to the close of Mr. Jesup’s administration, cost the City $4,838,-

[37]

Bequest.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

000; owing to the wise expenditure of this fund, a total floor space
of 438,859 square feet had been secured, and a total exhibition space
of 262,236 square feet.

The natural satisfaction which the President felt in the growth of
the Museum is simply expressed at the close of his Report for the
vear 1905:

“In concluding this my quarter of a century of service
as President of the American Museum of Natural History, I
cannot refrain from referring to the Report of twenty-five
years ago, when the Trustees stated that ‘they most respect-
fully appeal to the generous citizens of New York, to aid in
the effort to make our Metropolitan City the center of the
highest scientific culture in our land, and to join in adding
new collections and new departments to the admirable
nucleus which has been already secured.’ As your President
it has been my constant effort to fulfill the desires, as expressed
by the Trustees, which were so clearly formulated at the time
of my appointment, and when we view the stately building in
Manhattan Square, when we wander through the exhibition
halls and study the priceless collections therein displayed,
when we realize that thousands of the people of our City are
assembling here to listen to prominent educators, that school
children are here receiving their first love for nature and their
first taste of science, and that the influence of this institution
is being felt throughout the civilized world, truly we can say
that the appeal of 1881 to the generous citizens of New York
has not remained unanswered.”

Mr. Jesup’s death occurred January 22, 1908. The terms of his
bequest set forth his views as to the relations of the public funds and
of the private funds in the support of the work of the Museum:

I give and bequeath to The American Museum of Natural
History in the City of New York one million dollars ($1,000,-
000), to constitute a permanent fund, the principal to be in-
vested and kept invested, and the income to be applied and
appropriated to the general purposes of the Museum, other
than alterations, additions, repairs or erection of buildings,

[38]

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

the purchase of land or the payment of salaries, or for labor
or for services of any kind, ordinarily considered under the
item of maintenance.

I wish to explain that I have bequeathed this sum of one
million dollars ($1,000,000) to The American Museum of
Natural History, and that I have made for it the other be-
quests and provisions contained in my Will because of the
fact that I have been identified with the Museum from its
Act of Incorporation to the present time. I have been its
President since 1881. Since that time I have devoted a great
part of my life, my time, my thoughts and my attention to its
interests. I believe it to be to-day one of the most effective
agencies which exist in The City of New York for furnishing
education, innocent amusement and instruction to the people.
It can be immensely increased in its usefulness by increasing
its powers. The City of New York, under its contract with
the Museum, is to provide buildings and to maintain them,
but the buildings must be filled with specimens. This means
that for the purpose, the necessary amount must come from
individual donors. It is in order that the means for this pur-
pose may be helped, as the Museum must grow in additional
buildings by the City, and in view of its great possibilities for
the future, that I make for the Museum the bequests and pro-
visions contained in my Will, relying upon the Trustees of
the Museum to do their share, by looking after the invest-
ment of the funds, the use of its income and by carefully
watching over, and wisely planning for the best interests of
this great institution.

[39 ]

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GEOLOGY AND FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

Sinai was given to the Museum in 1869, the first year of its

existence, the Holmes collection of Post Pliocene fossils from
South Carolina was purchased in 1873, and the Haast collection of
New Zealand Moa bones in 1874. The acquisition of this material,
together with other valuable acquisitions, led the Trustees in 1875 to
direct special effort ‘‘toward establishing the Geological Department
upon such a basis, both as to its extent and authority, as to render it
of high and permanent scientific value.”

The first step toward this end was the purchasing of the collection
of fossils and other geological material belonging to Professor James
Hall of Albany. This material was collected almost entirely by Pro-
fessor Hall, with whose investigations as State Geologist it is iden-
tified, much of it having been gathered during the Survey of New York
State. Large collections had also been made from the Western States
for the purpose of fixing the New York geological nomenclature. It
comprised 80,000 to 100,000 specimens, including about 7,000 types and
figured specimens. The acquisition of this collection placed the Museum

\ important collection illustrating the geology of Palestine and

in the lead among American institutions in respect to Paleozoic fossils.
Especially noteworthy in the Hall collection, aside from the New York
series, are the Potsdam fossils from Minnesota; Trenton forms from
Wisconsin and Iowa; Niagara fossils from Indiana; corals from the
falls of the Ohio River; crinoids from Burlington, Iowa; and the Lower
Carboniferous fauna of Spergen Hill, Indiana. The price paid for the
Hall collection was $65,000, $40,000 of which was specially subscribed
by the Trustees and friends of the Museum. The duplicates were
separated into the collections, some of which were sold, others used in
exchange for other material.
[ 43 ]

Holmes
Collection.

Haast
Collection.

James Hall
Collection.

Holmes

Collection.

Hitchcock

Collection.

Building
Stones.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

The Holmes collection of fossils of South Carolina, vertebrate and
invertebrate, from the Pleiocene and Postpliocene periods was purchased
in 1873 from Professor Francis 8. Holmes. It included the types of
the species described in Tuomey and Holmes’s works.

In 1878 valuable geological material was received from Professor
C. H. Hitchcock in exchange for two series of Hall duplicates. It
contained a complete set of Vermont and New Hampshire rocks,
numbering about 2,000, illustrating the geological survey of those
states under the direction of Professor Hitchcock; types of Tertiary
plants from Brandon, Vermont; also rocks and fossils from Maine.

The collection of rocks and fossils gathered by the United States
Survey of the 40th parallel was received on deposit in 1878. It con-
tained 3,523 fossils, 3,880 rocks, and also 2,800 microscopic sections
of rocks.

The Department of Geology was greatly enlarged in 1886 by the
acquisition of the series of building stones. This series, a duplicate
of that collected under the direction of the 10th Census Commission,
was prepared at the expense of Mr. Morris K. Jesup, and contained
1,053 four-inch blocks, polished on the face and variously dressed on
the other sides. The specimens represent nearly every State and
contain samples of all rocks used for building and ornamental purposes.

A group of important fossils from the Calciferous and Chazy forma-
tions of Vermont was received in 1886 as a donation from Professor
H. M. Seely, President Ezra Brainerd, and other members of the faculty
of Middlebury College.

The Tyrrell collection of Placoderm fishes from the Devonian
rocks of Ohio was presented in 1899 by Mr. William E. Dodge.

Some of the collections acquired by purchase or exchange, besides
those mentioned previously, are the series of plants of the Devonian
age, received in 1882 in exchange for one series of Hall duplicates;
Palestine fossils purchased in 1886 from Rev. Dr. William Bird
of Abeih, Syria; collection of Utica Slate fossils, comprising about 200
specimens purchased in 1890; collection of Silurian fossils of Ohio,
purchased in 1904; the Woodman collection of fossils, corals, and shells

[44]

GEOLOGY AND FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

from Iowa and Illinois purchased in 1878, and the Braun collection of
fossil crinoidea, purchased in 1880.

EXPEDITIONS

The various expeditions by Associate Curator Hovey added greatly
to the value of the department, both in extent of collections and the
scientific data obtained. The publication of the investigations of
the volcanic phenomena following the eruptions in Martinique and
St. Vincent in 1902 placed the name of the Museum among the leading
contributors to volcanology.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Professor Robert Parr Whitfield has been in the active service of
the Museum since 1877. The Museum’s report for that year states
that ‘‘the purchase of the Hall Collection has made the Departments
of Geology and Paleontology so important that the services of a special
Curator have been required and Professor R. P. Whitfield has been
employed to take charge of that part of our collections.” He has
served the Museum continuously as Curator of the Department of
Geology and Invertebrate Palzontology since that time, devoting
himself assiduously to the cataloguing and arranging of the collec-
tions. It was chiefly at his suggestion that the Bulletin was estab-
lished as a medium for publishing the scientific research of the
Curators, and he himself has made many valuable contributions to it.
The Department of Marine Invertebrate Zodlogy was also under his
charge from 1890 until 1901, when it was established as a separate
Department under Dr. Bumpus. Professor Whitfield was Curator of
Mineralogy and Conchology also until they were made a separate
department in 1901.

Mr. Louis Pope Gratacap has been associated with the Museum
since 1876. He was appointed Assistant Curator of Mineralogy in
1880. This department was placed under Geology in 1882, and Mr.
Gratacap became Assistant Curator of Geology. In 1901 he was made

[45]

Robert Parr
Whitfield,
A.M.
1877-1909.

Louis Pope
Gratacap,
Ph.B., A.B.,

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Curator of Mineralogy, in charge also of Conchology, and in 1902
Curator of the Department of Mineralogy and Conchology, which
office he still holds.

Edmund Otis Dr. Edmund Otis Hovey has been associated with the Museum

ai AB. since January, 1894. He came at that time as an Assistant Cura-

1894— tor in the Department of Geology, Mineralogy, Conchology, and
Marine Invertebrate Zodlogy, and in 1901 was appointed Associate
Curator of the Department of Geology and Invertebrate Palzontol-
ogy. Dr. Hovey conducted investigations at the volcanoes of Mt.
Pelé and La Soufriere for the Museum in 1902, 1903, and 1908, and
the published results of his research have been valuable contributions
to our knowledge of the phenomena.

BENEFACTORS—DONORS OF SPECIMENS TO VALUE OF
$200 OR MORE—1869-1909

Beirut Protestant College Mrs. William E. Dodge
Bodwell Granite Company James Douglas
H. Booth State Geological Survey of Georgia
T. B. Brooks William C. Greene
Calumet and Hecla Mines Com- John P. Haines
pany James Hall
Geological Survey of Canada Morris K. Jesup
Central Pacific Railroad Company Mrs. Morris K. Jesup
James M. Constable MacDonald, Field and Company
Copper Queen Consolidated Min- Jules Marcou :
ing Company O. C. Marsh
EK. Leonard Corning K. A. Mearns
Sir William Dawson J. Pierpont Morgan
Delaware, Lackawana and West- State Geological Survey of New
ern Coal Company Jersey
Sidney Dillon Francis C. Nicholas
D. Stuart Dodge J. W. Powell
William E. Dodge, 2d Raphael Pumpelly

[46]

GEOLOGY AND FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

A. L. Rawson Augustus Taber and Brothers
Rutland Marble Company James Terry

Henry M. Seely U.S. Fortieth Parallel Survey
Samuel Sloan U.S. Geological Survey
Charles E. Slocum A. W. Vogdes

D. Jackson Steward William Wallace

Robert L. Stuart R. P. Whitfield

Frank Springer Joseph Willcox

[47 ]

Bailey
Collection,
$4,000.

J. Pierpont
Morgan
Collections.

Bement
Collection,
$100,000.

MINERALS AND METEORITES

Collection, the acquisition of which at once led to the estab-
lishment of a Department of Mineralogy.

The Bailey Collection of Minerals contained 7,000 cabinet specimens
and was purchased in 1874 for $4,000. It was stored in the Arsenal
until transferred to the Geology Hall in 1882.

The minerals exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
by the Governments of Canada, Spain, Brazil, Tasmania, and New
Zealand, were given to the Museum in 1876.

The development of the Department of Mineralogy since the
Bailey Collection was secured has been due largely to the generosity
of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, to whom the Museum is indebted for its
gem collection and the Bement collection of minerals. The first part
of the Tiffany gem collection was presented in 1890, and consists of
the exhibits made by the Tiffany Company for display at the Paris
Exposition of 1889. Especially noteworthy are the series of sapphires,
topazes, beryls, garnets, and tourmalines. The gem collection was
more than doubled in 1900 by the acquisition of the Tiffany Exhibit
at the Paris Exposition of 1900, comprising 1,453 entries, which was
purchased by Mr. Morgan (estimated value $100,000) and presented
to the Museum. The Tiffany gem collection has been continuously
increased by gifts from its founder, until to-day it ranks first in size,
value and importance in the country.

The Bement collection of minerals was presented to the Museum
in 1900 by J. Pierpont Morgan, Esq. (estimated value $100,000).
This collection was brought together by Mr. Clarence 8. Bement, and
had long had the reputation of being the finest private collection of
exhibition specimens in the world. It contained 12,000 specimens,
including many rare species.

é tye mineral collections began with the purchase of the Bailey

[48 ]

MINERALS AND METEORITES

As part of the Bement collection the Museum received a series of
meteorites, containing representatives of nearly 500 falls and finds.

Another important collection in the Department of Mineralogy
is the series of specimens of malachite and azurite, which was pre-
sented by the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company and added
to by Messrs. William E. Dodge and D. Willis James and Professor
James Douglas.

The acquisition of the Spang collection of minerals added a large
number of new species, and also made a general improvement in many
groups. It was purchased in 1891 for about $9,000.

In 1904 an endowment of $10,000 for the Department of Mineralogy
was received from Mrs. Matilda W. Bruce. The income from this fund
has made possible the purchase of many desirable minerals.

The Museum’s collection of meteorites in 1896 represented twenty-
six falls and finds, thirteen of which were aérosiderites (iron meteorites),
seven aérosiderolites (iron-stone meteorites), and six aerolites (stone
meteorites), discovered in various parts of the world, and received
with the Bailey collection of minerals, and through individual purchases
and gifts.

The Ward-Coonley collection of meteorites was deposited with
the Museum in 1901. This collection is said to be the largest in the
world and to be exceeded in value only by that of Vienna. It con-
tains 1,600 specimens, representing 603 falls and finds.

The meteorites now in the Foyer belonging to the Museum collec-
tion are: Cafion Diablo, from Arizona, weight 1,087 lbs.; Brenham
(two masses, 75 and 52.5 lbs.), from Kansas; Forest Fity (75 lbs.),
from Iowa; and Long Island (86 lIbs.), from Kansas.

The Tucson meteorite is a reproduction in cast iron, the original
of which was found in Arizona and is now in the National Museum of
Washington. The model was presented by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. The weight of this cast is the same as that of the original, 1,400
lbs.

The three meteorites from Cape York, Greenland, known as “‘ Ahni-
ghito,” or the ‘‘Tent,’’ “The Woman” and “The Dog,” were visited

[49 ]

Copper
Queen Con-
solidated
Mining Com-
pany’s
Collections.

Spang
Collection,
$9,000.

Meteorites.

“Ahnighito.”

““ Woman.”

“ Dog.”

“‘Willamette”

Meteorite.

** Selma.”

“ Guffey.”

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

by Commander Peary in 1894 and 1895, and brought to New York in
1895 and 1897. ‘‘Ahnighito,”’ the largest and heaviest meteorite
known, weighs 36.5 tons and was obtained by Commander Peary in
1897. ‘‘The Woman,” which weighs 6,000 Ibs., and ‘‘The Dog,” 1,100
lbs., were brought back in 1895. All were acquired by the Museum
in 1909 as the gift of Mrs. Jesup.

“Willamette,” the gift of Mrs. William E. Dodge (cost, $20,600),
is the largest meteorite ever found in the United States and one of
the three largest known. It weighs 31,107 lbs., and was discovered
in 1902 near Portland, Oregon. With the acquisition of ‘‘ Willamette,”
in 1906, the Museum’s collection of meteorites became one of the finest
known to science.

“‘Selma,”’ the largest entire stone meteorite known, was found in
Alabama in 1906 and purchased for $1,200. It weighs 306 lbs.

The latest addition to this department was the Guffey meteorite,
weighing 682 lbs., and purchased in 1909 for $1,500.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
MINERALOGY

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE

Hugh Auchincloss D. Willis James
George 8S. Bowdoin Morris K. Jesup
Matilda W. Bruce Mrs. Morris K. Jesup
Brazilian Commission of Centen- M.S. Mepham
nial Exposition J. Pierpont Morgan
Copper Queen Consolidated Min- New York Mineralogical Club
ing Company Minas Pedrazzini Company, Arizpe,
James W. Constable Sonora, Mex.
William E. Dodge Ernest Schermikow
Edward L. Dufoureq Robert L. Stuart
A. E. Foote Mrs. Robert L. Stuart
James B. Haggin D. Jackson Steward

[50 ]

SHELLS, INSECTS, INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

CONCHOLOGY

OLLECTIONS of shells were among the first gifts to be received
f by the Museum in the early days at the Arsenal, and they
soon became one of the chief sources of attraction in the
Museum. Early in 1870 one hundred specimens, representing fifty
species, were presented by Mr. Albert Storer, and during the same
year a collection of land and fresh water shells from Switzerland
and Wurttemburg were received from Mr. Frank Daulte; a collection
of shells and alcoholic mollusca collected by Professor Bickmore in
the East Indian Archipelago; and the conchological collection gathered
and presented by Mr. Coleman T. Robinson, containing about 1,000
species represented by about 4,000 specimens.

These collections formed the nucleus of a Department of Conchology,
which in 1874 was firmly established by the acquisition of the Jay
Collection of shells, presented by Miss Catharine L. Wolfe as a memorial
of her father. It numbered 50,000 specimens and contained 10,000
"species and many varieties. This collection, with the rare concho-
logical library, together known as the ‘‘ Wolfe Memorial,” was formed
by Dr. John C. Jay, from whom it was purchased by Miss Wolfe for
$25,000. It was exhibited in the Arsenal until the opening of the new
building, where it was prominently displayed on the first floor.

The number of species in the Conchological Department was
greatly increased in 1890 when Mr. John J. Crooke presented his valu-
able cabinet of land and fresh water shells, containing about 3,000
specimens and 2,300 species.

A series of marine shells, notable for the beauty and perfection of
the specimens, and containing a large number of very rare examples,
was presented in 1890 by Mr. D. Jackson Steward.

[51]

Early
Collections.

Jay
Collection.

Crooke
Collection.

Steward
Collection.

Haines

Collection.

Cope

Collection.

Storer

Collection.

Constable

Collection.

Philippine
Islands.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

The acquisition of the Haines Collection of shells greatly added to
the quality and scope of this Department. It consisted of marine,
fresh water, and land shells, being especially rich in the last-named.
The collection contained 7,891 species, and was purchased in 1895
for $12,000.

Nearly 18,000 specimens of land and fresh water shells, with 1,000
species, were received in 1898 from the estate of Professor Edward D.
Cope.

A collection of shells important to the Museum because of the
more showy genera was presented by Mr. Albert H. Storer in 1904.
It comprised about 3,500 specimens.

To Mr. F. A. Constable the department is indebted for many fine
specimens of shells, principally from China and Japan. Between
the years 1901 and 1905 he presented 737 species from Japan, 464
specimens from China, besides 18,000 specimens representing 4,000
species from other localities.

The collection of shells from the Philippine Islands numbers about
5,530 specimens, 700 of which were gifts from Colonel C. A. H.
McCauley, and Dr. Hugh M. Smith, the remainder, containing 477
species and varieties, being received through an exchange.

The specimens now in the Conchological Department number
about 200,000 specimens, embracing over 16,000 species, and rep-
resenting localities all over the world.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

CONCHOLOGY

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE
Albert 5S. Bickmore Coleman T. Robinson
John J. Crooke D. Jackson Steward
Fred. A Constable Albert H. Storer
EK. D. Cope R. A. Witthaus
Frank Daulte Mrs. M. Witthaus
Rev. Richard B. Post Miss Catherine Wolfe

[52]

ENTOMOLOGY

ENTOMOLOGY

The collections of insects presented to the Museum in 1870 by
Baron Osten Sacken and Mr. Coleman T. Robinson were so important
that Mr. Robinson was made curator of them, serving without salary
till his death in 1872. The number of specimens in the department
was about 20,000. A large part of these collections was subsequently
destroyed by pests, so that in 1886, when a separate Department of
Entomology was again established, the total number of specimens was
less than 30,000, and many of these were in poor condition.

The collection presented by Baron Osten Sacken in 1870 comprised
about 3,800 North American insects of all orders except Lepidoptera,
and contained 2,000 specimens of beetles, representing 1,000 species.

The series of American and European lepidoptera presented by
Mr. Coleman T. Robinson in 1870 consisted of about 10,000 specimens,
representing 3,000 species.

In 1874 Mr. R. A. Witthaus gave a collection of American coleoptera
containing about 8,000 specimens, and 2,000 species, desiring that it
should form the nucleus of a cabinet to be devoted exclusively to the
use of persons especially interested in entomology.
the beginning of the study collections.

A collection numbering 2,235 specimens of insects, butterflies,
and moths was the gift of Mr. Joseph W. Drexel, in 1880.

About 5,600 insects collected in New York and New Jersey by
Mr. E. B. Southwick were presented by him in 1886.

The material acquired previous to 1889 was almost entirely through
gift. Since 1889 the additions by gift, purchase, and expedition have
gained for this Department an enviable reputation, especially in its
collections of lepidoptera, formicide, and diptera.

The insect groups in the Jesup Collection of economic entomology,
begun in 1889, represent the life history and other phases of insects
injurious to trees, and are illustrated by their food plants made in
wax, showing the injury done to the trees by the insects. These

[53]

This gift marked

Osten-Sacken
Collection.

Robinson
Collection.

First Study
Collection.

Drexel
Collection.

Southwick
Collection.

Jesup Col-
lection of
Economic
Entomology.

Hoffman
Collections.

Samuel V.
Hoffman
Collection.

Elliot
Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

groups, of which there are fifty-three, were prepared at the expense of
Mr. Morris K. Jesup.

LEPIDOPTERA—BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS

The present collection of lepidoptera contains about 100,000 speci-
mens, representing 10,000 species.

One of the most important gifts to this section of the department,
and one which extended over several years, is the collection of butter-
flies presented by the Very Reverend Eugene August Hoffman, D.D.,
LL.D. Dr. Hoffman’s desire was to extend the Museum’s collection
so as to include the more important species of the world. He began,
in 1897, by purchasing ($508) a series of the butterflies, found in
America north of Mexico, containing 1,650 specimens, representing
475 species. The next year he added 2,250 specimens collected in
Mexico, Central and South America, and during the following four
years purchased and presented various collections, containing over
2,500 specimens from South America, Australia, and Asia.

Dr. Hoffman also provided funds for Museum expeditions to the
Black Mountains, North Carolina, in 1900, 1901, and 1902. The
material thus obtained numbered fully 13,200 specimens of various
insects, among which were many butterflies and moths.

After the death of Dr. Hoffman in 1892, many additions were made
as the result of the expeditions by Curator Beutenmiiller, the expenses
for which Dr. Hoffman had provided.

Since 1892, Mr. Samuel V. Hoffman has generously continued the
work begun by his father, the Very Reverend Eugene A. Hoffman,
in his efforts to extend the butterfly collection. His contributions
include 364 African butterflies, 3,600 specimens of North American
and exotic lepidoptera, and a collection presented in 1908 of specimens
from Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and Africa.

The collection which had been gathered by Dr. 8. Lowell Elliot
was presented to the Museum by Mrs. Elliot in 1890. It contained
6,600 butterflies and moths in absolutely perfect condition, almost
all of which were bred specimens, with many of the rarer types repre-

[54]

ENTOMOLOGY

sented by entire broods showing the variation and intergradation of
the species.

About 13,000 butterflies, moths, beetles, grasshoppers, wasps, etc., Angus
were contained in the collection presented by Mr. James Angus in 1891. oe

The Harry Edwards collection was one of the largest private col-
lections in the world. It numbered 150,000 specimens (60,000 lepidop-
tera), many of which were types, and 20,000 species, gathered from Edwards
all parts of the globe. It was purchased in 1892 for $15,000, $9,600 Coleco".
of which was received from friends of Mr. Edwards in response to an
appeal from a committee headed by Mr. A. M. Palmer, which had been
organized to secure the collection for the Museum.

The Schaus collection comprises some 31,000 specimens of butter-
flies and moths and was presented by Mr. William Schaus in 1897
and 1906. About 5,000 specimens of the collection representing the
principal known genera of Old World moths were gotten together schaus
by Mr. Schaus as a study collection for comparison with New World ©!tien-
forms. It contains many type specimens and species authentically
determined by comparison with British Museum types, a feature
making the collection highly useful to specialists and students. (EHsti-
mated value of Old World Collection, $10,000.) Some 26,000 speci-
mens were gathered by Mr. Schaus during three years’ search in Mexico
and Central and South America.

A series of butterflies and moths from Africa, India, and other sachs
parts of the world was presented by Mr. William Sachs in 1900. It Clete":
contained about 300 specimens, many of which were very rare.

About 500 butterflies were collected in Sumatra in 1895 by Mr.
Rudolph Weber. Most all of them were new to the Museum collec-
tions. Seven hundred and fifty were collected by Mr. F. C. Nicholas
in Honduras and U. 8. of Colombia in 1895.

DIPTERA—FLIES

The Museum’s collection of diptera attained the first rank of scientific
importance in 1903, through the addition to its collection of over
8,000 North American flies, containing more than 1,000 species and

[55 |

Forel
Collection.

Wheeler
Collection.

Bahamas.

Porto Rico.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

170 types. The collection was the gift of Dr. William Morton
Wheeler.

A collection containing 400 specimens of North American diptera
was purchased in 1906.

FORMICIDA—ANTS

The collection of ants numbers not less than 50,000 specimens and
3,000 species, received largely through gift and expeditions.

To Professor Auguste Forel the Museum is indebted for a large
and valuable collection of ants presented in 1907. It contains 3,519
specimens, representing 1,385 species.

The largest collection of formicide in this country, and one of
the three largest in the world, was presented in 1908 by Dr. William
Morton Wheeler. It contained many types and cotypes, and nearly
every species is represented by long series of specimens—often many
hundreds in number.

The large termite nests and ant hills on exhibition were collected
by Mr. Francis Child Nicholas in Hayti and U. 8. of Colombia, and pre-
sented in 1897 by Mr. Henry C. Pratt.

On a collecting trip to Florida and the Bahamas in 1904 Professor
Wheeler obtained a practically complete series of the ants of Andros
and New Providence Islands, containing about fifty species, together
with a fine series of mollusks, myriopods, arachnida, etc.

An extensive collection of the ants of Culebra and Porto Rico,
containing about 5,000 specimens and representing about 60 species,
and subspecies, was obtained by Dr. Wheeler on an expedition in 1906.

A collection of Madagascar formicide purchased in 1904 contains
373 specimens and 83 species.

COLEOPTERA—BEETLES

The present collection of beetles has been acquired through ex-
peditions and field work of Curator Beutenmuller, as well as by gift
and purchase. Among those received as gifts are the 2,000 specimens

[ 56 |

ENTOMOLOGY

collected by the late Mr. George D. Bradford, and presented by his
mother in 1895; 500 North and South American beetles, presented by
Mr. William Menzies, also in 1895; a fine collection from Mt. Kinabula,
British North Borneo, presented in 1904 by Messrs. G. A. Goss and
A. D. Dodge.

The collection was greatly enlarged in 1907 through the generosity
of Mr. F. Du Cane Godman, a well-known English scientist and author
of the famous work ‘Biologia Centrali-Americana.’’ The collection
contains more than 4,000 specimens from Mexico and Central America,
representing 1,679 species, many of which were described new to
science in the “Biologia.” It is of great scientific importance, since
it is part of the material upon which the Coleoptera section of the
“Biologia”? was based.

Several thousand beetles, containing many new to science, also
many extremely rare specimens, were collected on the Curator’s
various trips to the Black Mountains of North Carolina.

The additions to the beetle collection by purchase are: 2,000 speci-
mens of European beetles, purchased in 1895, and 300 tiger beetles
purchased in 1907.

EXPEDITIONS

The expeditions by Curator Beutenmiiller to the Black Mountains
of North Carolina in 1895, and between 1900 and 1906, yielded an
immense amount of insect material. On the last six trips over 31,000
specimens were collected, among which were many new as well as
very many rare species.

The funds for the trips made in 1902 and 1903 were provided by
the Very Rev. E. A. Hoffman and Mr. Samuel V. Hoffman.

Through local field work by the Curator, many thousand insects of
various orders have been obtained, as well as a large collection of
insect galls, and through the codperation of expeditions sent out by
other departments of the Museum, the Department of Entomology
has received valuable collections from many localities—especially

[57]

Godman
Collection.

Coleman T.
Robinson.
1870-1871.

Baron Osten
Sacken.
1870.

E. B. South-
wick.

1886.

William

Beutenmiuller.

1888-

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Sumatra, where 1,600 specimens were collected, and Siberia, Africa,
Patagonia, Jamaica, W. I., Mexico, Bolivia, and various parts of the
United States.

The accessions of collections through gift, besides those previously
mentioned, include: 5,000 specimens of various orders, collected by
George Dexter Bradford, and presented in 1896 by his mother; a
valuable collection of gall insects, containing several thousand speci-
mens and many types donated in 1905 by Mrs. Margaret Bassett; a
collection of more than 1,000 vials of spiders from the United States,
the work of the young naturalist, Horace Britcher, donated by his
mother and friends; 2,600 butterflies, bees, wasps, beetles, ete., from
the State of Amazonas, Brazil, presented in 1907 by Mr. Morris K.
Jesup.

Among other important collections purchased in recent years are:
3,000 insects from localities within fifty miles of New York (1894);
5,000 insects from Merida, Venezuela (1904); collection of Orthop-
tera, containing 825 specimens and representing 255 species (1905);
700 Cuban insects (1907).

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Mr. Coleman T. Robinson gratuitously served as Curator of Ento-
mology from 1870 until his death in 1872. His work was in connection
with the large collection of Lepidoptera which he had presented.

Baron Osten Sacken gave valuable assistance in arranging the
collection of insects which he presented in 1870.

Dr. E. B. Southwick was in charge of the Department of Entomology
from July, 1886 to 1887. His attention was devoted to the classifica-
tion and placing on exhibition of the specimens. Dr. Southwick
collected in the vicinity of New York in 1886.

Mr. William C. Beutenmiiller joined the Museum in 1888 and since
1893 has been associated with it as Curator of the Department of
Entomology. He has made frequent expeditions to the Black
Mountains of North Carolina in search of insects, the published

[58 ]

at he ale
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iiss ae “=

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Ae
» ’ Li
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a? i d
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“a” ~ 6
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‘
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Z : =
Zh 2

tags is . .

INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

results of which formed valuable contributions to the knowledge of
entomology.

Mr. Raymond Lee Ditmars, the present Curator of Reptiles in the
New York Zoological Park, served the Museum as Assistant Curator
of Entomology from 1891 until 1897. He also prepared the Museum’s
Guide Leaflet on ‘Reptiles of the Vicinity of New York City,” which
was published in 1905.

INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

The present Department of Invertebrate Zoélogy was established
in 1901. The departments of Conchology and Entomology were
merged in it in 1909. The collections in Invertebrate Zodlogy, except
in regard to shells, developed slowly through the first years of the
Museum’s life, though many gifts of corals, sponges, sea urchins, etc.,
were received before the Arsenal was vacated. In 1885 this material
was brought over to the new building where, because of lack of space,
only the most important specimens were exhibited, the remainder
being stored in the basement, where it remained until about 1890.
Most of the collections, excepting the models of the lower invertebrates,
which were made at the Museum, have been acquired through gift and
expeditions. Until 1901 Prof. R. P. Whitfield served as curator of
these collections.

The first important accession to this Department was the collec-
tion of corals presented in 1885 by Mr. Percy R. Pyne.

Invertebrate material ranging from mollusca and crustaceans
through the lowest branches of the animal kingdom, from the Atlantic
and Pacific waters, have been received at various times since 1873 as
a result of the deep-sea dredgings conducted by the United States
Fish Commission.

Many of the animals in the various groups of invertebrates are so
minute, or their anatomical structure is so complicated, that it is not
practicable to place the original specimens on exhibition. In order

[59]

Raymond
Lee Ditmars.
1891-1897.

Protozoans.

Sponges.

Corals.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

to bring out more clearly the structure of these animals, and their
relation to man, large models, carefully constructed, have been pre-
pared. This is especially true in the lowest group of the animal king-
dom, namely, the Protozoans. The models are constructed in wax and
glass, and are worked out with the most careful detail.

The sponge collection represents extensively the forms found in
Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Japan. Almost all of this material,
excepting that from Japan, was collected by Professor R. P. Whit-
field. A series of siliceous sponges from Japan, containing exception-
ally fine examples, was purchased in 1901. The collection contained
thirty-seven specimens, representing twenty-six species.

The superb collection of corals is representative of the forms found
in the East and West Indies, Bermudas, Bahamas, Hawaiian Islands,
New Zealand, and Florida, and have been acquired largely through
the generosity of Mr. Percy R. Pyne, Mrs. R. P. Dana, Mr. D. Jackson
Steward, the Pacific Mail 8. 8. Company, Dr. D. Bryson Delavan, and
Professor R. P. Whitfield. One hundred and twenty-five unusually
fine specimens from Florida and the Pacific Ocean were given by Mr.
Pyne in 1885. Some beautiful forms were contained in a collection
from the West Indies, given by Mrs. R. P. Dana, and from the
East Indies by Mr. D. Jackson Steward. Most of the corals from
Florida, Bermuda, and the Bahamas were collected, and many
presented, by Professor R. P. Whitfield. Of special note is the
specimen of Madrepora palmata, which is probably the finest ever
collected, and the unusually large and perfect specimen of Orbicella
annularis.

A representative series of corals from the Hawaiian Islands was
obtained on an expedition by Dr. J. E. Duerden in 1905, when 1,500
specimens representing between thirty and forty species were col-
lected, forming probably the largest collection of Hawaiian corals ever
made.

An expedition to the Bahama Islands in 1908 under Dr. William
Morton Wheeler in search of material for use in a coral reef group
yielded many choice specimens of corals, including an exceptionally

[ 60 ]

INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

fine example of Madrepore coral, measuring ten feet across and weigh-
ing nearly two tons.

A series of hydrozoans and actinozoans, containing forty-seven
specimens mounted in alcohol and representing the marine life of the
Bay of Naples, was received in 1896 as a gift from Mr. William E.
Dodge.

The other groups of invertebrates, namely, the echinoderms, an-
nulates, and arthropods (aside from insects) are represented by typical
specimens, although our collections are not extensive. The structure
and anatomy of the more complicated invertebrates, such as the clam
and the oyster, are shown by models enlarged six to seven diameters.

Models have also been prepared showing the consecutive stages
in the development of the eggs of different forms, namely: mollusk,
brook trout, frog, and lancelet. These series, in each case, embody
the researches of investigators in their particular subjects and are
prepared under their supervision or from their published works.

To bring out more clearly the relation between man and the lower
animals a series of models, illustrating the development and structure
of the Malaria Mosquito and the life cycle of the Malaria Organism,
has been prepared.

The Marine Habitat Groups represent the typical life of several
marine species. These include sea urchins, brittle stars, land crabs,
and sponges.

Marine invertebrate material acquired through expeditions, in
addition to those previously mentioned, includes many species of sea
fans, gorgonias, crustaceans, etc., from Bermuda, and echinoderms,
sea anemones, sea cucumbers, starfish, etc., from the Bahamas, all
collected and presented by Professor R. P. Whitfield; actinians and
aleyonarians from the West Indies, collected by Dr. J. E. Duerden;
sea fans, etc., from the Bahamas, collected by Professor William
Morton Wheeler; sea urchins, ete., from Newfoundland, collected
by Mr. L. P. Gratacap; and other invertebrate material from Massa-
chusetts, Florida, New Mexico, Alaska, Patagonia, Siberia, and the
Philippine Islands.

[61]

Echinoderms,
Annulates,
Arthropods,
Mollusks.

Malaria
Mosquito.

Marine
Habitat
Groups.

Hermon
Carey
Bumpus,

Ph.D., Sc.D.

1901-1902.

William
Morton
Wheeler,
Ph.D.
1902-1908.
Honorary
Curator,
1908-

Henry E.
Crampton,
A.B., Ph.D.
1909-

Louis Pope
Gratacap,

Ph.B., A.B.,

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY:

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE

J. A. Britcher M. M. Metcalf

Richard P. Dana Pacific Mail Steamship Company
D. Bryson Delevan Percy R. Pyne

William Earle Dodge, 2d D. Jackson Steward

Gilman A. Drew U. S. Bureau of Fisheries
Auguste Forel W. M. Wheeler

Edward H. Harriman R. P. Whitfield

Morris K. Jesup

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

In 1901 Dr. H. C. Bumpus became Assistant to the President and
was also placed in immediate charge of the Department of Invertebrate
Zoblogy. His time was so fully occupied with administrative work
as Assistant to the President that he could devote very little time to
the development of this Department. Accordingly in 1902, Dr.
William Morton Wheeler succeeded him as Curator of the Department,
Dr. Bumpus having been appointed Director of the Museum.

Dr. Wheeler served until 1908, when he resigned, having been
appointed to the Professorship of Economic Entomology in Harvard
University. The Museum at this time made him Honorary Curator
of Social Insects, and as such he will continue to be identified with the
work. Dr. Wheeler was elected a Patron of the Museum in 1908 in
recognition of his gift of his collection of formicide.

The present Curator of this Department is Dr. Henry E. Cramp-
ton, who assumed his work January 1, 1909. Dr. Crampton is well
known as a writer and investigator and for several years has held the
Chair of Zodlogy at Barnard College.

Mr. Louis Pope Gratacap has had charge of the mollusca since
1880. In 1901 he was appointed Curator of Mineralogy, in charge
also of Conchology, and in 1901 Curator of the latter also. His
present title in this Department is Curator of Mollusca.

[62]

INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

Mr. G. H. Sherwood was appointed Assistant Curator of Inverte-
brate Zodlogy in November, 1901. During the curatorship of Dr.
Bumpus he attended to the routine work of the Department, but par-
ticularly carried out the idea of the Director for bringing about a more
intimate relation between the Museum and the educational system
of the City. This included the development of the circulating col-
lections which was begun in December, 1903, and the inauguration
of the lectures for school children. With the retiring of Professor
Bickmore from active service in 1905, Mr. Sherwood was appointed
Curator of the Department of Public Instruction. In 1906 he was
appointed Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer.

Dr. J. E. Duerden was identified with the Museum as Honorary
Curator of Ccelenterates from 1902 until 1906. He has contributed
several papers to the BULLETIN.

Dr. B. E. Dahlgren joined the Museum in 1902 as an Assistant in
the Department of Invertebrate Zodlogy. He was appointed Curator
of the Department of Preparation and Installation when it was es-
tablished at the beginning of 1903, and served in this capacity until
1906, when he was appointed an Assistant Curator of the Department
of Invertebrate Zodlogy. Dr. Dahlgren was especially interested in
the preparation of biological models. He served till 1909.

Mr. Roy W. Miner has been associated with the Museum since
1905 as Assistant Curator in the Department of Invertebrate Zodlogy.
He has given special attention to the installation of the collections
on exhibition and is carrying on researches on the sponges and myria-
pods.

Dr. Frank E. Lutz was appointed Assistant Curator in this Depart-
ment in 1909. Dr. Lutz has been a research assistant in the Carnegie
Institution at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, and has published a
number of papers on the general subjects of Inheritance and Variation.

Other specialists who have served the Museum through this Depart-
ment are Professor Verrill, who was engaged in 1894 to identify un-
determined invertebrate material; Dr. Tarleton H. Bean, who iden-
tified and catalogued the fishes received from the Aquarium in 1898;

[ 63 ]

George
Herbert
Sherwood,
A.B., A.M.
1901-

J. E. Duer-
den, Ph.D.
1902-1906.

B. E. Dahl-
gren, D.M.D.
1902-

Roy W.
Miner, A.B.
1905-

Frank E.
Lutz, A.B.,
A.M., Ph.D.
1909-

Alexander
Petrunke-

vitch, Ph.D.

1909-

Aaron L.
Treadwell,
B.S:, M.S.,
Ph.D.
1909-

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Mr. Frederick M. Holbrook, who identified and catalogued turtles in
1898, and Dr. L. W. Williams, who made the large model of the com-
mon squid in 1906.

The present Scientific Staff of this Department includes also three
Honorary Curators: Professor William Morton Wheeler, Dr. Alexander
Petrunkevitch, and Professor Aaron L. Treadwell.

Dr. Alexander Petrunkevitch, an authority on American spiders,
became an Honorary Curator of Arachnida in 1909. Dr. Petrunkevitch
has rendered valuable service to the Museum through correspondence,
exchange, and the general enrichment of the collections.

Professor Aaron L. Treadwell of Vassar College was appointed
Honorary Curator of Annulata in 1909.

[ 64 ]

FISHES, REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS

on exhibition, and very few reptiles. Lack of space had

made this necessary, and the accumulations of the preced-
ing thirty years found storage room only. The collection of reptiles
and batrachians up to this time consisted of specimens received from
the Department of Parks and the Zodélogical Society, a number col-
lected on Museum expeditions to Florida, Mexico, and Cuba, thirty-
seven reptiles and batrachians from the Island of Trinidad, twenty-
five from Utah, Wyoming, and Nebraska, and 110 collected in
Sumatra. Fifty snakes, 40 lizards, and 125 embryos of loggerhead
turtles, collected in Florida, were presented by Dr. Charles Stover
Allen in 1893. In 1899 Colonel Nicholas Pike presented his large
collection of reptiles and batrachians containing about 1,300, mostly
from Long Island, New York.

The collection of fishes was very small, and consisted mainly of
painted wax and plaster models, which resembled but slightly the
fish in nature. Most of these were received in a collection purchased
from the Smithsonian Institution in 1886 ($727). It contained
colored casts of eighteen species of fish and fourteen species of rep-
tiles. A series of fishes collected by Professor Agassiz was presented
by the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy, Cambridge, in 1876, and
other specimens were received from time to time through the United
States Fish Commission.

When the present Department of Invertebrate Zodlogy was es- Fishes.
tablished in 1901, the collections of fishes and reptiles were placed in
its charge. Exhibition space was assigned for them, and efforts
toward an attractive exhibition series were at once begun. All known
methods of preserving and exhibiting fishes were unsatisfactory, so
experiments along this line were begun, and have continued with

[ 65 |

U= 1901, there were practically no batrachians and fishes

Batrachians
and
Reptiles.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

very satisfactory results. The present exhibition series of fishes
comprises 125 casts, models, and mounted skins, together with about
the same number of colored plates of the various families. To the
New York Aquarium the Department is indebted for very many
specimens, also to the United States Fish Commission. From the
latter, twenty specimens—types and cotypes of new genera and
species of fish from the Philippines—were received in 1903, and in 1904
a collection of 200 Hawaiian fish, besides various smaller collections
received from time to time.

The exhibition series of reptiles numbers in specimens and groups:
of turtles, 54; batrachians, 28; lizards and snakes, 62. About 150
specimens have been received from the Zodlogical Society, and over
fifty from the Department of Parks.

Four hundred and sixty batrachians, representing every species
of the United States but one, were presented in 1905 by Miss Mary
C. Dickerson. In 1907 eighty-two exotic lizards from various localities
were given by Mr. A. Herrman; and thirty-eight reptiles and batrachians
from Brazil were presented by Mr. Morris K. Jesup.

The expeditions sent out by other departments of the Museum
have added many specimens to the study collections from Mexico,
Porto Rico, Alaska, Patagonia, Fayim Desert (Egypt), and Siberia.
In 1906 an expedition sent to New Mexico and Arizona for reptiles
returned with 1,000 specimens. Another trip to Colorado in 1908
yielded fifty-one specimens.

A new Department of Ichthyology and Herpetology was estab-
lished in July, 1909, and Dr. Bashford Dean appointed its Curator.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHES,
REPTILES, AND BATRACHIANS

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE

Cleveland H. Dodge Alessandro Fabbri
Ernesto Fabbri

[ 66 ]

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er Ge ann

BA

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

the Trustees began the purchasing of collections, and by 1870
had secured the Elliot, the Maximilian, the Vedray, and
Verreaux collections.

The most important was that of Prince Alexander Philip Maxi-
milian of Wied, which was purchased for £1,500 sterling. It con-
sisted of 4,000 mounted birds, 600 mounted mammals, and about
2,000 fishes mounted and in alcohol. Prince Maximilian visited
Brazil in 1815, 1816, and 1817, exploring it through ten degrees of lati-
tude, and gathering specimens for his collection. He came to the
United States in 1832, when little was known of the Far West, and as
an experienced naturalist visited the region between the Rocky Moun-
tains and the Mississippi. His collection, containing many types, was
regarded as the most important in Europe.

The Elliot Collection of Birds consisted chiefly of North American
species and comprised over 2,500 specimens, and was purchased from
Dr. Daniel Giraud Elliot for $7,351.62.

The Verreaux Collection, placed on the market because of the
death of its owner, Edward Verreaux of Paris, at that time the largest
dealer in specimens in the world, was purchased for $16,000. It
comprised 220 mounted mammals, 2,800 mounted birds, and 400
skeletons of mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes.

Two hundred and fifty specimens of mounted mammals and Siberian
birds were purchased from M. Vedray, also of Paris, for $1,000.

The skeleton of the North Atlantic right whale was one of the
first gifts of importance received by the Trustees for the new Museum.
This whale came ashore off Long Island, and the bones were purchased
by the Honorable Peter Cooper for use in Cooper Union. They proved
too cumbersome, however, and were stored in the basement until,

[67]

Q nets after the Museum’s Charter was granted, in 1869,

Maximilian
Collection,
$7,500.

Elliot
Collection
of Birds,
$7,351.

Verreaux
Collection,
$16,000.

Vedray
Collection,
$1,000.

North
Atlantic
Right Whale.

Ward
Centennial
Collection,
$1,896.

Beginning
of Study
Collections.

First Bird
Groups and
Mammal
Groups.

Elliot
Collection of
Humming
Birds.
Mearns
Collection.

Snowden
Howland
Collection.

Bridgman
Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

upon the organization of the new Museum, they were presented to the
Trustees by Mr. Cooper. The specimen was mounted in the Arsenal
and first exhibited in 1883.

Before the mammals and birds were transferred from the Arsenal
to the new building early in 1878, there were many additions, principally
the mounted specimen of the extinct great auk, the gift of Mr. Robert
L. Stuart in 1870, a collection of birds’ nests given by the Smithsonian
Institution in 1874, and 11,000 skins of North American birds presented
in 1875 by Dr. Daniel G. Elliot.

After the new building (north wing) was opened, the collection of
mammals and birds was constantly enlarged by various gifts.

Several mounted mammals, among them an elk, a moose, tapir,
camel, and an ostrich, which had been exhibited at the Centennial
Exhibition in Philadelphia, were purchased by a number of the Trustees
and presented to the Museum in 1878. They were considered to be
the result of the finest taxidermy of the time, and formed one of the
chief attractions to the Museum in the early days.

The first material for study collections was given by Dr. E. A.
Mearns in 1882, consisting of skins and eggs of North American and
European birds.

The gift of Mrs. Robert L. Stuart made possible the series of 37
groups showing the nesting habits of our native birds, the first of
which were exhibited in 1887. The Museum is also indebted to Mrs.
Stuart for the series of groups of the smaller species of mammals found
within the vicinity of New York.

A valuable collection of humming birds, numbering 2,000 speci-
mens and representing 400 species, was the gift of Dr. Daniel G. Elliot
in 1887. That same year Dr. E. A. Mearns presented 2,235 specimens
of birds collected in Arizona.

The Snowden Howland Collection of eggs of North American
Birds, numbering 3,000, was the gift of Mr. Clarence King in 1889.

Another collection received in 1889 was that of a number of mam-
mals and birds and a small collection of eggs and nests from South
Africa, collected by Dr. B. N. Bridgman and presented by Mr. D.

[ 68 ]

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

Willis James, Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Mr. Chas. Smith. In
1890 about 440 bird skins and the skins and skulls of 55 mammals
collected in Florida were given by Mr. W. E. D. Scott.

The five specimens in the habitat group of orang-utans, collected
in Borneo in 1878-81 by Mr. W. T. Hornaday, was presented to the
Museum by Mr. Robert L. Colgate.

Mr. James A. Bailey was a frequent contributor to the depart-
ment. A chimpanzee and a two-horned rhinoceros, as well as the
skeleton of “Jumbo,” all of which are on exhibition, were his gifts.
an Asiatic elephant, was presented by

)

The skeleton of ‘‘Samson,’
Mr. W. W. Cole in 1887.

In 1895 the Linnzan Society of New York contributed the William
Dutcher Collection of birds, containing about 2,000 specimens, most
of which were collected in Long Island.

Through the coéperation of the Park Commission and the Zodlogical
Society, the department has received many additions to its collection.
“Tip,” the Asiatic elephant received in 1894, the Indian rhinoceros,
and the chimpanzee ‘“‘Kitty,’’ all on exhibition, are among those re-
ceived from the Central Park Menagerie. Since January, 1904, the
accessions from that source have numbered 272 mammals and 341
birds. During the same period 282 mammals and 41 birds were re-
ceived from the Zodlogical Society. One of the best known specimens
is ‘‘Hannibal,” the African lion, presented to the Zodlogical Park by
Miss Carnegie, which was given to the Museum in 1905.

The development of the series of Cetaceans has been largely through
the generosity of Mr. George 8. Bowdoin. In 1907, through funds
provided by him, three skeletons were purchased: Gray’s whale, a
bottlenose whale, and a rare ziphiioid whale, which proved to be a
new species and was named in honor of Mr. Bowdoin. The Museum
is also indebted to Mr. Bowdoin for the skeleton of the finback whale,
and the model of the sulphur-bottom, which was prepared from
photographs and measurements. The exhibition series also contains
models of the blackfish, harbor porpoises, and common dolphins.
In the study series there are skulls and skeletons of the narwhal,

[ 69 ]

Dutcher
Collection.

Cetaceans.

North Pacific
Seal Group.

Ward
Collection,
$15,000.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

and skulls of the white whale, collected by Commander Peary and
presented by the Peary Arctic Club.

Two North Atlantic right whales, captured off Amagansett, Long
Island, were obtained by Mr. Roy Chapman Andrews and Mr. James
L. Clark in 1907. One of these whales was the largest specimen of
which there has been definite scientific record. The sum paid for
the two skeletons and a complete set of baleen was $3,278, also the
gift of Mr. Bowdoin.

Eight specimens of the fur seal for a group illustrating a seal rookery
were presented to the department in 1908 by Mr. D. O. Mills. The
specimens were collected at the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.

Among recent gifts of special interest are the following:

The skins and skeletons of the rare Solenodon paradoxus, which
were obtained in Haiti by Mr. A. H. Verrill and presented in 1907 by
President Jesup; the small but valuable collection of mammals from
the border of Tibet, received in 1908 through the generosity of the
Honorable Mason Mitchell (the takin, mounted in 1909, was in this
collection); the group of Paradise birds, numbering 75 specimens and
containing 46 species, the gift of Mrs. Frank Sturgis.

MAMMAL AND BIRD COLLECTIONS BY PURCHASE

A number of important accessions to the department have been
purchased by the Museum.

In 1882 two contracts were made with Professor H. A. Ward of
Rochester—one to supply mounted specimens of such mammals of
North America north of Mexico as were necessary to complete the
Museum’s collections, not to exceed the value of $8,000—the other
to procure for the Museum specimens of all the monkeys in the world.
In the first four years following the drawing up of these contracts a
large number of specimens was sent in, a few were delivered in 1888,
and the last received in 1892. The funds for the first contract were
provided by Mr. Jesup personally, and for the second, which amounted
to over $7,000, by Mr. Robert Colgate.

[70]

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

The H. B. Bailey Collection of nests and eggs, considered at that
time one of the finest in the country, was purchased in 1885. $1,500
of this was given by Mrs. Robert L. Stuart.

A collection of 4,000 bird skins, several hundred eggs, and several
hundred sterna, collected by Mr. Herbert H. Smith in Brazil, was
purchased from him in 1887. On an expedition to South America in
1898-99 Mr. Smith was authorized to collect mammals for the Museum
to the value of about $3,000. In 1904-5, 656 specimens of mam-
mals, together with 714 birds, eggs, and nests collected by Mr. Smith
in Colombia, were received.

The Lawrence Collection of American Birds was purchased in 1887
for $9,000 and added to the collections about 12,000 specimens, mostly
from Mexico, Central America, South America, and the West Indies,
containing 4,000 species and 300 original types. They were the result
of the life work of the ornithologist, Mr. George N. Lawrence.

A collection of 400 Bolivian birds, containing several new to science,
and collected by Dr. H. H. Rusby, was purchased in 1888.

With the acquisition of the George B. Sennet Collection of birds in
1903, the study collection was increased to over 80,000 specimens.
This collection contained about 8,000 birds, several hundred nests,
and several thousand eggs, largely from Mexico and Texas.

The Price Collection of birds contained 3,918 specimens from Cali-
fornia and Mexico, and was purchased in 1904.

An extensive series of Philippine birds, containing 1,000 specimens,
was purchased in 1905.

In 1907 the department acquired 55 specimens of mammals from
China, most of which had been heretofore unrepresented. In 1906
another collection from China, containing 79 specimens, was purchased.

EXPEDITIONS

In addition to the material acquired through gift and purchase,
the various expeditions sent out in the interest of this department
have procured many valuable specimens which have contributed to

[71]

Bailey
Collection of
Birds, Nests
and Eggs,
$2,000.

H. H. Smith
Collections.

Lawrence
Collection,
$9,000.

Rusby
Collection.

Sennet
Collection,
$4,500.

Price
Collection.

Bison Group.

Moose Group.

Wapiti
Group.

Collared
Peccary
Group.
California
Mule Deer
Group.

Grant’s
Caribou
Group.

Dall Sheep
Group.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

both the exhibition and the study series. The first organized .expedi-
tion sent out from the Museum was the one from this Department in
1886, when Dr. Daniel G. Elliot and Mr. Jenness Richardson went to
Montana in search of material for the Bison group.

Of the six specimens in the Moose group, completed in 1895, two
were obtained on expeditions to Maine in 1888 and New Brunswick
in 1884. One was presented by Mr. John L. Cox, and another by Dr.
Kx. A. Mearns, while the other two were purchased.

The specimens for the Wapiti group, with the exception of the
large male, were collected in the Olympic Mountains in Washington
in 1900 by Mr. C. Lincoln Free. This group was completed in 1906.

The Collared Peccary group, mounted in 1905, was obtained in
Sinaloa, Mexico, by Mr. J. H. Batty on his expedition in 1902. On the
same expedition he also collected the material for the California mule-
deer group, which was mounted in 1905.

Grant’s caribou was discovered by Mr. Andrew J. Stone on an ex-
pedition to Alaska and British Columbia in 1901-1903. The specimens
for this group, completed in 1902, were obtained in the extreme west-
ern end of the Alaskan peninsula. This expedition also provided the
specimens for the Dall sheep group, completed in 1909, as well as a
large and important collection of other mammals. Especially note-
worthy are the series of the golden lemming, Osborn caribou, and
the Stone sheep, both of the latter being species new to science.

Through the expeditions of this department a fine series of mam-
mals, both large and small, were received in addition to material for
the groups mentioned above.

A large collection of mammals from Arctic America was brought
back by Captain George Comer in 1902 and comprised, besides a
number of small mammals, specimens of the Barren Ground caribou,
musk ox, and a few bearded seals.

On an expedition to Central and Southern Mexico in 1902, under
Mr. J. H. Batty, an extensive collection of mammals and birds was
obtained.

The mammals collected in Eastern Siberia during 1900 and 1901

[72]

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

by the Jesup North Pacific Expedition numbered over 500 specimens,
representing 30 species, about one-third of which proved new to science.

‘Through the Tjader Expedition to British East Africa in 1906 and
1907, about 450 specimens of mammals and birds were received,
among which were a number of Grant zebras.

Through the Peary Arctic Club the Museum has acquired a large
number of mammals and birds collected by Commander Peary on his
expeditions to the Far North. Among the specimens brought back
on one of the earlier expeditions were the musk oxen, now mounted in
a habitat group. These were collected on Bache Peninsula in October,
1908. About 100 specimens, among them an especially fine polar
bear, were received when Commander Peary returned in 1902.

The material brought back in 1906 added a large number of speci-
mens to the collections from the Far North, the most important being
a herd of new species of white caribou (the Peary caribou) and nearly
70 specimens of musk oxen.

The latest and largest addition to the Arctic mammal series was
received when Commander Peary returned from his expedition of
1908 and 1909. It contained about 250 specimens, among them a
very large series of musk oxen and Peary caribou.

One of the unique features of the Department’s collection of birds
is the series of habitat groups of North American birds which have
recently been completed. These groups not only depict typical bird
life of North America, but the backgrounds painted from nature also
show typical American scenery. To bring together the material for
this exhibit, many expeditions have been sent into the field during
the last fifteen years, under the direction of Curator Chapman, who
has traveled more than 65,000 miles to secure the necessary data.

For these groups the Museum is directly indebted to Mr. John L.
Cadwalader, Mrs. Morris K. Jesup, Mrs. Philip Schuyler, Mrs. John
B. Trevor, Mrs. Robert Winthrop, Mr. F. Augustus Schermerhorn,
Mr. H. B. Hollins, Mr. Henry Clay Pierce, Mr. Henry W. Poor, and Mr.
Courtenay Brandreth, to whose subscriptions an equal sum has been
added from the funds of the Museum.

[73]

Habitat
Groups of
North
American
Birds.

Professor

A. S. Bick-
more, 1869.

Dr. 3.:B.
Holder,
1872-1888.

Dr. A.
Allen,
1885—

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

As Superintendent of the Museum, Professor A. 8. Bickmore had
general charge of the mammals and birds during the early develop-
ment of this department. In 1872 Dr. J. B. Holder was appointed a
general assistant to Professor Bickmore and devoted his attention to
the zodlogical collections. He was made Curator of Zodlogy in 1881.
In 1885 the Department of Zodlogy was divided into two departments
—that of Mammals and Birds, and Marine Zoédlogy. Dr. Holder was
Curator of the latter, which position he held until his death in 1888,
having been in the service of the Museum for seventeen years. Dr.
Holder was an associate of Professor Agassiz and Professor Baird and
had made important investigation on the fauna of New England waters
and later in Florida. He was a voluminous writer, and made many
important contributions to science.

In 1885 Dr. J. A. Allen was made Curator of the Department of
Mammals and Birds. Dr. Allen had studied under Agassiz, and served
as an assistant in ornithology in the Museum of Comparative Zoédlogy
at Harvard. He had already become an authority in several lines of
research. When Dr. Allen assumed charge of the Department, the
collection of mammals numbered not far from 1,000 mounted skins,
and about 300 mounted skeletons. The collection of birds numbered
about 10,000 mounted specimens, and about 300 unmounted skins,
besides several hundred mounted skeletons. Through Dr. Allen’s
efforts the Department of Taxidermy was established in 1886. He also
started the first study collections, which a year after his appointment
numbered 6,000 skins of birds, and from his department also, the first
expedition organized for collecting and exploring was sent out. Under
his guidance this department has had continuous growth, and at the
present time the collections comprise more than 30,000 mammals and
90,000 birds in the exhibition and study series. Dr. Allen is recognized
as one of the foremost authorities on mammals and birds, and his
numerous contributions to systematic zodlogy are widely recognized
as of the highest merit. Besides carrying on his numerous researches,

[74]

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

in recent years he has devoted much of his time to editing the scientific
publications of the Museum.

In 1888 Mr. Frank M. Chapman was appointed Assistant Curator
in this Department. His attention has been given primarily to orni-
thology, in which branch of zodlogy he has attained preéminence.
It is in a large measure through his untiring energy and careful field
work that the Museum is indebted for the effectiveness of its bird
groups, which competent observers have declared to be second to none.

At the present time the Scientific Staff of this department includes
Mr. Roy Chapman Andrews, Assistant in Mammalogy, and Mr. W.
D. W. Miller, Assistant in Ornithology.

From time to time the Museum has availed itself of the services
and advice of scientists who have specialized in particular groups of
the mammals and birds, for the proper identification, classification,
and installation of the material. Foremost among these should be
mentioned Dr. Daniel Giraud Elliot, who served as scientific adviser
to the Trustees in the purchase of the first collections secured. It
was on his recommendation that the Verreaux and Vedray collections
were acquired. A few of the others who have assisted in the develop-
ment of the collection of mammals and birds are: Dr. Edgar A. Mearns,
U.S. A., who in 1883 identified, labeled, and catalogued a large col-
lection of European birds; Dr. A. K. Fisher and Dr. J. Dwight, Jr., who
in 1885 gratuitously labeled and catalogued the Elliot collection of
birds; Mr. Charles L. Brownell and Mr. E. G. Lewis, who gave their
gratuitous services in Department of Ornithology, 1888.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MAMMALS

AND BIRDS
GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE
James A. Bailey John L. Cadwalader
P. T. Barnum W. W. Cole
J. H. Batty Robert Colgate
Courtenay Brandreth James M. Constable

[75]

Mr. F. M.
Chapman,
1888—

Advisers
and
Specialists.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Peter Cooper

Department of Parks, New York
City

Rev. D. Stuart Dodge

William E. Dodge

William Dutcher

Daniel G. Elliot

Madison Grant

H. B. Hollins

D. Willis James

Morris K. Jesup

Mrs. Morris K. Jesup

Clarence King

Linnean Society of New York

EK. A. Mearns

D. O. Mills

Hon. Mason Mitchell

New York Zodlogical Society
Peary Arctic Club

Henry Clay Pierce

Henry W. Poor

Mrs. F. Augustus Schermerhorn
Mrs. Philip Schuyler

George B. Sennett

Robert L. Stuart

Mrs. Frank K. Sturgis

Miss Phoebe Thorne

Samuel Thorne

Mrs. John B. Trevor

Mrs. Robert Winthrop

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FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

President Jesup in May, 1891, with Professor Henry Fairfield
Osborn as Curator.

The plan of the department, as outlined by Professor Osborn in
the Annual Report for 1892, was to form representative series from
the successive horizons of the West, in order to present a historical develop-
ment of the Evolution of the Mammals in North America. It was ex-
panded subsequently to cover the evolution of the vertebrata in
general, but its chief aim, and since 1909 its specified limitation, has
been to present the Evolution of the Land Vertebrates, primarily of
North America, but incidentally of other parts of the world.

These plans have met with a substantial success that places this
department among the foremost in the world in this branch of science,
not merely in the size of its collections, but in their quality, and in
the high standards of scientific accuracy, thoroughness, and artistic
excellence maintained in all its work. The generous support received
from Trustees and friends of the Museum and the interest and appre-
ciation shown by the people of New York have warranted expanding
the original plans to a much larger scale than at first contemplated.
Where eighteen years ago a single hall seemed adequate to present
the evolution of the mammalian life of North America, the exhibits
already require three times this space; and we look forward to pre-
senting the broad succession of vertebrate life of land and sea, from
its inception far back toward the beginnings of the geological record,
down to its culmination in the appearance of man, in a succession
of halls corresponding to the great periods of geology. The materials
for this larger plan are rapidly accumulating, and will be prepared
for a splendid presentation before the space is available for their

fe Department of Vertebrate Paleontology was established by

exhibition.
[77]

Plan.

Collections
by
Expeditions.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

COLLECTIONS

The collections in this department are mainly from three sources,
namely, Expeditions, Exchange, Purchase.

First, and most important, are the collections brought in year by
year by expeditions sent out by the Museum to explore various fossil-
bearing horizons in the United States and other parts of the world.
Fifty-two expeditions have been sent out in this department between
the years 1891 and 1909 inclusive, at a total cost of upward of $110,000.
The expense of these expeditions is borne partly by the General
Endowment Fund provided by the Trustees, partly by the special
annual fund of $2,000 provided by Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn,
and in some instances by funds for special explorations which have
been provided by the late President Jesup, by Mrs. Jesup, by the
late William C. Whitney, by Messrs. Percy R. Pyne, J. P. Morgan, Jr.,
Frank K. Sturgis, Henry Fairfield Osborn, and George J. Gould. More
than half of the collections, both in number and value, have been
obtained through Museum expeditions.

Fretp ExpLoraTions.—Beginning in 1891, the various geological
horizons and countries have been explored in the following seasons:

Permian, Texas, 1902, 1906, 1908.
Triassic, North Carolina, 1894, 1895.
Upper Jurassic, Wyoming, 1897-1905; Montana, 1903.
Marine Cretaceous, Kansas, 1897; S. Dakota, 1903.
‘“‘Laramie”’ Cretaceous, Wyoming, 1892, 1900; Montana, 1902-9.
Judith River Cretaceous, Montana.
Paleocene (Puerco and Torrejon), New Mexico, 1892, 1896.
Lower Eocene (Wasatch), Wyoming, 1891,1896; New Mexico, 1896.
Lower Eocene (Wind River), Wyoming, 1891, 1896, 1905, 1909.
Kocene (Huerfano), Colorado, 1897.
Middle Eocene (Bridger), Wyoming, 1893, 1903-6, 1909.
Middle Eocene (Washakie), Wyoming, 1893, 1895, 1908.
Upper Eocene (Uinta), Utah, 1894, 1895; Wyoming, 1909.
Oligocene (Faytim), Egypt, 1907-09.

[78]

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Cuter Locauitirs oF Fossi, VERTEBRATES IN THE AMERICAN Musrtum Co.L.eEcrions.

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~ ats

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

Oligocene (White River), South Dakota, 1892, 1894, 1902.
Oligocene (White River), Colorado, 1898, 1901.

Oligocene (White River), Montana, 1902; Wyoming, 1909.
Miocene, Montana, 1902.

Miocene (Santa Cruz), Patagonia, 1899.

Lower Miocene, 8S. Dakota, 1905-7; Nebraska, 1907-8.
Middle Miocene, Colorado, 1898, 1901-2; Nebraska, 1908.
Upper Miocene, 8. Dakota, 1894, 1902-3; Kansas, 1898.
Upper Miocene, Texas, 1899-1901.

Lower Pliocene, Nebraska, 1908.

Middle Pliocene, Texas, 1899-1900.

Lower Pleistocene, Nebraska, 1893, 1897; Texas, 1899-1901.
Later Pleistocene, Arkansas, 1903-4; Alaska, 1907-8.

Second, but first in point of time, is the collection of vertebrate
fossils obtained by Messrs. White and Meek for Professor Hall and
purchased with the rest of the Hall Collection for the Museum by the
Trustees in 1878.

Third, the collection of North American Fossil Mammals brought
together by Professor E. D. Cope between 1872 and 1890, and pur-
chased for $32,000 by subscription of Mr. Morris K. Jesup, Mrs. William
H. Osborn, Messrs. Henry Fairfield Osborn, W. E. Dodge, J. Pierpont
Morgan, James M. Constable, Theodore A. Havemeyer, D. Willis James,
John D. Crimmins, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Adrian Iselin, Charles Lanier,
Frederic EK. Church, and an unnamed friend of the Museum. In
this collection of about 7,000 specimens, is included a great num-
ber of skeletons and skulls of extinct mammals of the American
Tertiary formations, some of them unique, and all of great value
in illustrating the history and evolution of the mammalia in North
America.

Fourth, the Cope Pampean Collection, obtained in the Pampean
Formation of the Argentine Republic by Messrs. Ameghino, Larroque,
and Brachet, exhibited at the Paris Expedition of 1878, and pur-
chased by Professor Cope. It was purchased from his estate for the

[79 ]

Hall
Collection.

Cope
Collection
of Fossil
Mammals.

Cope
Pampean
Collection.

Cope
Collection of
Fossil

Reptiles, etc.

Whitney
Horse
Collection.

Warren
Collection.

Sternberg
Collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Museum at a cost of $10,000 in 1899 by Messrs. Havemeyer, Dodge,
James, Iselin, Constable, and Osborn, Trustees of the Museum. This
collection contains a fine series of skeletons of ground-sloths, glyptodons,
saber-tooth tiger, and other extinct South American mammals, of high
exhibition value.

Fifth, the Cope Collection of Fossil Reptiles, Amphibians, and
Fishes of North America, presented to the Museum in 1902 by Presi-
dent Jesup at a cost of $20,000. It includes magnificent skeletons of
the amphibious, carnivorous, and duck-billed dinosaurs, a splendid
series of the ancient reptiles and amphibians of the Permian Period,
and other specimens of high scientific and exhibition value.

Sixth, the Whitney Collections of Fossil and Recent Horses, ob-
tained and prepared in 1901-3 by Western expeditions sustained
through a special fund of $15,000 provided by the late William C.
Whitney. This includes a splendid series of skeletons, skulls, etc.,
of extinct and living horses, illustrating the Evolution of the Horse
in Nature and under Domestication. This exhibit has since been
much expanded and improved by specimens presented or through
funds provided by Messrs. Randolph Huntington, James R. Keene,
Frank K. Sturgis, George J. Gould, Arthur Curtiss James, Percy R.
Pyne, Francis R. Appleton, and Henry F. Osborn.

Seventh, the Warren Collection, brought together by Professor
J. Collins Warren of Harvard University in 1840-55, and purchased
for the Museum from his heirs by J. Pierpont Morgan in 1906 at a cost
of $30,000. It includes the famous (Warren) Mastodon, the most per-
fect skeleton of an extinct elephant ever discovered; also a skeleton
of the extinct cetacean Zeuglodon, a collection of Dinosaur footprints,
and other valuable specimens.

Eighth, various choice specimens of fossil vertebrates from Kansas,
Wyoming, and Texas, purchased from Mr. Charles H. Sternberg and
presented by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup, Mr. Charles Lanier, and others, or
purchased through general endowment funds. The most remark-
able of these specimens are the mummified skeleton of a duck-billed
dinosaur, a fine skull of the horned dinosaur, a skeleton of the great

[80]

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

Cretaceous fish, Portheus, and of the toothed bird Hesperornis.
Their aggregate cost is $5,787.

Ninth, a skeleton of [chthyosaurus with the outlines of the body
preserved, from Holzmaden, Wirttemberg, purchased for $1,000 and
presented by Mrs. Jesup in 1908. Three other fine skeletons of the
same species have also been purchased.

Tenth, specimens and collections of fossil vertebrates received in
exchange from various European and other foreign museums in 1896
to 1909, notably those of London, Paris, Munich, Stuttgart, Tubingen,
Basle, Leipzig, Darmstadt, Lyons, Christiania, Bucharest, Buenos
Ayres, Adelaide, and in the United States with the Yale, Princeton,
University of Kansas, University of California, and other museums.
The most important fossils received in this way are skeletons of [ch-
thyosaurus (with seven young), Pterodactylus, Ophthalmosaurus, Crypto-
clidus, saber-tooth tiger, giant wolf, and casts of skeletons of Hippidium,
Macrauchenia, Halitherium, ete. Estimated value, $6,000.

In addition to these collections are miscellaneous minor gifts and
purchases of an aggregate value of probably $5,000.

The aggregate cost of the collections in this department, not in-
cluding the cost of preparation, is as follows, so far as obtainable
from the records of the Department:

Pe GN eX PCO IONS FS cos a5 3. Pas 2 HOE nts eager oni. 2 LLO,000
eee ees, auc» 82,000

Cope clon 20,000
ee ee ae LOOOO

Whitney Collections (including preparation)........ 15,000
RV EKeMe QUCCHONT nes he ale nt a tons »s,,, BOL000
Becrmbers COuUeChIOns co ie es tees aes e., OSE
ixehame@e COMCCHONS oon ees es yrs anns 0,000
SCANT COUS MP rae Sintec. Pte heen t hovce, wkedoscd Gegitgth 5,000
$233,787

If to these should be added the cost of preparation of the speci-
mens (which has in past years been largely carried on endowment
[81]

Ichthyosaur
Skeletons.

Exchange
Collections.

Miscellaneous
Gifts and
Purchases.

Value of
Collections.

Summary of
Collections.

WwW. D;
Matthew,
1895

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

funds) the present value of the collections would be between four and
five hundred thousand dollars, and the expenditures of the Trustees
thereupon would amount to about $300,000.

SUMMARY

The total number of catalogued specimens is over 18,000, of which
14,000 are mammals. These specimens, it is estimated, represent
about 2,000 distinct species. They include an exceptionally large
number of type specimens and casts of types. There are 403 original
type specimens of valid species of fossil mammals from the North
American Tertiary formations; the total number of type specimens
(originals and casts) of fossil vertebrata is estimated at over one
thousand.

The collections include forty-nine complete mounted skeletons of
extinct mammals, twenty-four of extinct reptiles and amphibians, and
one extinct bird. There are in addition many complete or nearly
complete skeletons which have not yet been mounted for exhibition,
many hundreds of skulls of extinct vertebrates, and thousands of
jaws, feet, or other portions of skeletons, only a small part of which
(some two thousand specimens) are placed on exhibition.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

The scientific staff of the department at its organization consisted
of Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn, Curator, Dr. Jacob L. Wortman,
Assistant Curator, and Mr. Charles Earle, Assistant. Professor
Osborn has contributed his services to the Museum for twenty years
without salary. Mr. Earle remained with the department until 1894.

In 1895 the Cope Collection of Fossil Mammals was presented by
a number of the Trustees, and Dr. W. D. Matthew was engaged in
connection with its cataloguing and arrangement. In 1899 Dr.
Wortman resigned his position with the American Museum to take
charge of vertebrate paleontology in the Carnegie Museum, and Dr.

[82]

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

Matthew was appointed Assistant and subsequently Associate Curator
in Dr. Wortman’s place.

In 1900 Dr. O. P. Hay joined the staff as Assistant Curator, sub- 0. P. Hay,
sequently as Associate Curator of Chelonia in connection with the cata- peas
loguing of the Cope Collection of Fossil Reptilia, and from 1904-7
took especial charge of the arrangement and exhibition of the col-
lections of extinct chelonians, while engaged upon his monograph
upon this order of reptiles.

In 1903 Dr. Bashford Dean was appointed Honorary Curator of Bashford
Fossil Fishes, and in 1909 the living and fossil fishes were transferred ae
to a distinct department under his charge.

The field work of the department was at first in charge of Dr. J. Field state.

L. Wortman assisted by Mr. O. A. Peterson and others. Since 1898
Professor Osborn has exercised a general supervision over all field
exploration, and he took personal charge of the Fayim Expedition in
1907. The various expeditions in the Western States and elsewhere
have been conducted by Messrs. Barnum Brown, Walter Granger,
W. D. Matthew, J. W. Gidley, Albert Thomson, E. C. Case, Charles
H. Sternberg, and L. 8. Quackenbush, assisted by Messrs. Peter Kaisen,
George Olsen, Paul Miller, F. B. Loomis, R. S. Lull, Handel T. Martin,
H. W. Menke, William Stein, W. J. Sinclair, Roy L. Moodie, Harold
J. Cook, Charles S. Mead, W. K. Gregory, A. E. Anderson, G. R.
Wieland, J. D. Irving, Norman Grant, C. Forster Cooper, D. D. Streeter,
and others.

Since 1893 the laboratory work has been in charge of Mr. Adam yy ccum
Hermann, who has introduced and improved year by year the careful Staff.
and skillful methods of preparation first employed by Professor Marsh.
Under his training has grown up a staff of expert laboratory assistants.

Mr. W. K. Gregory joined the staff in 1900 as research assistant.
Mr. A. E. Anderson as Department photographer, Albert Thomson in
field photography, Erwin Christman, Mrs. L. M. Sterling, and Miss
Helen Cox in illustration have also contributed to the success of the
department.

In 1895 Mr. Charles R. Knight commenced a series of restorations

[ 83 ]

Research.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

of extinct animals executed for the Museum under the direction of
Professor Osborn and provided for by Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. These
restorations have been a most successful and generally attractive
phase of the work of the Department.

Since 1902 Mr. 8. H. Chubb has been engaged, in connection with
the evolution of the horse studies, in the collection and preparation of
the material illustrating the osteology of the modern horse. A splen-
did series of mounted skeletons and preparations of skulls are the
result of the work.

The collections of the Department afford unsurpassed opportunities
for research in this branch of science. Many preliminary and a few
monographic studies have been completed and others are in progress.
The published studies include two volumes of Memoirs (Vols. I and
IX) and 119 articles in the American Museum BULLETIN from 1892 to
1909, besides miscellaneous articles in other publications, by Professor
H. IF’. Osborn, Professor Bashford Dean, Dr. J. L. Wortman, Dr. O.
P. Hay, Dr. W. D. Matthew, Mr. Barnum Brown, Mr. Walter Granger,
Mr. J. W. Gidley, Dr. L. Hussakof, Mr. Charles Earle, and Mr. W. K.
Gregory of the Museum Staff, and Dr. I’. B. Loomis, Dr. J. H. McGregor,
Dr. E. C. Case, Mr. Earl Douglass, and Dr. W. J. Sinclair.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
VERTEBRATE PALAONTOLOGY

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 AND MORE

JAMES M. CONSTABLE

JOHN DANIEL CRIMMINS
CLEVELAND HOADLEY DODGE
WILLIAM EARL DODGE
GEORGE JAY GOULD

EDWARD HENRY HARRIMAN
HENRY OSBORNE HAVEMEYER
THEODORE A. HAVEMEYER
ADRIAN ISELIN

[84]

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

AMPHUR CURTISS JAMES
DANTEL WILLIS JAMES
MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP
Mis. MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP
JAMES ROBERT KEENE
CHARLES LANIER

JON Pil RaPONT AMO FR GAN
LON PIR PON TT AMORGAN 5. JR:
Hayy “ADEE ieD OSBORN
VIRGINIA REED OSBORN

i Teo JAM), Ai, NuRS Yn O'S :B.0.R N
PERCY REVENGTON PYNE
PhoANdG TON-bGUILP ss LURGIS
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT
WILLIAM COLLINS WHITNEY

[ 85]

Porto Rican
Collection,
$805.

E. H. Davis
Collection,
$1,800.

Squires
Collection,
$2,000.

Marquand
Collection.

Stuart
Collection.

Bement
Collection,
$450.

Jones
Collection,
$7,500.

ANTHROPOLOGY

ceived a fresh impetus through the appointment of Professor

IF. W. Putnam as Curator in 1895. Its collections increased
so rapidly—-by purchase and donation alike—that until the west wing
was ready, the question of exhibition and storage room was a most
serious problem.

Miscellaneous archeological material, especially Indian implements,
had been received from the very beginning of the Museum’s history,
but the first accession of importance was a collection of rare imple-
ments made by the aborigines of Porto Rico, purchased and presented
by the Trustees in 1873. The following year the E. H. Davis Archzxo-
logical Collection, containing many typical and rare forms of pre-
historic workmanship from the mounds of Ohio, was purchased.

The collection of rare antiquities gathered by Hon. E. G. Squire
during his several years’ search in Central and South America was
acquired by purchase in 1875.

In 1878 over 200 pieces of Missouri mound pottery were received
as a gift from Mr. H. G. Marquand; a very important collection con-
taining 3,000 implements used by the prehistoric men of the valley
of the Somme, France, was purchased and presented by the President,
Mr. R. L. Stuart; and by purchase the Museum acquired the Bement
Collection illustrating the Stone Age of Denmark.

The next large collection acquired was that gathered by Col.
Charles Jones among the Indians of the southern United States. It
represented their art, religion, and industries. Two thirds of this
collection was purchased by the Museum in 1877, the remainder being
presented by Mr. Robert L. Stuart in 1881.

All of these were the collections which comprised the Department

[ 86 ]

Sie Department of Anthropology was formed in 1873. It re-

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Piet im

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oe te oh
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PERE NESB H a ar ‘4 -

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sear

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inet, 3 9

ANTHROPOLOGY

of Anthropology in the early part of 1877, when the material was
being removed from the Arsenal.

The collections exhibited when the new building was opened on
December 22, 1877, besides those brought from the Arsenal, included
the following: a series of stone implements of Ireland, presented by
Mr. T. W. U. Robinson; three cases of stone and bronze implements
and pottery from the Swiss Lakes, and bones and stone implements from
the Dordogne Caves of southern France, deposited by Mr. G. L.
Feuardent; Indian and Eskimo dresses and implements from Hudson
Bay, the gift of Mr. Hugh Auchincloss. The collection gathered by
Mr. A. W. Sturgis illustrating the island life of the Pacific and Indian
oceans was also exhibited. This was on deposit only, but was finally
(in 1891) purchased for the Museum by the Trustees. This collec-
tion, which surpassed all the combined public collections of this class
in the country, contained 2,200 specimens illustrative of the arts,
customs, dress, ornaments, and weapons of the people of the Hervey
Islands, Mangara, Samoa, and Solomon Islands.

In 1880, Mr. James Terry also deposited with the Museum the great
collection, comprising nearly 26,000 catalogued specimens, which he
had obtained during his extended researches. This was purchased
by the Museum in 1891. The collection, while especially rich in
material pertaining to the native races of the west coast of North
America, between Mexico and British Columbia, contained over 500
vessels of great ethnological interest from the Mississippi Valley;
stone pipes and implements from Tennessee; copper weapons from
Wisconsin; 2,500 specimens from Long Island, Westchester County,
and Staten Island, and many objects from Maine, Connecticut, and
northern New York; also sculptures of great antiquity from the Co-
lumbia River Valley. The large series of archeological material from
California is especially important, since from it can be traced the
condition of the Indians of California from the time they came in
contact with Europeans. The collection also embraces interesting
objects from Alaska and the South Seas.

Another valuable archzological collection brought to the Museum

[87]

Collections
Exhibited
when the
Building was
Opened.

Sturgis
Collection,
$39,001.

Terry
Collection,
$29,744.

Andrew
Ellicort
Douglass
Collection.

Bishop
Collection.

Emmons
First
Collection,
$12,000.

Emmons
Second
Collection,
$25,000.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

at about this time was that of Mr. Andrew Ellicott Douglass. It num-
bered 23,000 specimens, arranged to show synoptically the various
types occurring in North America. Mr. Douglass donated his entire
collection to the Museum in 1901.

In 1882 Mr. Heber R. Bishop presented a valuable collection il-
lustrating the ethnology of British Columbia, gathered at his expense
by Dr. J. W. Powell, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in that Province.
It contained costly dresses, implements, carvings, etc. The large
Haida canoe from the Bella Bella Indians, on exhibition at the Museum,
was received in this collection.

The collection of Lieut. G. T. Emmons, U. 8. N., was presented to
the Museum by the Trustees in 1888. It contained nearly 1,300 speci-
mens illustrating the ethnology of Alaska. Each specimen was ob-
tained by Lieutenant Emmons himself and was accompanied by
records and full notes regarding the use made of each object by the
natives.

This collection was supplemented in 1894 by the ‘“‘ Emmons Second
Collection,” numbering 2,966 specimens, among them about 500 from
the Bering Sea and Siberia.

The Department of Anthropology was reorganized in 1894, ‘‘in
order to illustrate the history of man in the same way as we are show-
ing the history of animal life.’ The Emmons and Bishop collections,
together with those of Sturgis and Terry, formed the most complete
collection of anthropological material in this country. The develop-
ment of the Department, however, had been somewhat neglected, for
Professor Bickmore, who was nominally in charge of it, had been en-
gaged in the development of the Department of Public Instruction
since early in the eighties.

In 1894 the exhibition collection relating to man was confined to
what is now the ‘“‘Shell Hall’ on the fifth floor, and the western half
of the Bird Gallery on the third floor. There had been no systematic
explorations, no scientific publications. The Department has grown
until at the present time the collections occupy six large exhibition halls
and twenty-five storage rooms, and the scientific publications fill a

[88 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

score of volumes. Its growth is largely due to the many expeditions
which have carried on research work throughout America and parts
of Asia. First among these is the Jesup North Pacific Expedition,
which was organized by Mr. Morris K. Jesup, in 1897. Mr. Jesup
provided the means for a thorough investigation of the tribes of the
North Pacific coast of America and Asia, to determine their early
relations with each other. Between 1897 and 1903 a number of ex-
peditions were sent into the field, and the tribes of the North Pacific
coast, beginning in the west with the Amur River in Siberia, including
the various native tribes between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Arctic
Sea, and the peoples of Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington
were investigated. The collections brought home by the eleven
collectors make up a very considerable portion of the ethnological
collection of the Department. The scientific results are extensive,
and important contributions to our knowledge of these tribes have
been published in the ‘‘Memoirs” of the Museum. The expense of
the publications, which will fill twelve volumes, was also provided
for by Mr. Jesup.

The following summary gives by locality the principal collections
which the Museum now possesses:

NORTH AMERICA
ARCHAOLOGY

The accession of the Terry collection of 26,000 specimens, the
Douglass collection of 23,000, together with the Davis and Jones col-
lections, and other smaller ones, provided excellent general archeo-
logical material from several localities, but it did not represent the
archeology of any definite area exhaustively, so one of the first under-
takings was to send collectors to carry on researches in a few typical
fields.

Archeological investigations in New York State—more particu-
larly in the vicinity of New York City—were begun in 1895 and carried
on for a number of years. Much of the expense of this work was

[89 ]

Jesup North
Pacific
Expedition,
1897-1903,
$60,070.

Publications
Jesup North
Pacific
Expedition,
$25,000.

New York
State.

Booth Arche-
ological
Collection.

New Jersey.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

defrayed by friends of the Museum: Mr. Theodore Cooper provided
the funds for the explorations at Pelham Bay in 1899, and Mr. William
R. Warren the same year provided for the other local work. Other
contributors toward the field work were Mr. Charles Pryer, Mrs.
Esther Herrman, and Mr. Henry E. Pickering.

In the material obtained are found collections of human remains,
implements, utensils, etc., from an Indian burial place in Tottenville,
Staten Island; Indian skeletons, pottery, stone implements, and vari-
ous objects of Indian make from an Indian burial place at Croton
Neck; various objects from shell heaps and Indian village sites in
Westchester and Rockland Counties; implements, ete., from Indian
sites in Schoharie County; Indian skeletons and other material from
village sites and burial places on Long Island. The collectors in the
field at various times were Messrs. Harlan I. Smith, George H. Pepper,
Frank Wallace, 1895; M. Raymond Harrington, 1899-1903; Marshall
H. Saville, 1899-1907; Alanson Skinner, 1907. '

A recent accession to the New York State series is the Booth
Archeological Collection, numbering 1,154 catalogued specimens, pre-
sented by Mr. Henry M. Booth. It was gathered almost entirely
from the Hudson River valley in and between Westchester County
and Albany, and well represents the prehistoric culture of the Al-
gonkin Indians of that region.

Explorations were carried on along the Delaware River near
Trenton, New Jersey, for several years, to investigate carefully the
question which had arisen regarding the antiquity of man in the
Delaware valley.

The most important discoveries were the remains of several skele-
tons unearthed from clay belonging to the glacial deposits and a human
femur in the vicinity of which were also found an elk bone and frag-
ments of the musk-ox. In addition to these there were discovered
several pieces of stone which show evidence of human workmanship
that cannot be doubted, which seems to establish the fact that America
was inhabited by men during Glacial time. The research was begun
in 1893 by Mr. Ernest Volk with funds provided by the Duke of

[90 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

Loubat; and continued from 1898 to 1903 through the liberality of
Dr. F. E. Hyde.

The mounds and burial places of Mason County, Kentucky, were
explored by Mr. Harlan I. Smith in 1895, while similar work was
carried on in Licking County, Ohio, by Dr. George A. Dorsey and
Mr. C. L. Metz in 1895, resulting in the addition of an important series
from these regions.

The ancient inhabitants of the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona,
and the cliff dwellings of Colorado and Utah are well represented in the
Museum’s collections. For this material the Museum is largely in-
debted to the Messrs. B. Talbot B. Hyde and Frederick E. Hyde, Jr.,
whose desire that the Museum should have an extensive and authentic
collection from the cliff houses, ancient pueblos, burial caves, and
mounds led to their supporting expeditions in New Mexico, Arizona,
Utah, and Colorado, covering a period of several years. The result
included a large series of archeological objects from the pueblos and
skeletons from the prehistoric Pueblo Bonito and other ruins and
burial places of New Mexico, and prehistoric objects from burial caves
in Utah. The field work was in charge of the Curator of the Depart-
ment of Anthropology, Prof. F. W. Putnam. Members of the expedi-
tion at various times were Mr. F. E. Hyde, Jr., Mr. Richard Wetherell,
Prof. R. E. Dodge, Dr. A. Hrdlicka, F. W. Putnam, G. H. Pepper, W.
Orchard. In addition to the results obtained by their expeditions,
the Messrs. Hyde have purchased and presented several important col-
lections; one of great scientific interest was that collected by Mr.
Richard Wetherell from the cliff houses and caves of the Grand Gulch
region of Utah. It contained mummies and funeral objects of a
people evidently distinct from, and who probably preceded the build-
ers of the ancient stone pueblos and cliff houses. The accessions from
the southwest also include a collection of pottery from the modern
pueblos, gathered by Mr. Pepper on an expedition in 1903, which was
financed by Messrs. B. T. B. Hyde, F. E. Hyde, Jr., and Robert
W. de Forest.

[91]

Ohio and
Kentucky.

Southwest.

B. T. B. Hyde
and F. E.
Hyde, Jr.,
Expedition.

North
American
Indian
Research
Fund

Expedition,

1899-1907.

Indians of
the Plains.

Indians of
California.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

ETHNOLOGY

Researches among the Indian tribes of North America were begun
in 1899 under the North American Research Fund which was estab-
lished through the liberality of Mrs. Morris K. Jesup, Mr. C. P. Hunt-
ington, and Mr. Henry Villard. Later the funds for continuing this
work were provided by Mr. Archer M. Huntington, Mrs. Arabella
Huntington, and Mr. Morris K. Jesup. Special attention was given
to the ancient customs which were rapidly disappearing. The decora-
tive art was also carefully studied by all the collectors, and the Museum
now possesses an unrivaled collection illustrating primitive art. Col-
lections were obtained from the Eskimo of Baffin Bay and Hudson
Bay, and the following tribes in western United States, Canada, and
British Columbia; the Sioux, Sauk, Fox, Comanche, Ute, Blackfoot,
Gros Ventres, Assiniboine, Maidu, Arapaho, Pitt River, Shasta, Yurok,
Crow, Alsea, Shoshone, Ojibwa, and Iroquois.

Another important investigation—the study of the Shoshone
and Algonkin tribes — was carried on jointly for the Museum and
the Bureau of American Ethnology, by Mr. H. St. Clair and Mr. Wm.
Jones. The ethnological work was done for the Museum, while the
linguistic researches, largely based on records of tribal traditions,
were made for the Bureau of Ethnology.

The collections from the Plains Indians have been made largely
from the point of view of illustrating their decorative art and cere-
monials. The tribes included in the Plains culture are the Blackfoot,
Cheyenne, Arapaho, Gros Ventres, Sioux, and Shoshone. The ex-
hibition series from the Arapaho is especially complete and contains
among other things life-sized models of the Arapaho dressed in the
regalia used in the various dances. Of special interest in the Black-
foot collection is the Medicine Man’s tepee, which was obtained by Dr.
Clark Wissler in 1904.

The culture of the Indians of California is shown particularly by
their baskets, of which the Museum has gathered a very extensive
collection—the exhibition series alone taking up half of one of our

[92]

ANTHROPOLOGY

exhibition halls. One of the largest gifts to the basketry collection
was received in 1901 from Mr. George Foster Peabody. It contained
435 baskets made by the Indians of California, Oregon, Washington,
Alaska, and British Columbia, constituting what is known as the
“Briggs Collection.”’

Other large contributors are Messrs. Archer M. Huntington and
J. G. Phelps Stokes, and Mmes. Frank L. Cross, T. KX. Gibbs, and C. P.
Huntington. The tribes by which the baskets were made are the
Maidu, Pomo, and Mission, the examples of each of which fill several
cases, also the Moquehumnian, Yana, and Wylakie, Yokuts, Shasta,
Pitt River, and Hat Creek, Modoc, and Hupa. Other material was
collected from the California Indians under the North American Re-
search I'und.

The tribes of New Mexico and Arizona were visited by members of
the Hyde Expedition, who secured a collection illustrating particularly
the ceremonials and industries of the Hopi and Navajo, and the bas-
ketry of the Apache, Pima, and Papago Indians. The physical an-
thropological collection contained 80 plaster casts, over 500 negatives,
and measurements of more than 900 Zuni, Moki, Navajo, Ute, and
Apache Indians.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

The extensive collections of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition
embrace specimens illustrating the archeology of the interior and
the coast of British Columbia, and the ethnology of the most im-
portant tribes of that region—the Thompson River Indians, the
Bella Coola, the Kwakiutl, and the Nootka.

The archeological survey of the Thompson River Region was
begun by Mr. Harlan I. Smith for the Jesup North Pacific Expedition
in 1897 and continued through 1899. Extensive excavations were
conducted near Kamloops and Lytton, where numerous remains of
previous inhabitants were discovered. Almost all of the finds ante-
date the advent of the whites, and give an excellent insight into the
culture of the people of that period. The shell mounds on the Lower

[93 ]

Briggs
Collection.

The
Southwest.

Jesup North
Pacific
Expedition.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Frazer River, and prehistoric stone monuments of Vancouver Island
were also studied by Mr. Smith, resulting in many valuable additions
to the Museum’s collection.

The ethnological research among the Indians of British Columbia
was carried on by Dr. Franz Boas and Messrs. Livingston Farrand and
Harlan I. Smith, assisted by the Messrs. James Teit, George Hunt,
Filip Jacobsen, and John R. Swanton. The information which they
succeeded in obtaining regarding the art, traditions, ceremonies,
and industries, together with the large collections to illustrate them,
form a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the peoples of that
region.

The collection from the Tsimshian and the Haida of northern
British Columbia contains many paintings and totem poles which
illustrate fully the use of the crest and the representation of family
traditions on the carvings. There are also many masks and other
ceremonial objects. The material collected from the Haida sup-
plements that presented by Mr. Heber R. Bishop in 1882, which
together form a very complete collection, illustrating the ethnology
of the Queen Charlotte Islands. In the collection from the Bella
Coola of Central British Columbia there is a fine set of ceremonial
masks illustrating all the important deities of the tribes. A very full
collection from the Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island contains a large
number of ceremonial masks, together with objects illustrating the
industries, fishing implements, etc. The Nootka and Coast Salish of
Vancouver Island are also well represented. From the latter we have
a fine collection of basketry.

ALASKA

The ethnology of the Tlingit Indians of southern Alaska is fully
illustrated in the 4,000 specimens acquired through the purchase of
the Emmons collections, already noted. The collection from the
Tlingit contains numerous masks and other ceremonial objects, and a
great number of excellent old pieces of superior workmanship. A
recent addition to the Tlingit collection was the gift of Mr. Adolph

[94 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

Lewisohn. This comprises a number of baskets and a complete sha-
man’s outfit.

The Athapascan Indians of the Lower Yukon region are repre-
sented in the collections made under the North American Research
Fund by Mr. John W. Chapman, a resident missionary of Anvik,
Alaska.

This Museum stands preéminent among all institutions along the
lines of ethnological research amid Arctic peoples. The whole culture
of the Eskimo tribes, with the exception of East Greenland, is repre-
sented in the collections. Material from the Siberian Eskimo was
secured by the Jesup North Pacific Expedition; the tribes from the
northwest coast of Alaska are represented in the Emmons collection;
a collection from the Mackenzie River region was obtained by Mr. An-
drew J. Stone; Captain George Comer made extensive collections in King
William Land, the north coast of Hudson Bay, Melville Peninsula,
Baffin Land at the extreme north end of Fox Channel, and South-
ampton Island. The Cumberland Sound region of Baffin Land is
represented in the Mutch collection. The material from Grant Land,
Ellesmere Land and North Greenland was collected by Commander
Peary, while Holstensborg and Discoe Islands off the southwest shore
of Greenland are represented in a collection presented by Mr. G. Fred-
erick Norton.

Captain George Comer has been collecting ethnological material
for the Museum during his extensive whaling cruises. His last ship-
ment, received in 1908, consisted of 308 specimens which he had
gathered around Hclipse Sound and Baffin Bay.

Through Mr. Jesup’s relation with the Peary Relief Expedition of
1895, the Museum received the anthropological material gathered
by Commander Peary in the Arctic. The collection, which provided
material for several groups, contained canoes, sleds, sealskin tents,
costumes, firearms, and implements used in the chase and in the daily
life of the Eskimo. 3

The material brought back in 1906 was the gift of the Peary Arctic
Club. The sledge which Mr. Peary had christened the ‘Morris K.

[95]

Eskimo
Collection.

Peary Relief
Expedition,
1895.

Stefansson-
Anderson
Expedition.

Mural

Decorations.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Jesup,” with the help of which the farthest north record was reached,
was received in this collection.

The Eskimo along the shores of the Beaufort Sea and among the
islands east of the mouth of the Mackenzie River are being studied by
Mr. V. Stefansson and Dr. R. M. Anderson, who left on a Museum
expedition in the spring of 1908, to remain in the field for two or three
years.

One of the prominent features of the Eskimo Hall is the mural
decoration, the funds for which have been generously contributed by
Mr. Arthur Curtiss James. The paintings on the northern end of the
hall, but recently completed, are the work of Mr. Frank Wilbert
Stokes, who, as a member of the Peary Relief Expedition of 1892 and
of the Peary North Greenland Expedition of 1893 and 1894, made
careful studies of the Eskimo people and their country. On the
north wall is the largest picture of the series, a continuous panorama
sixty feet long, on which is portrayed the artist’s conception of the
Eskimo myth of the ‘‘Sun and the Moon.” The three panels on the
east wall represent Eskimo life as it goes on during the Arctic night,
while three more on the west wall picture it during the long Arctic day.

In 1908 the Museum sent Dr. Robert H. Lowie to the Athabascan
region, in the northernmost part of the province of Alberta, Canada,
a region which had not been investigated and which was not repre-
sented in the collections. Dr. Lowie secured data on the mythology
and prehistoric culture of the Chippewyan Indians.

James Bay and western Labrador were visited by Mr. Alanson
Skinner on an expedition in 1908. This was the Museum’s first ex-
pedition into this field. An interesting ethnological collection, num-
bering 149 pieces, was obtained from the Cree Indians, together with
much new and valuable information regarding their religious and
social customs.

[96 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

ARCHAOLOGY

Through the interest and generous support of the Duke of Loubat,
and the expeditions and purchases of the Museum, the Museum has
gathered a collection of Mexican and Central American archeology
which offers unrivaled opportunities for the study of the ancient
civilization of this portion of America.

The exhibition material occupies an entire hall—named the Loubat
Hall, in honor of the Duke of Loubat. It is arranged to illustrate the
six different cultures—all pre-Columbian—the Mayan, the Nahuan
‘“‘Aztec,” the Mixtecan-Zapotecan, the Tarascas, the Totonacan, and
the South Central American.

The gifts of the Duke of Loubat include casts of prehistoric sculptures
from the Valley of Mexico, Chiapas, Yucatan, Guatemala, and Hon-
duras; pottery and other antiques from Mexico and Guatemala;
reproduction of books of ancient Mexican picture writing and hiero-
glyphics, among them a photographic copy of the ‘‘Codex Legislatif,”’
an ancient Aztec book preserved in the Library of the Chambers of
Deputies, Paris, and heretofore practically inaccessible for reference;
and the restoration of the Sanctuary of the Temple of the Cross, at
Palenque, Mexico.

Among the collections which the Museum has acquired through
its expeditions and purchases, are terra-cotta figures and stone idols
from West Central Mexico; original stone sculptures, principally from
the ruins of Copan, Honduras; pottery vessels, terra-cotta figures,
sculptured stones, weapons, and ornaments from Mexico and Central
America, and a collection of copper, gold, and carved jadeite objects
which surpasses that in any other museum.

A concession was granted by the Mexican Government early in
1896 enabling the Museum to establish archeological research in
Mexico and Yucatan. By the terms of the contract, the Museum
was permitted to retain all objects found which were duplicates.
The explorations under this concession were in charge of Mr. Marshall

[97 ]

Loubat
Collection.

Museum
Collection.

Mexican
Concession.

Loubat and
Museum
Expedition,
1896.

Loubat
Expedition,
1898,
1900-1903.

Lumholtz

Expeditions,

1892-1900,
$13,960.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

H. Saville, who secured scientific data and exhibition material of great
importance. The ruins of Mitla were explored, also those of Xoxo
and Monte Alban in Oaxaca, and Xochicalco in Morelos. The casts
taken provided the Museum with the splendid series of reproductions,
made at the expense of the Duke of Loubat, which show the art of
stone carving and the mythology as illustrated in the sculpture of
the various cultures.

The Duke of Loubat maintained an expedition in Mexico during
1898 and in 1900-1903 under the direction of Mr. M. H. Saville. It
was during this time that the Cruciform Structure Guiaroo, near the
ruins of Mitla, a model of which is at the Museum, was explored.

Explorations among the Indian tribes of the Sierra Madre Mountains
in Mexico were carried on for almost four years by Dr. Carl Lum-
holtz. Material was collected illustrating the life and customs of the
Cora, Huichol, Tarasco, Tarahumaras, and Tepehuana Indians. A
full series of ceremonial objects was obtained, together with data
showing their meaning. Photographs illustrating the types and
ceremonies, together with graphophone records of seventy Indian
songs, made the collection complete and of great value. In 1898
Dr. Ales Hrdlicka accompanied Dr. Lumholtz to collect material for
comparative study of the past and present tribes of eastern Mexico.
He made a series of anthropometrical records and observations on
the physical character of several of the Indian tribes. Plaster casts
were taken of twenty-six Tarahumaras and Huichols, and a number
of human skeletons and skulls secured from burial places and caves.
The notes and records obtained on this expedition proved of great
value and interest and formed the basis for two Memoirs and various
BULLETIN articles. These explorations were begun with funds given by
Mr. Henry Villard, and later continued through the help of several
friends of the Museum, among them Messrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt,
Austin Corbin, Henry Marquand, and James H. Jones, and Dr. William
Pepper.

[98 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

COSTA RICA

The Museum has an excellent exhibit illustrating the archeology
of Costa Rica. The nucleus of it was the collection made by Dr.
Francis C. Nicholas on an expedition in 1899, which was financed by
Messrs. William Mack, Willard Brown, I. McI. Strong, and R. P.
Doremus. Through an exchange in 1908 the collection was enriched
by the addition of over 150 specimens of pottery and stone objects,
among which are some very rare forms. Another exchange with the
Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh added a few new forms and furnished
a rather complete series of small stone objects, especially amulets,
beads of jadite, and other stones.

The ethnology of the Costa Rican Indians is illustrated in a col-
lection obtained by Dr. Nicholas in 1901.

HONDURAS

An expedition to Honduras was made in codperation with the
Peabody Museum of Cambridge, the Peabody Museum having a con-
cession from the government of Honduras permitting archeological
researches. The work, which was in charge of Mr. George Byron
Gordon, was carried on at the prehistoric ruins of Capan, and as its
portion of the finds the Museum received a number of interesting
sculptures in stone, besides a collection of small objects in pottery
and stone. A series of molds were taken of the sculptures and hiero-
glyphs of the great stairway of the temple in Capan, and facsimiles
made for this Museum through funds provided by the Duke of Loubat.
The Museum’s share of the expedition’s expense was subscribed for
by the Duke of Loubat and Messrs. William C. Whitney and Morris K.
Jesup.

OTHER COUNTRIES

Through the interest and generous support of the patrons of the
Department of Anthropology, the Museum has acquired important
collections from South America, northeastern Siberia, China, Africa,

[99 ]

Joint Ex-
pedition of
Peabody
Museum and
American
Museum of
Natural
History,
1894,

Loubat and
Museum
Expedition,
1896.

Loubat
Expedition,
1898,
1900-1903.

Lumholtz

Expeditions,

1892-1900,
$13,960.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

H. Saville, who secured scientific data and exhibition material of great
importance. The ruins of Mitla were explored, also those of Xoxo
and Monte Alban in Oaxaca, and Xochicalco in Morelos. The casts
taken provided the Museum with the splendid series of reproductions,
made at the expense of the Duke of Loubat, which show the art of
stone carving and the mythology as illustrated in the sculpture of
the various cultures.

The Duke of Loubat maintained an expedition in Mexico during
1898 and in 1900-1903 under the direction of Mr. M. H. Saville. It
was during this time that the Cruciform Structure Guiaroo, near the
ruins of Mitla, a model of which is at the Museum, was explored.

Explorations among the Indian tribes of the Sierra Madre Mountains
in Mexico were carried on for almost four years by Dr. Carl Lum-
holtz. Material was collected illustrating the life and customs of the
Cora, Huichol, Tarasco, Tarahumaras, and Tepehuana Indians. A
full series of ceremonial objects was obtained, together with data
showing their meaning. Photographs illustrating the types and
ceremonies, together with graphophone records of seventy Indian
songs, made the collection complete and of great value. In 1898
Dr. Ales Hrdlicka accompanied Dr. Lumholtz to collect material for
comparative study of the past and present tribes of eastern Mexico.
He made a series of anthropometrical records and observations on
the physical character of several of the Indian tribes. Plaster casts
were taken of twenty-six Tarahumaras and Huichols, and a number
of human skeletons and skulls secured from burial places and caves.
The notes and records obtained on this expedition proved of great
value and interest and formed the basis for two Memoirs and various
BuLueETIN articles. These explorations were begun with funds given by
Mr. Henry Villard, and later continued through the help of several
friends of the Museum, among them Messrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt,
Austin Corbin, Henry Marquand, and James H. Jones, and Dr. William
Pepper.

[98 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

COSTA RICA

The Museum has an excellent exhibit illustrating the archeology
of Costa Rica. The nucleus of it was the collection made by Dr.
Francis C. Nicholas on an expedition in 1899, which was financed by
Messrs. William Mack, Willard Brown, I. McI. Strong, and R. P.
Doremus. Through an exchange in 1908 the collection was enriched
by the addition of over 150 specimens of pottery and stone objects,
among which are some very rare forms. Another exchange with the
Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh added a few new forms and furnished
a rather complete series of small stone objects, especially amulets,
beads of jadite, and other stones.

The ethnology of the Costa Rican Indians is illustrated in a col-
lection obtained by Dr. Nicholas in 1901.

HONDURAS

An expedition to Honduras was made in codperation with the
Peabody Museum of Cambridge, the Peabody Museum having a con-
cession from the government of Honduras permitting archeological
researches. The work, which was in charge of Mr. George Byron
Gordon, was carried on at the prehistoric ruins of Capan, and as its
portion of the finds the Museum received a number of interesting
sculptures in stone, besides a collection of small objects in pottery
and stone. A series of molds were taken of the sculptures and hiero-
glyphs of the great stairway of the temple in Capan, and facsimiles
made for this Museum through funds provided by the Duke of Loubat.
The Museum’s share of the expedition’s expense was subscribed for
by the Duke of Loubat and Messrs. William C. Whitney and Morris K.
Jesup.

OTHER COUNTRIES

Through the interest and generous support of the patrons of the
Department of Anthropology, the Museum has acquired important
collections from South America, northeastern Siberia, China, Africa,

[99 ]

Joint Ex-
pedition of
Peabody
Museum and
American
Museum of
Natural
History,
1894,

Expedition

to Colombia,

1899-1901.

Schmidt-
Weiss First
Collection,
$3,000.

Schmidt-
Weiss
Second
Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

the Andaman Islands, the Philippine Islands, and the islands of the
Pacific Ocean.

SOUTH AMERICA

The collections from South America are particularly rich in material
illustrating the culture of the prehistoric peoples of Peru and Bolivia.
The recent acquisition of a collection from the Indians of the Amazon
River region greatly increased our representation of the modern
tribes, so that now our collections illustrate, to some degree at least,
South American ethnology from Colombia to Terra del Fuego.

The collections from Colombia include a general exhibition series
arranged to show the life and industries, and a large collection of
objects in pottery, stone, and shell, a great part of which was collected
by Dr. Francis C. Nicholas on an expedition maintained by Mr. Morris
K. Jesup in 1899-1901. A large number of archxological specimens
from ancient tombs in Santa Marta, and interesting material from the
Goajira Indians were in the collection made by Dr. Nicholas.

The entire collection made by Mr. Hermann Schmidt and Mr.
Louis Weiss among the Tukano Indians along the Rio Caiary-Uaupés,
the most important tributary of the Rio Negro, was secured for the
Museum by Mr. Jesup in 1907. The collection contains five hundred
ethnological specimens, an extensive vocabulary of the languages,
drawings of the painted figures found on rocks, and a number of folk
tales. In the collection are about 300 pieces of feather work, such
as head dresses, waistbands, ornaments for the legs and arms, and
plumes to be carried in the hand. There are also spears, shields,
bows, arrows, blow-guns with their poisoned arrows, fishtraps of
basketry, and a variety of baskets and pottery vessels, together with
various musical instruments.

The representation of the modern tribes of Colombia was very
recently increased by the purchase of the second Schmidt-Weiss col-
lection. It was gathered among the Indians of the Isana River region,
and numbers almost 300 pieces.

The archeological series was greatly enlarged in 1908 by an ex-

[ 100 }

ANTHROPOLOGY

change with the Carnegie Museum. The accessions from Colombia
also include 150 pieces of curious black ware, gathered by Mr. Frederick
I’. Sharpless from graves on ancient burial sites in the Cauca valley,
and a few pieces of the same type given by Dr. Francis C. Nicholas.

From ancient Peru, which comprised what is now the Republic of
Peru and the greater part of Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile, has been
gathered a wonderful collection which illustrates the highest stage of
civilization attained in prehistoric time in South America. The col-
lection is the result of eleven years’ field work by Dr. Adolph F. Bande-
lier, in the Lake Titicaca region while on a Museum expedition between
1892 and 1903. The expedition was begun under the patronage of
Mr. Henry Villard, and continued since 1894 by the Museum. The
pottery obtained from ancient graves along the coast and interior of
Peru fills several cases, while several more are filled by a general
collection showing the industries, decorative art, amusements—
especially musical instruments—and burial customs. There are many
skulls of the ancient Peruvians showing various forms of trepanation,
artificial deformation, the effects of injuries and pathological condi-
tions, and normal forms.

From prehistoric sites on the Islands of Lake Titicaca, in Peru and
Bolivia, was gathered the valuable Garces Collection, which was
received in 1896 as a gift from Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. The col-
lection numbered about 500 pieces, and contained objects in gold,
silver, copper, and bronze, pottery vessels, wooden vases, and gar-
ments.

The importance of the Peruvian exhibit was greatly increased
by the acquisition in 1901 of the Gaffron archzological collection, the
gift of Mr. Morris K. Jesup. It is especially rich in textile fabrics,
in featherwork, ornaments of silver and gold, vessels of beaten silver,
and pottery.

Brazil, both ancient and modern, is illustrated in the accessions
from that country. Three of the present-day Indian tribes—the
Tukano, the Karaja, and the Mundruchu, are represented, while
from ancient Brazil we have the Rempen Collection of pottery, gath-

[ 101 }

Expedition
to Peru,
1892-1903.

Garces
Collection,
$4,072.

Gaffron
Collection,
$3,200.

Brazil.

Rempen
Collection.

Ecuador,
Bolivia,
Chile.

Paraguay.

Patagonia
and Terra
del Fuego.

Jesup North
Pacific
Expedition
Collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

ered from a burial mound on the Island of Marajo in the Amazon
River.

The culture of the-ancient inhabitants of Ecuador, Bolivia, and
Chile is shown in a general collection illustrating the house life, in-
dustries, amusements, decorative art, modes of personal adornment,
and religious and other ceremonies.

Of special interest among the specimens are the shrunken human
heads—war trophies of the Jivaros Indians of Ecuador—and the
mummified body from Chile, which was found in a copper mine at
Chuquicamata. A very large collection of ancient pottery has been
gathered from Bolivia, and some from Ecuador.

Paraguay is represented by an interesting collection of feather-
work, basketry, ornaments, and weapons.

Among the collections from the southern extremity of South
America are a several pieces of featherwork made by the Canoe
(Yokgar) Indians of Terra del Fuego, and a painted “capa” from Punta
Arenas, the latter recently given by Dr. Charles H. Townsend. On a
Museum expedition in 1899-1900 Mr. Barnum Brown collected material
which illustrates, to some extent, the culture and physical character-
istics of several rapidly diminishing tribes of Patagonia and Terra
del Fuego, from the Onas Yalegans, and especially the Tehuelches, who
are noted for their height.

SIBERIA

Extensive collections from the isolated tribes of northeastern
Siberia were acquired through the Jesup North Pacific Expedition.
The tribes studied by Mr. Waldemar Jochelson and Mr. Waldemar
Bogoras, to whom this part of the work was intrusted, include the
Chuckchee of the extreme northeastern part of Siberia, the Koryak
of the north coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and along the Bering Sea, the
Kamchadal of the Peninsula of Kamchatka, the Yukaghir and
Tungus along the Arctic Ocean, the Yakut in the Lena River region,
and the Tungus along the Sea of Okhotsk, also the Yukaghir and
Churantzep.

[ 102 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

The collections obtained embrace some 8,000 objects illustrating
the life, customs, beliefs, and culture of the various tribes; seventy-
four plaster casts of faces; skulls and archeological specimens from
graves and abandoned village sites; also 450 tales and traditions,
texts in the various languages, phonographic records, and hundreds
of photographs.

CHINA

For the Chinese exhibit the Museum is indebted to the members
of the East Asiatic Committee, which was organized in 1901 for the
purpose of acquiring and disseminating knowledge of the peoples of
eastern Asia. The formation was initiated by Mr. Morris K. Jesup
and Mr. Jacob H. Schiff. The plan included extensive research among
the Chinese, and collections and studies on the products and culture
of the Philippine Islands and the Malay region in general, and the
publication of studies relating to East Asiatic subjects. The sum of
$18,000 was donated by Mr. Jacob H. Schiff for making collections
and investigations in China, and a further sum of $6,850 was con-
tributed for the other work by Messrs. Edward D. Adams, Cornelius
N. Bliss, Henry C. Frick, Edward H. Harriman, George A. Hearn,
Morris K. Jesup, Clarence H. Mackay, Jacob H. Schiff, James H.
Smith, and Samuel Thorne. The funds subscribed for the work in
the Philippines were insufficient and therefore were devoted toward
making available the material collected in China. With the $18,000
provided by Mr. Jacob H. Schiff the work of making collections and
investigations in China was begun in 1901, Dr. Berthold Laufer having
been appointed to carry out the plans of the committee. Dr. Laufer
remained in China nearly three years and made a systematic col-
lection which covers the various aspects of the social and industrial
life, and gives a comprehensive view of Chinese culture. The col-
lections, now installed in the Southwest Corner Hall, are arranged
so as to illustrate the industrial and domestic life of the Chinese, their
amusements, religion, and arts.

From Chefoo, China, comes a collection of about 150 specimens,

[ 103 }

East Asiatic
Committee.

Jacob H.
Schiff
Chinese
Expedition,
1901-1904,
$18,000.

Andaman
Islands.

Seton-Karr
Collection.

Stokes
Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

acquired through exchange in 1902. It contains a large number of
painted scrolls, besides wearing apparel and ornaments, and objects
used in religious ceremonials.

INDIA

The life and industries of the natives of the Andaman Islands, in
the Bay of Bengal, are illustrated in the Anderson collection, which
was presented by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup in 1908. Among the 251
pieces in the collection are various implements of war and the chase,
specimens of basketry, pottery, and ornaments, and a fine example of
a Ghost House.

A recent accession from India is a series of 71 palzolithic imple-
ments from the Madras Presidency, India. They were found and
presented by Mr. H. W. Seton-Karr, and are interesting as coming
from a country archeologically little known. In addition to these
are some axes from the vicinity of Banda, also received through the
kindness of Mr. Seton-Karr.

A valuable collection of silver work from the Central Provinces of
India was presented in 1906 by Mr. J. G. Phelps Stokes.

KOREA

The Museum has an interesting collection illustrating the ethnology
of Korea which was gathered by Dr. C. C. Vinton at various times.
More than 275 specimens were received in his shipments of 1907 and
1908.

JAPAN

A very complete representation of the culture of the Ainu, from
the Island of Yezo, Japan, has been acquired, largely through the
liberality of Mr. Arthur Curtiss James. A collection presented by
him in 1898 included ornaments, utensils, weapons, and other objects
illustrating the customs of the Ainu. It was supplemented in 1901
by the material gathered by Prof. Bashford Dean and purchased by
Mr. James. It comprised religious and ceremonial specimens, and a

[ 104 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

series of photographs relating to the Ainu. Other;Ainu material
was collected by Dr. Laufer while at work for the Jesup North Pacific
Expedition.

AFRICA

The African material which the Museum possesses comprises col-
lections which will probably, in a comparatively few years, be unique
and of inestimable value.

As a result of negotiations carried on early in 1907 the Belgian
Government has presented to the Museum four large collections from
the Congo Free State, containing more than 3,908 specimens illus-
trating the customs, culture, and development of the natives of the
Congo. It contains many examples of native ironwork, basketry,
wood-carving, musical instruments, and many fetiches, masks, and
other objects illustrating the beliefs and observances of the aborigines.

Another large collection for the African hall was acquired in 1907
through the generosity of Messrs. Percy R. Pyne, Cleveland H. Dodge,
and Arthur Curtiss James. It was gathered by Mr. Richard Douglass
on an expedition to Barotseland, South Africa, and contains about

5,000 specimens illustrating the basketry, weaving, pottery, musical

instruments, weapons, etc., of the natives.

More than 200 ethnological specimens from British East Africa,
gathered by Mr. Richard Tjader, were received in 1907. Metal work,
bead work, wearing apparel, household objects, musical instruments,
and a large number of baskets make up the collection.

The Raff Collection of wood-carvings from the tribes of western
Africa was acquired by purchase in 1902. The objects are mostly of
religious or ceremonial character.

The fast-disappearing culture of some of the tribes of Central
Africa is illustrated in a collection which was received in 1903 as a
gift from Mr. George 8. Bowdoin. It contained implements of war-
fare, idols, fetiches, and masks, clothing, baskets, and musical instru-
ments, household utensils of bamboo, ornaments of beads, shell, and
brass, and seven carved ivory tusks.

[ 105 ]

The Congo.

British
South Africa.

Douglass
Collection,
$5,000.

British
East Africa.

Central
Africa, Raff
Collection.

Bowdoin
Collection.

Archeology.

Philippine
Island
Collection.

Hawaii.

Hawaiian
Cape,
$2,500.

Sumatra.

Samoan
Islands.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Among the objects from Benin, East Africa, there are many bronze
figures, ornaments, and tusk stands. Of great interest and value are
the four carved ivory tusks, presented by Mr. Archer M. Huntington
in 1908.

From Mediterranean Africa, the Museum has long possessed a
representative series of flaked material, secured by Mr. Andrew E.
Douglass through the kindness of M. Jacques de Morgan. In addition
there are a few stone implements from Somali Land, presented by
Mr. H. W. Seton-Karr. Recently this nucleus has been augmented
by a series of prehistoric flints from ancient village sites in the Fayam
Desert, apparently belonging to a later period, probably the Neolithic.

ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

The Museum’s collection illustrating Philippine ethnology is the
largest and most complete in existence. “Most of it was contained
in the Philippine Exhibit at the St. Louis Exposition, a large part of
which was purchased by Mr. Morris K. Jesup and presented to the
Museum in 1905. The collection represents the life and industries
of all the important tribes. It includes clothing and textile fabrics,
household utensils, agricultural implements, fish and game traps, arms,
houses, articles of manufacture, and boats and other means of trans-
portation.

The Philippine Exhibit was further enlarged in 1908 by 113 speci-
mens collected by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, and a large collection of swords,
knives, and spears, presented by Mr. Charles H. Senff.

The most important specimen in the Hawaiian material is an
elaborate feather war cape, known as the ‘‘Curran Cape,’’ presented
by Mr. George S. Bowdoin in 1908.

A small ethnological collection was made by Mr. Rudolf Weber
on a Museum expedition to the east coast of Sumatra in 1894.

A general idea of the culture of the Samoan Island peoples is shown
in the Zimmermann collection containing 99 specimens, purchased in
1906. Among other things it contains a complete outfit for the manu-

[ 106 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

facture of ‘‘tapa”’ cloth, several handsome pieces of finished cloth, and
a number of costumes, household utensils and other implements.

The life and customs of the various tribes in Central Australia
are represented by 200 specimens which were gathered on the Spencer-
Gillen Expedition of the National Museum of Melbourne, and acquired
by this Museum through exchange.

One of the most interesting exhibits from New Zealand is the
Robley Collection of Maori heads which was presented to the Museum
in 1907 by Mr. Jesup. Major-General G. Robley of the British Army,
who made the collection, took an active part in the Maori campaign of
1864-66 and spent several subsequent years in the country. Gen.
Robley was an enthusiastic collector, and was especially interested
in everything that related to the old-time method of tattooing. He
succeeded in bringing together thirty-three very fine examples of the
tattooed heads, with the implements, pigments, funnel and all other
accessories used during the process, making this the largest and most
complete collection in existence illustrating the ancient art of ‘‘Moco”’
or Maori tattooing. The practice of tattooing among the Maori ceased
to exist over a generation ago, and the heads are now extremely scarce,
so that Mr. Jesup’s gift was one of special scientific interest and im-
portance.

An ethnological collection from the Fiji Islands was received in
1907 through the liberality of Mrs. Morris Kk. Jesup. It was gathered
by Mr. John William Waters during forty years’ residence on the
Islands, and is especially valuable in that it represents the life of the
Fijians before they had become acquainted with iron and its uses.
The collection comprises about 1,800 specimens, including household
utensils and implements of war and the chase, made of stone, turtle-
shell and wood.

A good insight into the culture of the natives of New Guinea, New
Ireland, and Marshall Islands is obtained from the Finch Collection,
the work of Dr. Otto Finch, which was purchased in 1898. It num-
bers 2,144 pieces, and includes casts of faces and samples of hair of
the natives, besides about 300 explanatory drawings.

[107]

Australia.

New
Zealand.

Robley
Collection of
Maori Heads,
$6,088.

Fijian
Collection.

Finch
Collection,
$3,000.

Bismarck

Archipelago.

Schroeder
Collection.

New
Hebrides
and New
Caledonia.

Engler
Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Interesting ethnological material from various islands in the
Bismarck Archipelago, brought together by Professor Eugene Schroeder
during many years as a resident there, was purchased in 1908 with
funds provided by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup. Among the most valuable
and striking of objects in the collection are several idols from a Ghost
House; an ancient death drum, and several ceremonial masks. The
collection also contains implements of war and the chase, musical
instruments; personal ornaments, clothing, and household utensils.

A fairly representative collection from the Islands of New Hebrides
and New Caledonia was received in the Engler Collection, presented
by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup in 1908. It contains something over 100
specimens, such as bows, arrows for war and hunting, spears of many
forms, decorated lances, clubs, model of a boat, paddles, baskets,
cloth, pottery, dishes, ornaments, etc.

PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

A series of expeditions devoted to the physical anthropology of
southwestern United States and northern Mexico was carried on for
the Museum by Dr. A. Hrdli¢ka, the means for which were generously
furnished by Mr. Frederick E. Hyde, Jr. The main object was the
acquisition of knowledge of the physical features of the present as
well as the ancient Indian populations over the territory covered
before the advent of the whites by the Cliff Dwellers, Pueblos, and
branches of the Nahuas. The territory covered extends uninter-
ruptedly from southern Utah and Colorado in the United States to
the State of Morelos in Mexico. The material obtained on the four
expeditions comprises measurements of and observations on nearly
3,000 individuals, more than 1,500 photographs, about 300 skulls
and skeletons, 120 facial casts, and about 3,000 ethnological and
archeological specimens.

The Museum now has a collection of types from the North Pacific
Coast, California, Dakota, Smith Sound, New York, Mexico, the
Southwest, Siberia, and Japan.

[ 108 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

An extensive series of typical portrait busts has now been as-
sembled, more than 500 molds having been taken from the various
living types. They represent typical individuals of the North American
tribes, including the Eskimo of the Arctic regions, the Ainu, the
Chinese, the Japanese, and several Siberian tribes. Molds from the
Philippine, African, and South American native tribes who were at
the St. Louis Exposition were added in 1904.

Several thousand plaster casts of the palates of feeble-minded
and normal children and adults were presented by Dr. Walter Chan-
ning in 1908. They are of great value in the study of racial characters.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

One of the special collections in the Department of Anthropology
is the Demuth Collection of pipes and smoking materials, brought
together through the generous support of Mr. William Demuth, to show
the various kinds of pipes and smoking materials used throughout
the world.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE
H. E. Bard

Belgian Government
Mrs. Albert Bierstadt

James Douglas
Lieut. G. T. Emmons
Government of Nicaragua

Demuth
Collection.

Heber R. Bishop

Henry Booth

George 8. Bowdoin
Barnum Brown

Dr. Walter Channing
Christian Missions

Miss E. H. Cotheal

Mrs. William De Forest
William Demuth
Andrew Elicott Douglass

Archer M. Huntington
C. P. Huntington

B. T. B. Hyde

Dr. F. E. Hyde

F. EK. Hyde, Jr.

Arthur Curtiss James
Morris K. Jesup

Mrs. Morris K. Jesup
James H. Jones

Dr. Robert H. Lamborn

[ 109

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Adolph Lewisohn Dr. Wm. Pepper
Duke of Loubat Charles H. Senff
Henry G. Marquand Ernest Shernikow
E. P. Mathewson Jacob Schiff
Clarence B. Moore Alanson Skinner
J. Pierpont Morgan Harlan I. Smith
Francis C. Nicholas Henry Villard

George Foster Peabody

[110]

PHYSIOLOGY

animals, particularly to matters pertaining to health and
disease, and the importance of a knowledge of the functions
of the organs of the human body, led to the establishment of the De-
partment of Physiology in 1902. These were subjects which could not
readily be illustrated with known Museum methods of exhibition so

TY: increasing importance of the relation of man to the lower

that a great deal of experimentation in methods of preparation was
necessary before the subject of physiology could be presented to the
public in an interesting and non-repellent way.

The demand for exhibition space for the various departments of
the Museum has been so great that it has not been possible to assign
an exhibition hall to this department. Laboratory work, however,
has progressed very satisfactorily and the Museum’s preparation of
anatomical material has been examined and approved by visiting
scientists. Specimens of the heart have been prepared in such a way
that the action of the ventricular valves is clearly shown. Another
model with a preserved specimen of lungs shows the action of the
diaphragm and its relation to the lungs in the usual process of respira-
tion. Another model in wax and glass demonstrates the function of
the kidney, while a large amount of material illustrating the com-
parative anatomy of man and the lower animals have been pre-
pared.

The increasing attention that is being given to questions of sani-
tation and spread of contagious diseases by municipal, state, and
federal bodies, as well as by many philanthropic organizations, will
result in making a physiological exhibit an integral part of a modern
museum.

[ 111)

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Professor Ralph W. Tower was appointed Curator of the new

Ralph Tower, Department of Physiology upon its organization in 1902. He has

A.B., A.M.,
Ph.D.
1902-

Carl W. F.
Munchehofe,
M.D.
1904-1908.

directed the experimentation in the preservation of anatomical speci-
mens and has also developed the method of preparing skeletons by
the digestion process.

In his laboratory work, Professor Tower was ably assisted by Dr.
Carl W. F. Munchehofe, who was an assistant in this Department
from 1904 to 1908. Dr. Munchehofe had had much experience in
laboratory methods, having worked under Virchow, Huxley, and other
important European scientists, and had acquired a technic especially
applicable to this kind of work. Especially noteworthy are his
corrosion preparations of kidneys, lungs, etc., and the specimen and
apparatus showing the action of the valves of the heart.

[ 112]

PUBLIC EDUCATION

A [*. Department of Public Instruction, although not formally
established until 1884, began its work in 1881. Its first
Curator, Professor Albert S. Bickmore, was one of those in-

strumental in the foundation of the Museum, and it was he who con-

ceived and planned the system to make the Museum a factor of large
usefulness by taking an active part in the education of the pupils of
our public schools.

In 1880 the Trustees addressed a letter to the Commissioner of
the Department of Education, offering a course of lectures, delivered
by Professor Bickmore, in the Museum and et the Museum’s expense,
to the principals and teachers of natural history in the Primary
Schools. The idea met with the hearty approval of the Department
of Education, and in January, 1881, Professor Bickmore was authorized
to prepare a course of lectures on zodlogy. A small work room on
the ‘‘attic floor’ —number 11, now used by the Department of Orni-
thology—was fitted up as a lecture hall. In 1881 the first lecture in
the teachers’ course was delivered by Professor Bickmore before a
class of thirty—all that could be accommodated. This system of
visual instruction, as it was called, proved so successful that the
Museum was requested to provide room for more teachers. The
partition separating an adjoining work room was removed, which
allowed the class to be increased to 150.

A law passed in 1884 placed the work under the State Department
of Public Instruction, with an appropriation of $18,000, ‘‘to establish
and maintain a course of free lectures to the teachers of the common
schools of New York City and to the teachers of the common schools
and normal schools throughout the State, who wish to avail themselves
of this training.” The Department of Public Instruction was at this

[113]

Lectures
on Zoology.

Work under
Grants from
the State.

Law of 1886.

Law of 1888.

Law of 1891.

Law of 1895.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

time officially created, and ten lectures on physiology, zodlogy, and
botany prepared for the first course in the autumn of 1884.

The law as reenacted in 1886, with an appropriation of $18,000
annually for two years, authorized Professor Bickmore to deliver at
least one lecture a year at each of the normal schools, normal colleges,
and training schools in the State, and further provided that the lec-
tures at the Museum should be repeated to ‘‘artisans, mechanics and
other citizens.”’ The latter part of the contract, however, was not
complied with until 1890, when the new lecture hall was in use.

Professor Bickmore traveled abroad extensively to gather the il-
lustrations and data for the series of lectures on travel, the first of
which was given in 1887. They were appreciated to such an extent
that the Trustees had to hire Chickering Hall for the autumn course,
and here Professor Bickmore delivered his lectures before audiences
averaging more than 1,300.

By the law reénacted in 1888, $15,000 annually was appropriated
for the next two years, and the privileges accorded the other institu-
tions were extended to the Teachers’ Institutes of the State.

A new lecture hall, seating 1,002, was opened in the latter part of
1889, and in the following year Professor Bickmore delivered the
first series of the lectures known as the ‘‘Members’ Course,”’ and also
those to the general public, which were given on holidays.

The law providing for the support of the Department failed to be
reénacted in October, 1890, but the work was continued by the
Trustees until January, 1891, when the State made an appropriation
of $15,000 annually for the next four years, and at the same time
entered into an agreement with the Museum by which the Museum
received an extra allowance of $700 per month. In 1893 this was
increased to $750 per month, and the State appropriation for the next
four years was increased to $18,000. The following year, 1894, an
extra $18,000 was appropriated to supply deficiencies of former years.

The system was broadened in 1895 by an act to provide the ‘‘ Visual
Instruction method” to the free common schools of the State, thus
permitting the school superintendents in all towns and villages to use

[114]

PUBLIC EDUCATION

the lectures given by Professor Bickmore at the Museum. $25,000 an-
nually was appropriated for the next four years. The whole system
of Visual Instruction was at this time placed under the supervision of
Professor Bickmore, and a compensation of $1,000 a month granted
for the expenses of inspection, supervision, shipment of material, ete.
$18,000 annually with $1,000 a month extra was appropriated for four
years beginning with 1897, but this was increased to $20,000 annually
in 1899. $12,666.66 was granted in 1900 for deficiencies occasioned
by the transferring of the appropriation bill.

The allowance of $1,000 extra a month was extended for four years
from January, 1901. $38,000 was appropriated for the year 1902,
and the same for 1903. This was the last appropriation made by the
State for the work. The Saturday morning lectures to teachers were
discontinued the following year, and in 1905 Professor Bickmore was
appointed Curator Emeritus, his ill-health necessitating a lightening
of his duties. He was relieved of all active charge in 1906, and Mr.
George H. Sherwood was appointed Curator.

In the Department of Public Instruction is centered all those features
of the Museum work which are instrumental in articulating the work
of the Museum with the public at large and especially with the educa-
tional system of the City. Under this heading are the nature study
collections which are loaned to public schools, the lectures for school
children, the free lectures on holidays, the lectures in conjunction with
the Board of Education, and the opportunities afforded to educators for
work at the Museum and Museum extension work with public libraries
and similar institutions.

With the placing of nature study as a part of the curriculum laid
down by the Board of Education, numerous requests were made to
the Museum by teachers for material to illustrate the course in Nature
Study. To meet these demands the Museum prepared a number of
cabinets of natural history specimens and instituted a system whereby
these were loaned to the schools of the City. When this work was
begun, only ten collections were available, but the demand for them
has become so great that now the Museum has more than 400, and is

F115]

Law of 1901.

George H.
Sherwood,
Curator,
1906-

Circulating
Collections.

Lectures to
School
Children.

Special
Lectures.

Lectures to
the General
Public.

Lectures to
the Public

on Holidays.

Columbia
University
Lectures.

Instructor.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

supplying nearly 400 of the City schools. The collections include birds,
insects, mollusks, crabs, starfishes, worms, sponges, corals, minerals,
and woods.

Museum messengers deliver the collections in a sequence agreeable
to the teacher and call for them at the expiration of the loan period.
In the course of a year, this material reaches from 500,000 to 800,000
school children.

Pursuant to a request of the New York City Teachers’ Association,
the Museum in 1904 arranged for a series of informal lectures to school
children, the purpose of which was to supplement the classroom work
in geography, history, and natural science. These lectures have been
attended by thousands of pupils and have now become a regular part
of the Museum’s educational work.

Further privileges have been extended in connection with the
use of the lantern slides and lecture room. Including the collection of
lantern slides deposited by Professor Bickmore, the Museum possesses
a collection of slides numbering 35,000, of which fully 12,000 are
beautifully colored. Teachers are allowed to select from these slides
to illustrate some topic in connection with their work and arrange
for special lectures to their pupils.

The free lectures to the public, under the joint auspices of the
Museum and the Board of Education, were begun in October, 1900.

The first lecture to the public on holidays was given under the
State Department of Public Instruction on Thanksgiving Day, 1890.
They have been continued since 1904 by the Museum.

The lectures in codperation with Columbia University were begun
in 1892.

In 1906 the Museum appointed an instructor, whose duty it is to
meet classes visiting the Museum and explain to them the exhibits, -
thus enabling them to use their time to the best advantage. A large
number of the schools are making use of the Museum in this way.
Another feature of this work is the children’s room, which was es-
tablished in 1908, and which is under the immediate supervision of the
instructor.

[ 116]

epee it

iy iy s
¥ \.
i Minit lk wdeines Dal
7 ; ;
a
: ene ; sii 4 ‘

Vie: ent 4
i Pieosth
Y “aby

M NVOIMaNY HIYON AO N

WOODS AND FORESTRY

COLLECTION OF NORTH AMERICAN WOODS

NE of the first steps taken by Mr. Jesup, after his election as
President of the Museum, was toward the establishment—

at his own expense and as a gift to the Museum—of a col-
lection showing the natural history and economic features of all
the trees of the United States that could be used for commercial
purposes.

An especially opportune time for making this collection arose when
the Tenth Census of the United States embodied in its work the plan
of a report upon the wood resources of our country. Professor Charles
S. Sargent was engaged as special agent, and Mr. Jesup fortunately
secured his coéperation in the preparation of the collection for the
Museum.

The collection of 420 species was formally presented to the Museum
in 1891, about twelve years having been required to bring it together.
A number of species were at that time lacking, but an expedition sent
out in the fall of 1891 secured all but a very few unimportant ones,
so that the present collection of 3,092 specimens, of which 505 are
on exhibition, is practically complete in its representation of the native
woods of North America, north of Mexico. The trunks of the trees
in the exhibition series are of an average height of five feet, and cut
so as to show vertical, horizontal, and oblique sections, half of each
section being polished.

The foliage, flower, and fruit of each species are illustrated by a
water color sketch, the work of Mrs. Mary Robeson Sargent, and some
also by artificial sprays in natural size and color.

The sections of the California redwood tree and the giant sequoia

[117 ]

Charles
Sprague
Sargent,
LED.
1880.

Mrs. Mary
Robeson
Sargent.

C. G. Pringle.

A. H. Curtiss.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

on exhibition in the Darwin Hall were presented by Mr. C. P. Hunt-
ington in 1891.

A flawless plank of the California redwood, measuring six feet in
width and seventeen feet in length was added to the collection by Mr.
Jesup in 1905.

Specimens of foreign woods were among the very early accessions
of the Museum. They were received in 1876, being portions of ex-
hibits of the different countries at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposi-
tion. Jamaica and Bermuda presented their entire exhibit, containing
a rich display of tropical woods. Brazil, Argentine Republic, and
Mexico presented a number of specimens from their exhibit, while
others were received from Japan, Turkey, and the Hawaiian Islands.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

The Jesup collection of North American woods was brought to-
gether under the supervision and direction of Professor Charles Sprague
Sargent, of Harvard University, under whose charge Mr. Jesup placed
the Department of Economic Botany, when it was established in 1880.
Professor Sargent was at that time preparing a report for the Tenth
Census of the United States on ‘“‘The Forest Wealth of the United
States.” Professor Sargent is an arboriculturist of note. He was
appointed Director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard in 1873, and
since 1879 has been Professor of Arboriculture there.

Mrs. Mary Robeson Sargent executed the water color sketches
which illustrate the foliage, flower, and fruit of the trees in the Jesup
collection of woods.

Mr. C. G. Pringle and Mr. A. H. Curtiss were engaged to collect
specimens for the wood collection. It was as agents for Mr. Jesup that
Mr. Pringle increased the existing knowledge of the trees of Arizona
and Southern California, and Mr. Curtiss that of the semitropical
forests of Southern California.

[118]

LIBRARY

provide for the establishment and maintenance of a Museum and

Library of Natural History, and it is a well-recognized fact that
a thoroughly equipped library is a necessary adjunct to an institution
devoted to scientific research. Since the incumbency of the present
Curator, Prof. R. W. Tower, in 1902 it has been the aim of the
administration to build up an exhaustive library of natural history
rather than a large general library.

In 1902 the Museum possessed a good nucleus of standard scientific
works, which had largely been received through the gifts of friends of
the Museum. Among those of special importance are the following:

The first important gift was the John C. Jay conchological library,
presented in 1874 by Miss Catharine L. Wolfe. It contained about
850 bound volumes and many pamphlets, gathered at a cost of over
$10,000 and forming what was considered the finest library of its
kind in America.

The Carson Brevoort library on fishes and general zodlogy, on
deposit since 1879, was presented by Mr. Robert L. Stuart. It num-
bered 2,083 volumes and over 1,000 pamphlets, and included almost
all important works on ichthyology up to 1870.

A library of voyages and travel, numbering about 350 volumes,
was received in 1886 as the gift of Mr. Hugh J. Jewett. Among them

‘ie Founders of the Museum in their Article of Incorporation

were many rare original editions.

The ornithological library of Daniel Giraud Elliot, containing
987 volumes and 675 pamphlets, and ranking third of its kind in the
United States, was purchased and presented to the Museum in 1887
by Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt and Mr. Percy R. Pyne.

The largest addition, in point of numbers, which has been received
at any one time is the library which was gathered by the late Dr. S.
Lowell Elliot and presented in 1891 as a memorial by his widow,

[119]

Wolfe.

Brevoort.

Jewett.

Elliot,

Elliot.

Edwards.

Marcou.

Viele.

Constable.

New York
Academy of
Sciences.

Exchanges.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Mrs. M. Schuyler Elliot. It consisted of 9,500 volumes and 3,500 pamph-
lets on insects, fishes, birds, general zodlogy, geography, and history.

The Harry Edwards entomological library of 500 volumes and
1,200 pamphlets was received with the Edwards Collection of butter-
flies, which was acquired in 1892, partly through the generosity of
friends of Mr. Edwards.

The Marcou collection of works on geology was presented to the
Museum in 1898 by Mr. John Belknap Marcou and Dr. Philippe Marcou.
It was brought together by Professor Jules Marcou, an eminent au-
thority on geology, and comprises about 3,000 volumes, 5,000 pamph-
lets and 1,200 maps. It had the distinction of being, with one ex-
ception, the largest private library of geology and paleontology in
America.

A collection of 1,200 volumes, 960 numbers of serial publications,
1,833 pamphlets and 66 valuable maps were presented in 1900 by
General Egbert Viele. To this gift he later added 676 volumes and a
number of pamphlets.

Over 200 volumes on conchology were given by Mr. Frederick A.
Constable in 1901.

Following the reorganization of the Library Staff the books on
hand were catalogued and made available for reference. The Library
was extended through subscriptions to the important scientific periodi-
cals, through exchange, and through purchase. The New York
Academy of Natural Sciences deposited its library with the Museum
Library in 1905 under arrangements which permitted of the merging of
the two. This library numbers about 10,000 volumes and is especially
rich in the publications of foreign societies, a branch of scientific
literature which had been but poorly represented in the Museum.

Following the example of the New York Academy other scientific
bodies have presented or deposited their libraries with the Museum,
so that at the present time the Museum’s Library is the recognized
center in the City for publications on natural science.

Special attention was given to the matter of exchanges, and with
the publications of the Academy of Sciences in addition to the large

[ 120]

LIBRARY

series of the Museum publications available for this purpose the Museum
now annually receives a list of periodicals on natural science much
larger than the entire periodical list of the New York Public Library.

The enormous expense attached to the publication of researches
has led the Museum to reduce the edition of its publications, but it
gives them wide distribution by gratuitously depositing complete sets
of the publications in a hundred of the important learned centers
throughout the world. At the present time the Library contains
40,000 volumes and 20,000 separata, all completely catalogued and
available to all who may desire to consult them.

Since 1902 the Library has been enriched by many gifts, the most
important of which are as follows:

The Library of the American Ethnological Society was permanently
deposited with the Museum in 1903. It numbers 750 volumes and
270 pamphlets, mostly on ethnology and archeology.

In 1904 Dr. J. A. Allen presented his private library of about
3,800 separata on zodlogy.

The Wheeler collection was also acquired in 1904. It consists of
121 books and pamphlets on arachnida, and many articles on
entomology in general brought together and presented by Professor
William Morton Wheeler. His library of 571 works on North American
Diptera, which was purchased by the Museum.

Another accession of special interest in 1904 was the gift by Dr.
H. C. Bumpus of his entire scientific library. It is especially rich in
works on comparative anatomy and contains 311 volumes, 1,661 bound
and 1,050 unbound pamphlets, among which were many valuable
volumes and rare reprints new to the Museum’s Library.

A copy of ‘‘Audubon’s Birds of the United States of America,”
published in 1834 and valued at $3,000, was received in 1904 as a gift
from Mr. Archibald Rogers.

A recent accession of great importance is the paleontological
library of Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn, which he presented to
the Museum in 1908. It contains between 6,000 and 7,000 volumes,
valued at between $10,000 and $12,000.

[121]

American
Ethnological
Society.

Allen.

Wheeler.

Bumpus.

Rogers.

Osborn.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

During the earliest years of the history of the Museum the library
was comparatively of small importance, but when the institution
took possession of its own building in 1877, the collection of books
began to grow. At first it was placed under the care of Dr. Anthony
Woodward, then Assistant in Geology. In 1882 Dr. Woodward was
made Librarian, a position which he held until 1902 when he was made
Curator of Maps and Charts. Beginning with 1902, Prof. R. W.
Tower has been Curator of the Department of Books and Publications,
a position which carries with it the duties of Librarian. Professor
Tower has devoted special attention to increasing the library, and its
present efficiency is largely due to his persistent efforts in this direction.

[ 122 |

PUBLICATIONS

A \HE publications of the American Museum of Natural History
consist of the ‘“‘Annual Report,” the ‘Bulletin,’ the ‘Me-
moirs,” ‘‘Anthropological Papers,’ an ‘ Ethnographical

Album,” and the ‘“‘American Museum Journal.”

The ‘‘Bulletin”’ is a strictly scientific publication in which are pub-
lished the shorter articles embodying the results of the research work
of the various departments of the Museum. These papers are less
voluminous and of more general interest than those which appear in
the ‘‘Memoirs.”’ The first number was issued in December, 1881—
the first year of President Jesup’s administration—and the first volume
was completed five years later. Since 1892 a complete volume has
been issued every year. Each volume contains about twenty-four
articles, published separately during the year, which relate about
equally to Geology, Paleontology, Mammalogy, Ornithology and Ento-
mology. It is octavo in size, and contains 400 to 975 pages, with many
plates and text figures. It has an edition of 750 and is distributed
mainly to other scientific institutions in exchange for their publica-
tions, and is thus an important means for the increase of our Library.

The ‘‘Memoirs,”’ like the “Bulletin,” are strictly scientific, but are
devoted to special articles requiring more exhaustive treatment.
The issue of ‘‘ Memoirs” was suggested by Professor Osborn in 1892.
Each part forms a separate and complete monograph, usually with
numerous plates. The ‘‘Memoirs”’ are quarto in size, and have been
published in parts at irregular intervals since 1893. The present edi-
tion is 600 copies.

The amount of material brought in and the observations made by
the parties at work under the Jesup North Pacific Exploration Fund
made. necessary the establishment in 1898 of a special series of pub-
lications in the ‘‘Memoir”’ form. At first these were issued by the
Museum, but since 1904 they have been published by E. J. Brill, Ley-

[123]

Bulletin.

Memoirs.

Anthropolog-

ical Papers.

American
Museum
Journal.

Guide
Leaflets.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

den, Holland, under a favorable contract. This firm published the
“Ethnographical Album ”’ also.

The “‘ Anthropological Papers” are really a part of the ‘ Bulletin,”
devoted exclusively to the results of field work and other research
conducted by the anthropological staff of the Museum. They are
published in octavo volumes of about 350 pages each, issued in parts
at irregular intervals. The first issue was in 1907. The present
edition is 600. ;

The publication of the ‘‘American Museum Journal” was begun
in April, 1900, at the suggestion of Professor Osborn. The ‘‘Journal”’ is
a popular record of the progress of the Museum. It was started to give
to the members and the public the Museum news in popular and interest- -
ing form, and asa medium for the prompt acknowledgment of gifts and
for making widely known the needs of the Museum. The “Journal”
has an edition of 3,000 and is issued monthly from October to May.

It has been the policy of the administration of the Museum so to
label the Exhibits that visitors would have the information desired
without the use of a voluminous general guide. The interest of the
public, however, in various collections led Director Bumpus to suggest
the publication of Guide Leaflets on these special subjects. These
leaflets, now thirty in number, appear irregularly and in editions which
vary with the popularity of the subject matter discussed.

Prof. R. P. Whitfield, Curator of Geology, established the form and
character of the ‘‘ Bulletin” through the first four articles, which were
contributed by him and published in 1881 and 1882, but there was no
definite editor until Prof. J. A. Allen assumed the editorship with the
issue of Vol. I, Part 5, in 1884. Professor Allen became editor of the
‘““Memoirs,” likewise, when they were established in 18938. Prof.
Franz Boas has been the editor of the special series of memoirs pertain-
ing to the Jesup North Pacific exploration since it was begun. Dr.
Clark Wissler is the editor of the ‘‘Anthropological Papers.’”’ Mr. W.
KX. Gregory was made editor of the ‘‘American Museum Journal,’’ when
that was established in 1900, but since October, 1901, Dr. Edmund
Otis Hovey has been editor of the “Journal” and the Guide Leaflets.

[ 124 ]

IV
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

MAINTENANCE, TOTAL EXPENDITURES,
ENDOWMENT

= ? t , « sn | ’
14° both Fad ere

Pw ihe

MAINTENANCE

Y its original agreement, the City undertook to maintain or pay
the running expenses of the Museum, but practically from the
beginning the maintenance has been insufficient, as is shown in

the preceding pages. The annual increments in maintenance are given
in the accompanying table. Successive enabling acts of the Legis-
lature have permitted the City authorities to increase the maintenance.
The legal limit is now $200,000. The last appropriation (that of
1909) was $180,000. In the same year the maintenance of the Metro-
politan Museum was raised to the legal limit, $200,000.

The expenditures of the Museum for maintenance during the past
ten years are instructive:

MAINTENANCE OF MUSEUM BY JOINT EXPENDITURE OF CITY AND TRUSTEES

Appropriations Appropriations Total

by City. by Trustees. .
LACE ice Mester dts ahs of tes os ob: $130,000.00 $17,733.75 $147,733.75
CDS arent Leal ee Nats Nee ad ali ee mS 160000(G0) ©... .. -c. 160,000.00
FETS, AOE SENS Coben -eonaialy Cat abe Seaman. oie 160,000.00 7,368 54 167,368.54
ROU eter Mm TS en ee, 160,000.00 8,158.69 168,158.69
TIC) Ooysiec nolo blarctden Gl ona Ch nee SOE ee EeRERO Ie ie cee 160,000.00 19,506.41 179,506.41
OG re re a ae 170,000.00 2,924.04 172,924.04
HOTU ees catia Ons CIELO CISCO EE TIC TRO SCI Eee 160,000.00 26,828 .52 186,828 .52
7 OU Sid Mapa a tated orleans ah aah ented aoe 159,930.62 33,475.97 193,406 .59
OOO Serna eb rains elledeuste Seracuk ave uate ay cities 180,048 .69 226 .23 180,274.92

$1,439,979 .31 $116,222.15 $1,556,201 .46

The legitimate charges against maintenance are Administration
Salaries, Scientific Administration and the Working Staff, Repairing
and Renewal of Parts, and Cleaning, Heating and Lighting of the Build-
ing. By law, the Trustees may both care for and prepare specimens
from the maintenance fund. In practice, the preparation of the
specimens is mainly from the endowment and other funds.

The Museum is now administered with the utmost economy in
every department, both as regards salaries and purchases. A recent
investigation by the Director of the cost of our heating and lighting

[127]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

system from our own plant showed that it was being conducted at a
much lower rate than that of other municipal buildings.

The salaries and wages are extremely low, as shown in the table
on the opposite page.

Our salaries and wages should provide in themselves for some sort
of compulsory insurance or retiring fund. At present they are so low
that in most cases they barely provide a living wage.

To conduct the scientific departments to the best educational
interests of the City, it is necessary that the Museum should attract
through its curatorships and associate curatorships men of ability
equal to that of college professors and associate professors. In other
words, the scientific work of the Museum demands a very high order
of ability, and men of the first rank can never be attracted to the
Museum staff or be kept on the Museum staff unless their compensa-
tion is commensurate with their attainments. This will be increas-
ingly the case if, as proposed in this report, the Museum extends its
activities into subjects like Public Health and other applied branches
of science, astronomy, physics and geography. Only the esprit
de corps and loyalty which now prevail in the Museum Staff have kept
within our ranks several members who have been called to other in-
stitutions with the offer of marked increases in salary.

An increase in maintenance to $200,000 for the year 1910 is the
working minimum. Apart from comparison with other scientific and
educational institutions, this is required to place our staff on living
salaries and wages comparable to those of street cleaners, policemen,
city clerks, subordinate officials and men of higher grade in other de-
partments of the City. Certain percentages of increase with length
and efficiency of service should be carefully considered and approved.

It is not to the economic advantage of the City, through lack of
sufficient appropriations, to compel the Trustees to devote parts of the
income from its endowment fund to maintenance. The bequest of
Mr. Jesup specifically provided against this, and similar provision
should be made in other bequests.

[128 ]

MAINTENANCE

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TOTAL EXPENDITURES BY TRUSTEES

HE total annual expenditures by the Trustees for the last
decade from funds derived from all sources, together with
the increase of collections by direct gift of estimated value

the cost of which does not pass through the Treasurer’s books, are as

follows:
Estimated Value

Maintenance FromEndow- from Giftsof of Gifts Exclu-
Appropriations ment, Member- . . e
es aip Das, dio. Special Funds, Pi cide ol pal _
UO Soir cieietersls at eterones $17,733.75 $56,077 .52 $43,811.50 $167,602.25 $285,225 .02
OOD se eke ce erase + hale sic a, -Floireeee Or eee 59,787 .14 70,436.73 17,022.75 147,246 .62
100 Or aa ee eds 7,368.54 61,140.24 28,089.54 6,338.75 102,937.07
OMA bn ss hee 8158.69 66,882.64 11,261.05 8,859 .00 95,161.38
12) UT aa eS cure Rete ees 19,506.41 54,378 .82 16,709 .56 31,983.00 122,577.79
i) eras ccc recatars 2,924.04 66,673.35 56,467 .96 27,818.75 153,884.10
LOGIE o.< oncke sesia cheer 26,828 .52 63,951.44 58,035 .62 17,105.50 165,921.08
tC) 0 eRe 33,475.97 82,012.48 20,296.81 14,966 .00 150,751.26
QOD Raise. crte cree ree ene 226 .23 127,549.06 58,664.57 21,573 .65 208,013 .51

$116,222.15 $638,452.69 $363,773.34 $313,269.65 $1,431,717 .83

The comparison of the total expenditures by the City and by the
Trustees, in the past ten years, is very instructive:

TOTAL EXPENDITURES IN TEN YEARS, 1900-1909

By the City for Maimtenance: 51). dw nace aera ce eleanor $1,439,979 .31
By the City for Building nc sen crepi cisiinn ler ciit terete erica eieieaerate 1,338,000 .00
Grand Total of Expenditures by the City................... $2,777,979 .31
By the Trustees for All Purposes, 1900-1909..................... $1,431,717 .83
By the Trustees for Endowment, since 1900..................... 1,768,162.50
Grand Total of Donations by the Trustees.................. $3,199,880.33

These figures show that during the last decade the private gener-
osity of the friends of the Museum has more than kept pace with
public appropriation. Similar figures have not been prepared
from the beginning, but it will probably be found that the total
amount contributed by the City and by the Trustees will not far
from balance. In other words the City of New York has enjoyed

[ 130 ]

“

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[ 132]

TOTAL EXPENDITURES BY TRUSTEES

the unique advantage of getting two dollars in return for every
dollar spent.

It is safe to assume that in the future the gifts and additions to
endowment will balance the expenditures in building, and that the
gifts and expended income of the Museum will equal, if not exceed,
the increased appropriation by the City for maintenance.

[133 ]

ENDOW MENT

Trustees in May, 1880, Mr. James M. Constable urging the

establishment of an endowment of $300,000 ‘‘ for the per-
manent support of the Museum.” It was only in 1884, however,
that the bequest of $5,000 from the estate of William E. Dodge, Sen.,
formed: the beginning of this fund. At this time the Trustees
adopted the following resolution:

‘“‘Whereas, The Board of Trustees of the Museum of
Natural History in Central Park regard it as highly im-
portant to constitute a permanent endowment fund of which
the interest only shall be applied to the use of the Museum
as shall be deemed most expedient by the Board, and there-
fore it is resolved that the Board do hereby establish a fund
to be called the permanent endowment fund.

“Resolved, That the bequest of the late William E. Dodge
of $5,000 be hereafter known as the William E. Dodge Fund,
and that the same shall constitute a part of the permanent
endowment fund.”

: project of an Endowment Fund was first discussed by the

The first large bequest was that of William H. Vanderbilt, in 1886, .
of $50,000. In 1890, through vigorous effort, $246,500 was added
by Trustees and other friends of the Museum. A number of bequests
and individual gifts followed. In 1904, $561,500 was contributed,
chiefly by Mr. Morgan and Mr. Jesup. The bequest of Mr. Jesup, in
1908, raised the total amount of donations to $2,002,757.75.

CONTRIBUTORS TO THE ENDOWMENT FUND ESTABLISHED
IN 1884
1884 Brqurst or WituiAM E. Dopnae... $5,000.00
1886 Brqurest or WititiAM H. VANDER-
BIT, shee avis ook hee ee) ne
[134]

ENDOWMENT

1890 Wii~u1AM WALDpDorF ASTOR....

1891

1892

1895

1896

1899
1900

Hrper We BISHOP. : 6.6000...
GHORGH BHI. 6 cits go oo oe a
JAMES M. CONSTABLE.............
Warrmram EH DonGeE, 2D ..05...: +2.
BenvAnn HH. BIELD. «0. sec 2 5 os
Cs BP. CHUNTINGTON “5 <0). occ0c4'01¢ 2 =
RNY ETT NS PANU 5 5 ais istale ee gtaneY-1% La oe
NOR RIGY WC USUI 2g 4 4.fo rite nerd tats Lolets
CARTES: Go LANDON. .3.c4.c0025.:
CHARLES? IGANTIER), 65.05. jlordis deters Es
AG 2d PORBES: LBITHs ¢ ocec uc etste ss

Francis O. MATTHIESSEN.. .

IDO IU cs Oe Re
J. Pippreont MORGAN: «5 e000. 000:

OSWALD OTTENDORFER..........

Jorn, EP PSRSONS. 9.0. 606 ot ws
Percy WH. PYNWan jokes A.”
PENI SRLIGMAN 00. Be
Mrs. MAry STEWART. .7.....°.. 0...
PHEBE VANNA THORNE... .... 502. ;
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT...........

Ricaarp TT. WiILSON........

BrEQuEst OF Mrs. Mary E. Rocerrs.
BEQuEst OF HuGH AUCHINCLOSS. .
WILLIAM C. SCHERMERHORN.......
BEQuEsT OF Miss S. M. HircHcock.
BEQquEstT oF Percy R. Pyne......
Mrs. James R. Sworpbs...........
Mrs. SAMUEL LAWRENCE......... :
BEQUEST OF JAMES CRUIKSHANK...
Mrs. ANNA A. BRADFORD.........
Mrs... Exony HH. TRevVoRS =<... 2...
Mrs. Mapraas T)) Fisk...) 0. 4. |

[135 ]

1,000.
1,000.
1,000.

25,000.

10,000.
1,000.
5,000.
5,000.

25,000 .
5,000.
2.500.
1,000.
1,000.

25,000.

25,000.
5,000.
1,000.

25,000.
1,000.

50,000 .
5,000 .

25,000 .
1,000.
1,000.

10,000.
5,000 .

5,000.

20,000 .
500.
500.

95.

1,000.
10,000
10,000

OO
00

1901

1902
1903

1904

1907

1908
1909

1910

Adequate endowment is the most important advance that can be

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

BEQUEST OF OSWALD OTTENDORFER

BEQuEsT OF HENRY VILLARD......
BEQUEST OF JOEL GOLDENBERG....
BEQUEST OF SAMUEL D. Bascock.
Mrs. Eaory H. Trevor.;..i.. 3%.
Morrisiv.( JESUP. coos ns

J. Prerpont: MORGAN.........,.>..
Grorcn 8. BOWwDOIN .. «4... 2-5.
H. 0: Havanese
FREDERICK A. CONSTABLE.........
WILLIAM ROCKEFELLER...........
Purcy 8s oN 20) 25 ssa oe
BEQUEST OF SOLOMON LOEB.......
CHARLES LANIER: 22. S548 an oe
MaTiipa ‘WRC... . i ee
Mrs... Mania Al. TRevoR. 5... cae
BEQUEST OF BENJAMIN P. Davis..

25,000 .00
5,000 .00
1,900 .00
4,762 .50
5,000 .00

200,000 .00

300,000 .00
5,000 .00

25,000 .00
2,000 .00
10,000 .00
2,500 .00
5,000 .00
2,000 .00
10,000 .00
10,000 .00
25,000 .00

Bequest oF Morris K. Jesup .. .1,000,000 .00

BEQUEST OF WILLIAM R. SANDS...

BEQUEST OF PHEBE ANNA THORNE.
Brquest oF Dartus OGDEN MILLS.

made by the Museum at the present time.

The Endowment Fund on January 31, 1910 (at the time of the
publication of this report), viz., $2,122,757.75, should now be in-
creased to $5,000,000 and within a few years to a larger amount.

Comparison between our Endowment Fund (as invested in 1909)
and that of other similar institutions in this country is shown in the fol-

lowing table:

Metropolitan Museum of Art.................
Field Museum of Natural History............
American Museum of Natural History........
Carnegie Museum. ous AS sataaecoces
Museum of the Brooklyn Institute...........
United States National Museum.............

10,000 .00
10,000 .00
100,000 .00

$2,122,757 .75

$8,300,000 .00
4,000,000 .00
2,195,645 .00
1,000,000. 00

86,000.00
None

ENDOWMENT

USES OF ENDOWMENT

The system of public education in the Museum exhibition and
lecture halls, through what may be called Musewm Extension to the
Schools and Libraries, reached 1,674,272 adults and young during the
year 1908. This figure more than justifies the expenditure of public
maintenance funds which are devoted to the erection and maintenance
of the building, and to salaries. But the life and spirit of education
are both drawn from the same source, namely, the scientific work of
the Museum through its expeditions, collections, researches, and publica-
tions. Without this incessant activity of its own, which is chiefly sup-
ported by the endowment and by private gifts, the Museum would be
dependent on other scientific bodies, whereas, it is a living center which
may be said to reach every part of the world.

The most pressing uses of the endowment are:

First. The preparation and placing on exhibition of many of the
great collections which have come to us as special gifts or through
special expeditions and explorations, and which at present are unseen
for want of adequate means.

Second. Itis only with an ample endowment fund that the Museum
can meet the occasions constantly arising when immediate decision
is necessary in the acquisition of a collection, or can reach out to
secure its share of the fast-vanishing objects in anthropology and
natural history in various parts of the world.

During his last visit to the Museum, our late Trustee, Mr. D. O.
Mills, observed to the President that he thought the American Museum
was doing more for the money expended than any other institution in
the City. This remark from a very keen observer would be supported
by close personal examination of the internal operation of every
department of the Museum. It is ceaseless in its activity in every
branch. Under the present management of Director Bumpus, there
is not an idle hour or an idle moment in any part of the Museum. Every
man is working up to his full capacity, and some are being worked
beyond their normal capacity.

[1387]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Yet it must be plainly stated that the Museum is constantly run-
ning behind; that the preparation, exhibition and description of
specimens are not keeping pace with the additional collections. If
it be asked, ‘‘ Why, then, increase the collections,” the answer is simple
and convincing. In very many departments of science, especially in
anthropology, ethnology, archeology and in some divisions of zoélogy,
if we do not get a specimen now we never shall get it. Other Museums
in other parts of the world are keenly alive to this fact and are more
or less well endowed with funds; some are better endowed than ourselves.
In any case, we do not have a monopoly, and we find that rare objects
of natural history are in as great demand as antique works of art,
although the prices are incomparably lower. The cost of asingle “old
master ”’ would fill an entire wing of the Museum with a splendid array
of specimens. The prices which obtain in natural history are not the
prices which rule in art, but the rarity of certain objects is equally
great.

Long experience has shown that, on the average, it costs as much
to place a specimen on exhibition, including the curator’s time and
that of the preparator, as it does to bring it in from the field. Some
specimens cost far more to prepare than they do to secure. This is
a new element in museum administration, brought about by the double
standard of meeting both the esthetic and educational requirements
which we have set for ourselves. To put a bird on a painted wooden
perch, as was done twenty-five years ago, costs very little, and the
bird taught very little. To place a bird in its natural surroundings
costs a great deal and the bird teaches a great deal. The educational
results repay the increased cost.

A survey of every department of the Museum will support the
statement that we are getting behind instead of keeping pace in the
preparation of our collections. We now have very large collections,
numbering many thousands of beautiful and interesting objects, which
have not been placed on exhibition and which cannot be placed on
exhibition, without an increased income from endowment. Very
few donors of collections realize this, and in many cases it would appear

[ 138 ]

ENDOWMENT

most ungracious for us to inform the donor that we could not accept
his collection because we had not the means of placing it on exhibition.
The gift of the Duke of Loubat is a case in point. The Museum was
presented with a valuable series of casts from Mexico and Central
America without any means for mounting the casts or placing them on
exhibition. The cost of preparation rose so rapidly that President
Jesup was alarmed. It equalled, if it did not exceed, the cost of the
gift. A misunderstanding arose, in consequence, as a result of which
the Duke of Loubat withdrew his support from the Museum.

Finally, an increase of the endowment should precede the exten-
sion of our building, and should accompany a recommendation to the
City for an increase in maintenance to $200,000.

[ 1389 ]

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FUTURE OF THE MUSEUM

THE CITY, GROWTH OF THE BUILDING,
FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT
OF THE EXHIBITIONS

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8,250,000

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2,500,000

2,250,000

2,000,000

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1,500,000

1,250,000

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600,000

260,000

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1800

1810

620

1830

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1660

1860

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1900

1909

INcREASE oF PopuLATION oF Greater New York To 1909.

THE CITY

tional system of the city will naturally accompany step by

step, if it does not precede, the advance of the city itself.
There are reasons why it should precede the advance of the city
because education and civilization should precede rather than follow
increases in population and in material resources. The factors which
enter into population and public education are the following:

TY: advance of the Museum as an important part of the educa-

Tota POPULATION

FOREIGN AND FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

RaPipiIty OF INCREASE OF POPULATION

INCREASE OF THE PUBLIC AND PERSONAL WEALTH OF THE CITy

POPULATION

The striking statistics which are presented in the accompanying
diagrams are based on the census of 1900. That the figures which
will be assembled by the census of 1910 will be still more striking is
shown by independent estimates and calculations which have been
made by various statisticians. These demonstrate that within a
comparatively brief period New York will be the world’s metropolis,
that London will yield its present supremacy in population in less than
fifteen years, that New York and its environs will then have a greater
population than London by about 200,000, and that in twenty years
New York and its environs will exceed London in population by nearly
a million.

The rate of increase of population of 162 per cent. in the five years
1900-1905 is paralleled by a similar rate on the New Jersey side, and
with the eastern transit facilities completed will undoubtedly be
equalled by a similar rate on the Long Island side.

[ 143 ]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

GREATER NEW YORK *

9000.5: 8 ui fc ish eee ee 4,665,195
AQUA, oh Foods cua FO ee 5,442,727
AGI oe oc cmw kay cen ce ee 6,349,848
BORG As aks vin Saco a 7,409,807
ar AED SRN Ee aM Fy holga ee 8,646,444

* The New York Times, Sunday, April 25, 1909, p. 9.

While the rate of increase of the past ten years may not continue
as in the above estimate, owing to increased facilities of transit which
will tend inevitably to spread population into New Jersey and Long
Island, all this country may be regarded as more or less tributary to
New York and dependent upon its public educational institutions; in
other words, the improved transit which will distribute the population
will also bring these great institutions within reach of the people of a
wider radius. For example, the American Museum is now within 25
minutes of Borough Hall, Brooklyn; it was formerly over an hour from
Borough Hall. The Brooklyn subway connection has increased enor-
mously the attendance at the New York Aquarium; it has undoubt-
edly affected the American Museum also; the proposed East Side
subway will similarly affect the Metropolitan Museum.

Foreign Population. We Americans are under the impression,
which is not altogether justified by the facts, that our native popula-
tion is superior to our foreign and foreign-born population, and that
one of the greatest arguments for public education is the Americanizing
of the foreign elements. Undoubtedly there is a great deal of force in
this idea. Those who closely observe the attendance at our great
public institutions are impressed by the very large foreign or foreign-
born element. Unfortunately we have not the statistics for 1910. In
1900, when the population of New York was much smaller than at
present, namely, 3,437,202, the foreign population was as follows:

Of German parentage... ....4- 0 ..anwan eee 786,435
Of Snish PAPENtARE: =... b). Toate aetes eee 725,511
Of Russaniparentege 4:0 << 541s eeits se ees 245,525
Of Italian parentage: .... san sin vntsieeteuse 218,918
Of English and Scotch parentage......... 204,109
Of Austrian parentage.................- 113,237
OF Polish Parentage. osc sicieye mayrrreteroietens 53,469
Of Hungarian parentage................. 52,430
Of French parentage, - 2.06 isn. chan ak tees 29,441
Of Swedish parentage................... 44,798
Of other foreign countries............... 170,084

Total foreign-born population.......... 2,643,957

[144]

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‘pans tive riba saise acxi Valuation of all 1 7
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j eV h hb eee, torah : S71 AM, 4 i
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THE CITY

As compared therefore with other countries, New York is a city
of cities. It contains within its borders a Hamburg, a Dublin, a
Moscow, a Milan. Our responsibility toward these peoples is recog-
nized on every side in the prodigious efforts which are being made to
provide for their education, to uplift them, to imbue them with our
patriotism.
WEALTH

The wealth of the city is also shown in diagrams based on the
census of 1900. These diagrams bring out the striking fact, which
is hard to realize, that the wealth of New York is equivalent to that
of the ten greatest cities of the United States put together. The ten
cities included in this estimate are, in the order of population and
wealth: Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Boston, Pittsburg, Baltimore,
Cleveland, Buffalo, San Francisco, Cincinnati.

Again the figures of 1910 are likely to be still more striking, for in
1908 the figures based upon the total assessed valuation of all taxable
property, personal and real, were as follows:

ING Wee MOT ec chek ayshey osha ies ofetay cio Glo Po tarsus ion kee Sor S us $7,158,190,400
Ten next largest American cities................. 6,036,185,691

Economists will point out at once that while New York is wealthy,
it also has an enormous bonded indebtedness. Here again the com-
parative figures as assembled by the Century Magazine in 1909 are
interesting, as follows:

Gross funded debt of New York................... $785,985, 128
Total gross funded debt of the ten next largest Amer-
ACAD CLULES 44 tean erste eye re OTE essen ee 404,700,393

To offset this great funded debt it should be kept in mind that New
York is absolutely unique among all the cities not only of America but
of the world in its recent public improvements, in its streets, its bridges,
in its free college and high schools, and last but not least, in its three
great museums, its Zoélogical Park, its Aquarium, its Public Library.
What other nations and states have done, this imperial city has done
unaided by state or nation, but greatly aided by the individual gifts
of its citizens.

[145 ]

GROWTH OF THE BUILDING

N order to understand clearly the past and future building opera-
I tions it is well to review the steps which have been taken from

the start.

In 1871, in response to the petition of a large number of citizens,
the Legislature authorized the erection of a building for the exclusive
use of the Museum in Manhattan Square, and an appropriation of
$700,000 was made for this purpose.

The first section to be constructed was the present North Wing.
On June 2, 1874, the corner-stone of the new building was laid by
President Ulysses 8. Grant, before a large assemblage of representative
citizens. The presence of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War,
the Secretary of the Navy, and the Governor of the State lent official
importance to the event.

This section was completed in 1877, and the collections which had
been acquired by the Trustees were installed for exhibition. On the
first floor were exhibited the Jay Collection of shells, the mammals,
and an economic collection of woods and building stones. The birds
were on the second floor, the anthropological collections on the third,
and the fossils on the fourth. The “attic story’? was reserved for
workrooms and the library. Through lack of space it was necessary
to exhibit the reptiles, fishes, corals, minerals, and duplicates in the
Arsenal, which was used as an annex to the Museum until it was finally
vacated in 1886.

On December 22, 1877, the new building of the Museum was opened
to the public by the President of the United States, in the presence
of the Trustees, the Commissioner of Public Parks, and the State and
City authorities.

In 1887 the City made an appropriation of $400,000 for completing

[ 146 ]

ANNAAY SNGWNTOAD

61° Srreer

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SuccressivE ANNUAL ADDITIONS TO THE AMERICAN Museum.

[147]

Jan. 19/0.

1877-1908.

CENTRAL FarRK West

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

the North Wing and for the beginning of the central section of the
South Facade, which was to contain a lecture hall.

A further appropriation of $400,000 was made in 1889 for the com-
pletion of the new section of the building. This was ready for occu-
pancy in 1892, and was formally opened on November 2d of that year.
It provided three exhibition halls, besides room for a library and a
lecture hall.

At this time the City had expended for the two sections of the
building $1,500,000. It was estimated that the Trustees, their friends,
and the public had contributed in money and specimens, $1,700,000.

The fourth addition to the building, namely, the East Wing, was
provided for in an appropriation of $400,000 made by the Legislature
in 1893, and an additional appropriation of $200,000, made in 1894.
This portion of the building, with a frontage on Seventy-seventh
Street of one hundred and fifty-seven feet, was opened in the fall of
1894. The ground floor contained the Jesup collection of woods.
The second floor was used for the large mammals, including the Bison
and Moose groups. On the third floor were the small mammals, the
insect collections, and the overflow material from the Bird Hall.
The fourth floor was given over to the new Department of Vertebrate
Paleontology.

The construction of the West Wing immediately followed this,
and was provided for in an appropriation of $500,000 in 1895. This
section was completed in 1897. The West Wing was almost entirely
occupied by the various collections of the Department of Anthropology
with the reservation of a small space for the Library.

Besides the provision required for the new growth, the architectural
symmetry of the building demanded the erection of the Southeast and
Southwest Tower Wings, by which the entire South Fagade of the
Museum would be completed. This work was authorized in 1897, as
was also that for a new lecture hall to be erected at the north end of
the North Wing. The Southeast and Southwest Tower Wings were
completed in 1899.

The new Lecture Hall, with a seating capacity of 1,428, was com-

[ 148 ]

GROWTH OF THE BUILDING

pleted in 1900 and dedicated on October 30th of that year with ap-
propriate ceremonies.

The heating and lighting of a building of this size required the
enlargement of the power plant, and in 1902 an appropriation of
$200,000 was made for its construction. This, with its approaches,
and the quarters of the Preparation Department, were completed in
1905.

In the same year a further appropriation of $500,000 was authorized
for the erection of the south section of the West Fagade, which was
completed in 1908.

SraTistics RELATING TO THE BUILDING SO FAR AS
CoNsTRUCTED, 1909

Wommer-StOne WalGen.. <6. wii ce sages enka air. Jdume 2, 1874
ikength of South) Macade.... +... «02 se0ess dee cee ee 710 ft.
Avernce Width ot south Kacadey..). 22... 44. eae. ee: 75 ft.
Exhibition Floor Space. . PE rb 8s AOD aoOreG:) Lt.
Laboratory and Storage Hlooe mee ae rt A. | pig lioo20; 8Qs ibe
Motad Moor Spaces... %. .wsesusis Boner ea netsh. yaa oe 488,859, sq. ft.
Cubical Area. . ; ee sf eksh. Se OL4, SHO CUctt:
Seating “rege of nectar Hall. Ma kb ee 1,428

BUILDING PLANS

The Committee on Building and Plans, consisting of Messrs. Morgan,
Trevor, and the President ex officio, are ready to report progress
at the present time. The features of the plan here outlined, which
has been prepared with the codperation of Director Bumpus and the
architects, Messrs. Trowbridge and Livingston, are still to be con-
sidered sub judice. They are to be given very prolonged and thorough
study by the Committee, the Director, and the Architects; and sug-
gestions or criticisms by the Trustees will be both welcomed and care-
fully considered. The Committee on Building and Plans propose to
submit their report through the Executive Committee to the Board of
Trustees at the May meeting, 1910. If approved, the general plan

[ 149 ]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

will be submitted to the Department of Parks before detailed draw-
ings are prepared.

The main features of this plan, so far as considered, are:

First, in planning each Hall and each Section to consider carefully
the uses to which it is to be put, so that in both proportion and illumi-
nation it may so far as possible be adapted to its purpose.

Second, to provide for mural decoration, both in painting and
sculpture, in order to add to the artistic interpretation of Nature by
means similar to those now being instituted in some of the older halls.

Third, to continue the policy of very economic and simple interior
construction adopted by previous administrations, and to make the
exterior conform architecturally with the Romanesque style of the
south fagade, the only exception to be the east grand entrance, which
is to give, it is proposed, an imposing architectural appearance com-
mensurate with the grand dimensions of the future Museum as a whole.

Fourth, to proceed with the west side of the building around toward
the east and southeast, completing the two south courts.

The proposed order of building is as follows:

NEW WEST PAVILION OR SEVENTY-NINTH STREET EN-
TRANCE, a popular evening and stormy weather entrance,
because most accessible to all transit routes; to be distinguished
as the entrance to the anthropological side of the Museum by the
location there of the great Mexican and Central American archzo-
logical collections.

NEW WEST TRANSEPT, connecting with the Central Rotunda, with
provision for the entire heating and lighting plant of the com-
pleted Museum of the future, beneath and to the south side.
Temporarily the engines will be left in their present position. It
is proposed to make this transept twelve feet wider than the
original South Transept.

CENTRAL PAVILION OR ROTUNDA, to be treated externally
as part of the court, i. e. without the external architectural effect
[ 150 ]

GROWTH OF THE BUILDING

suggested in the original design, in which this rotunda was
to be surmounted with a very high tower; internally to provide
a complete east and west transept corridor through the building.
Both the Central Rotunda and the circular corridors around it are
to be used as exhibition spaces. The top floor is to accommodate
the Library, Reading Room, and Stack Room, as the central
feature of the completed Museum, equally accessible to all its
parts.

The location of the administrative offices has not been con-

sidered.

NORTH TRANSEPT, SITE OF THE ENLARGED LECTURE
HALL AND AUDITORIUM, with seating capacity of 3,000.

EAST TRANSEPT, connecting the Central Rotunda with the East
Pavilion, to be twelve feet wider than the present South Transept
or wings.

EAST PAVILION on Central Park, to be connected by a proposed
broad new driveway with the West Drive of the Park, and
to be the future grand entrance hall of the Museum, archi-
tecturally imposing, like the entrance hall of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

SOUTHEAST WING, connecting the present Southeast Pavilion
and thus completing the east circuit.

GLASS COURTS. It has been suggested, but has not as yet been
considered by the Committee, that the two south courts might be
utilized by placing therein glass-covered areas one story high.

RATE OF GROWTH AND COST

The Museum has hitherto been constructed in sections, namely:
transepts, pavilions, wings, and central rotunda. Each section may
be considered as a unit. By a review of the past rate of growth and

[151]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

total cost an estimate may be made of the future rate of growth and of
the final cost of the completed building.

The diagram on page 147, exhibits the years in which successive
additions have been made.

On the supposition that owing to increasing efficiency in mechanical
appliances construction in the future will not be more expensive than
in the past, the following tabular statement enables us to form an ap-
proximate forecast:

Units. Halls. Total Cost.
Canstracted sia — LOO nate sect ete cus e sietece eferstte eine tstetetar 8 40 $4,838,000
Estimated

Cost
Extension now being planned......................+-- 6 30 $3,900,000
North half of Museum, not yet planned................ 8 40 $5,200,000
DOG 35 cts Coa eiene ts erates ey ete. ata te cae Te 22 110 $13,938,000

These figures show that during the past thirty-two years, that is,
between 1877 and 1909, the Museum has completed eight units, or a
unit every four years.* If the city continues to erect the building at the
same rate, the extension now being planned, comprising six units, will
be completed in the next twenty-four years. The entire Museum
will cost between $14,000,000 and $15,000,000.

It is interesting to compare these figures with those of other
expenditures or appropriations by the city in recent years.

The Speedway. s/s cthsc sens vysjas cence Weis nts» «1 0i8 ceyale’areragegevetalies = ae eet eee $3,095,000
New: York Public Tibrary nic as emcees ele tne a ok s Se enie ieee rabies 9,000,000
Metropolitan (Museum: of Arts 55.26 sist 0.0is ish ancien vernal ite cee ie nee ee 4,612,000
Now Municipal Buildings. ori scr. Ste ace eels ike eeiotie titted rear eee 12,000,000
Halliok Recordsns. tects «5:5 ate ateieea + « eieiaays siete ad ee we ae eter ee 5,613,699

In the past the rate of growth of the building provided by the city
has been in response to the crowding of collections; that is, the Trustees
have not asked the city to build in advance of their needs, but have
acquired collections and then asked the city to erect adequate space
for them.

The stored collections of the Museum if properly displayed will fill a
very considerable space, perhaps a half of the extension now being
planned. The rate of increase of collections has been steadily growing
during the past thirty-two years, therefore we are acquiring collections

* The building, equipment, casing and furnishing of the average unit has been $650,000.

[ 152]

FANING SQENNT7O%)

CLASS COVERED

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GROWTH OF THE BUILDING

more rapidly now than ever before. It thus appears desirable that
the Trustees should prepare plans for the extension of the building
and that when these are thoroughly matured, so that we may assure
the officers of the Park Department and of the Board of Estimate and
Apportionment that the best possible plan to be devised is prepared,
recommendation be made for construction of the six new units in the
course of the next twelve years.

[153]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF
THE EXHIBITIONS

it a rank second only to the British Museum, which places

it among the first of our educational and research institu-
tions in this country, which relates it to the college and university
system not only of New York but of the entire United States,
should encourage us not to stop, but to go on with increased vigor
and intelligence. If this is to be a truly great country, its intel-
lectual growth must keep pace with or in advance of its material
prosperity.

It is important to realize that only a beginning has been made;
that the new methods which have been developed in certain depart-
ments should be extended to all departments; that some of our col-
lections, as compared with those of the British Museum, or even of
other American museums, are in their infancy; that certain depart-
ments of science, which properly belong to a natural history museum,
have barely been suggested; that everywhere the lack of sequence in the
arrangement of the collection is most confusing to the visitor. Finally,
while gratifying progress has been made in connection with the public
educational system of the City, we should render even greater service
than we have been doing to the common schools, the high schools,
the colleges and the universities. In other words, the Museum,
through its influence on teachers and on pupils, should become a
more vital part of the educational system of the City, which alone
will justify increased appropriations for maintenance and will justify
the Trustees in their appeal to liberal-minded citizens for an increased
endowment.

Je wonderful growth of the American Museum, which gives

[154 ]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS
Briefly these various objects may be summarized as follows:

1. Closer relations with the system of Public Education.

2. Extension of the exhibition system to pure science, as-
tronomy, physics, geography, physical geography, thalas-
sography.

3. Applications of science to public health, economic forestry,
economic zoology, mines and mining.

In the new Department of Public Health, for example, we should
pursue the fine beginning which has been made and show the relation
of the simpler forms of animal and plant life to germ and protozoan
diseases along the lines begun in the mosquito exhibit.

In the Department of Woods and Forestry, we should display
the principles of conservation and teach the lessons of economy rather
than of waste in the natural resources of our country.

In the pure sciences, astronomy has never found its way into any
Natural History museum until the present admirable beginning made
in this institution, to the instruction and delight of thousands of visi-
tors. It is obvious from the laws of the unity of nature, taught by
Humboldt and Darwin, that all causes are ultimately astronomic and
physical. Certain temporary exhibits of solar, lunar and stellar
photographs from the Yerkes and other observatories have proved both
fascinating and instructive to the public. We already have the
promise of the superb photographs which are now being secured by
Professor Hale of the Carnegie Institution at Pasadena. These
display the evolution of worlds, the corona of the sun, the vortical
nature of the sun spots. Other astronomers in our observatories,
which now lead the world, will be glad to send us their latest negatives.
Displayed in a darkened room, with transmitted light, these negatives
give a perfect vision of the heavens as it appears through our largest
telescopes. Such an exhibition could be arranged at comparatively
small expense on the first floor of the new rotunda.

Similarly, in Physical Geography, we are promised the hearty co-
operation of Professor Davis of Harvard University, the leading

[ 155 ]

The New
Department of
Public Health.

Conservation.

Astronomy.

Physical

Geography.

Geography.

Thalassog-
raphy.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

student of this subject. He is ready to plan a hall which shall be
devoted to the great surface phenomena of the earth, to the mountains,
the rivers, the glaciers, the snow peaks, the volcanoes, the valleys, the
canons and all the other wonderful features of the earth’s surface
which may be displayed through photographs and through models.

The beginning which has been made by the Museum in geography
in the projection of the Arctic and Antarctic regions has attracted so
much attention and such close study by visitors that it is clear that the
way is open for a complete geographic exhibit. Already, through an
arrangement with the American Geographical Society, under President
Huntington, a typical globe, embodying the very latest results of
geographical research, has been prepared, which will serve as the basis
on which can be recorded not only all the geographical and physical
features of the earth, but the distribution of plants and animals and
of the races of men. It is obvious that geography is the subject above
all others through which we may get into close touch with the work
of the public schools; that advanced museum methods of geography,
such as we shall adopt, will be a great aid both to teachers and to pupils
—in fact, it will put the whole science on a new basis in the City of
New York.

Thalassography is another of the new subjects which it is proposed
to develop, both on its physical side—the content of the sea and of the
geographical sea bottom—and on its living side—the marvelous and
peculiar forms of sea life. America has been one of the leaders in this
subject, through the voyages of the ‘“‘Blake”’ and of the “Albatross,”
under Alexander Agassiz and others. At the present time, the ‘Alba-
tross’’ has been offered to us by the United States Department of
Fisheries for use in the Antarctic, which will enable the Museum to
secure its first thalassographic collections and train its first observers
in this field.

The following conspectus of the present and future scope of the
exhibitions is the taking stock of what we have and of what we need
to carry out these plans.

[ 156 ]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

CONSPECTUS OF THE PRESENT CONDITION AND THE
FUTURE SCOPE OF EXHIBITIONS

Astronomy
Solar and planetary system ..

Earth and the moon as planet and atellite
Star system and evolution of the worlds. .
EGO CONS SE ke ee te ne

Mp MSUCME CS CICNCES (oa wk Scie aan fe sss 3

Earth Sciences
Geography....

Pinysieall Geovraphy 5.4.5. eey eye alse

Geology and Paleogeography............

Mineralogy and Mines...

The Sea Sciences
Thalassography......

The Life Scrences
Woods and Forestry......

Zoology and Paleontology

Invertebrates
Shells. .

Other Aan eee ee 5S ey ee

Vertebrates
Fishes....

[157]

Exhibitions begun.
Exhibitions begun.
No exhibitions ready.
Creditable collections.

Practically no exhibi-
tions ready.

Preliminary exhibitions
begun.

Preliminary exhibitions
begun.

Exhibitions and collec-
tions begun.

Minerals extensive ; no
exhibitions of mines
ready.

Creditable beginning on
abyssal forms of life.

Full exhibitions. Meth-
ods of Forestry to be
added.

Extensive series.
Incomplete collections.

Very incomplete exhibi-
tions and collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Zoblogy and Paleontology— Continued

Amphibians......................... Very incomplete exhibi-
tions and collections.

Reptiles......... .................. Very incomplete exhibi-
tions and collections.

Birds......2.-.¢05050 + qanes + sane Jae, MOREE | Reinier nnn:
Much to be done.

Mammals............../.....2..4..) ~Wanr gollections.. Shick
to be done.

Anthropology, Archeology, and Ethnology

America
North America
New York and Atlantic coast Indians. Fair collections.

Central States, Mound Builders..... . Abundant collections.
Indians of the Plains........ ...... Growing collections.
Indians of the Southwest........... Growing collections.
California. 6... wd. ces kecs ccicvsones somal polleetions
North Pacific Coast, British Columbia

and Alaska.................... Creditable collections.
Eiskimos............0.0...0:.0..... Jiaehensrve collertions:

Mexico and Central America
Mester hee See ee Fair collections.
Yucatan
Honduras
Guatemala
Costa Rica

Scanty collections.

South America
Ecuador
Bolivia
Colombia. 7 ........03.4..0.5 00. 02" Little ethnology; more
Peru of archeology.
Chile
Eastern Coast of South America....: No collections.
[ 158 ]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

Anthropology, Archeology, and Ethnology—Continued

Kurope and Asia
Siberian tribes. .

Oriem of Civilized races...........0....

J DTI Of eee le a a

Asia

CHOTA i 0 ps dO Sal SO a
SVE JSENIO IIS Si uk A i

Korea. .
ehtppines,

fie italayan Tstarida
Borneo een fer hee Pa Meek
Senmacmie tee oe Vr, oar. The
PURGE AMES Ee ee ee, Pe ID ee

New Zealand....

eismicgeass AT ee ee A

Africa
Native races

Brom (Central Aries. 3.5... 3.:...-...

South Pacific Islands
Hawaii. .
Polynesia...

Man and Nature
Anatomy...
Physical tercucléoayee

Physiology......

Rulolieeibealit bites tere yn ine. «Wve do oe.

[ 159 ]

Extensive collections.

A fair beginning has
been made.

Scanty collections.

Fair general collections.
Practically nothing.
Little of note.
Creditable collections.

Practically nothing.
Practically nothing.
Practically nothing.
Initial collections.
Initial collections.

Creditable collections.

Practically nothing.
Fair collections.

A few exhibitions ready.

A beginning has been
made.

Exhibitions begun in
1904.

Exhibitions begun in
1904.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

SEQUENCE AND ARRANGEMENT OF COLLECTIONS

The natural sequence of the exhibitions in each hall and in suc-
cessive halls is an educational principle of very first importance. It is
as important in natural history as it is in art. Visitors to the Berlin
Museum will recall the educational advantage of the arrangement
of the picture galleries according to the sequence of schools in various.
countries. Exactly the same idea applies to a museum of natural
history. Yet with the exception of the Agassiz Museum in Cambridge,
no large museum, to our knowledge, has grasped the idea of the natural
grouping of halls or the natural sequence of subjects.

There are two principal ideas in sequence, namely:

Geographical Arrangement.—In this the visitor passes from country
to country, as he would in traveling. In American anthropology, for
example, he passes from east to west and studies the tribes of New
York, of the Central West, of the Plains region, of the Southwest, of
Mexico, and of Central America. Such lines of travel furnish a very
desirable arrangement for certain classes of exhibits, both in anthro-
pology and in zodlogy.

Evolutionary Sequence.—This is the sequence of development. The
visitor compares primitive races with more civilized races. He fol-
lows the progress of eolithic, palzeolithic, and neolithic man, or he traces
the first steps of nature, the lower into the higher forms of plant and
of animal life. He begins with the simple organisms of the water
and traces the evolution step by step into the higher organisms of the
earth and of the air.

Briefly, it may be said that both the geographical and evolutionary
arrangements, or kinds of sequence, are necessary in a great museum.
Sometimes the geographical arrangement is better; sometimes the
evolutionary, and sometimes both may be more or less combined.
One thing is absolutely essential: a well-ordered museum should present
a natural arrangement which the visitor can grasp and which will have
the same influence on the mind as travel or the direct observation of
evolutionary objects in the state of nature.

[ 160 ]

BNNIAY sNEgWwnTED

61° Srreer

Sha
OF

LECTURE

HALL

HEATING
AND
LIGHTING

HEATING
ANO
LIGHTING

DISTRIBUTION
SYSTEM

Wh “VOTREET

Jan. 19/0.

Basement. Mecuanics, Painrers AND CARPENTERS.

[161 ]

CENTRAL Farw West

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Fortunately the original plan of the American Museum by Calvert
Vaux in 1873, of a great square with intersecting transepts, admirably
provides for such sequence—both geographical and evolutionary. In
fact, with all the advance which has been made in the construction
and design of museum buildings, within the last thirty years, nothing
superior to the ground plan of the American Museum has been devised.
This is a most fortunate circumstance. It was undoubtedly arrived
at accidentally—one of those happy accidents which relieves the Trus-
tees of a mass of difficulties and embarrassments from which other in-
stitutions are suffering.

BASEMENT.—The new Basement Entrance provides not only for
the central distribution of fuel, but also for a receiving and distributing
department of everything which enters and leaves the Museum, replac-
ing the present South Entrance. A level trolley and track system will
connect the receiving department with the entire basement area, and
thus with all the stairways and elevators which may be constructed.
In the basement all the work of mechanics, painters, carpenters, and
joiners is provided for, as well as comfortable rooms for the employes
between hours. Provision is made also for the reception and storage
of large collections, casts, etc., in a rough state, and certain rough
grades of preparation work. The heating and lighting plant will be
placed economically south of the West Transept.

FIRST FLOOR.—tThe first floor will be devoted on the east side
to certain physical and biological branches of science, and on the
west to American Anthropology especially of North America. It will
be appropriate to devote the FOYER, after the removal of the meteor-
ites and the planetary system, entirely to memorials of the Trustees,
of prominent members of the Scientific Staff, and of men distinguished
in the history of American science.

The scientific sequence of this floor will be understood by beginning
with ASTRONOMY in the Rotunda, in which, in a darkened hall,
photographs of the heavens will be displayed by transmitted light, as
explained above. The adjoining East Transept and East Entrance

[ 162 ]

AINTHROFPOLO!

Wyte tte le: ib CALIFORNIA
AND
AND
WCENTRAL
| SOUTH PACIFIC
Jae, coAsT

INDIANS

BNNAAY SNBWNTOD

INDIANS

INDIANS
OF NEW YORK
OF THE
AND
AEE EASTERN COAST
~
WL. STREET
ANTHROPOLOGY

or NortH AMERICA.

THE PRIM

61°" Srreer

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' ' '

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: ;

’ ‘ '

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NORTH

PACIFIC

HALL

Pee
‘lies HEAVENS }

MEMORIAL

HYSIOLOG
AND
PUIBLIC HEALTH

kK
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wv PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND tc
Oo =<
wu MINERALOGY Q
Bs THE EARTH J
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THE BEGINNINGS
OF THE WORLO eS
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PLANT LIFE

DARWIN HALL
Woobds SYNOPTIC

AND oF

| FORESTRY ANIA
KINGDOM

Jan. 19/0.

Tue Heavens, Tue Earru, THE Sra,
Tue Forests, Lower Orpers or Lire.

First Fioor.

[ 163 ]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Pavilion may be devoted appropriately to the sciences of the earth, to
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, and MINERALOGY. This
floor and the space under the entrance steps leading to the second floor
entrance lends itself to the display of sections of mines and sections of
the interior of the earth. In the adjoining Southeast Wing the visitor
will pass into THALASSOGRAPHY — the geography and physical
constitution of the sea bottom and sea water— as an introduction
to the LIFE OF THE SEA, which, in turn, will lead into the Southeast
Pavilion devoted to a synopsis of the ANIMAL KINGDOM, especially
the lower forms of life, a hall which was dedicated to the memory of
Charles Darwin on the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. The
communicating South Hall will be devoted to WOODS AND FOR-
ESTRY, an extension of the already remarkable Jesup Collection, into
the domain of Applied Forestry. Passing through the MEMORIAL
HALL we enter the South Transept, which will be devoted entirely
to the North Pacific Tribes of Indians from British Columbia to Alaska,
the Eskimo Exhibit to be removed to the floor above.

Passing from the Memorial Hall to the West we enter the South
Hall devoted to the INDIANS OF NEW YORK, of the eastern coast
of the United States, and the CENTRAL STATES, including the
Mound Builders. This is a natural geographic introduction to the
INDIANS OF THE PLAINS, which may occupy the Southwest
Pavilion and lead naturally into the Southwest Hall devoted to the
INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST, especially to the splendid col-
lections assembled by the Hyde Expeditions and the present Hunt-
ington Expeditions.

A grand feature of the Museum will be the new West Entrance
Pavilion, devoted to MEXICAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN
ARCHAOLOGY, a two-story hall with gallery, suitable for the re-
ception of reproductions of portions of the great temples, altars, and
stelee of the Aztec, Zatopecan, and Mayan cultures, in which the native
art and architecture of America reaches its high-water mark. It is
proposed to add to the Loubat Collection by fresh expeditions in
Mexico, and to secure by exchange and purchase other collections now

[ 164 ]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

in this country, so that it is believed this grand hall will be completely
filled, and constitute one of the finest features of the Museum. Studies
are being made for the architectural and mural decoration of the hall
in keeping with its contents, so that it will be for all time the anthro-
pological gateway to the Museum and the main evening entrance.

Adjoining this hall will be two smaller auditoriums capable of
seating three hundred persons each, for the use of public school teachers
and pupils, the New York Academy of Sciences and other affiliated
societies.

The West Transept will be devoted to the ARCHASOLOGY AND
ETHNOLOGY OF CALIFORNIA and the South Pacific coast.

SECOND FLOOR.—The second, or main floor of the Museum,
may be devoted on the east to the Geographic or Faunistic arrange-
ment of the Higher Animal Life of the World, and on the west to a
continuation of American Anthropology and Ethnology. The Rotunda
will be occupied by an elaboration of the PLANETARY SYSTEM
which is now placed in the Foyer. A grand new East and West
Transept connecting the East Entrance Hall with the West Entrance
Hall will provide space for the permanent display of the relative
distances of the remote planets.

The entrance point of the second floor will be the grand new East
Entrance Hall, a two- or possibly three-story opening surrounded by
galleries. Facing the visitor will be the East Transept Hall devoted
to the LIFE OF AFRICA, for which collections are now being made
in British East Africa, in the Uganda Protectorate, and in the Congo,
in addition to the already considerable collections in the Museum. It
is proposed here to give the visitor an impression of the entire life of
Africa, of its most distinctive mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes, as
well as types of man. Supplementing these exhibits will be photo-
graphs and transparencies of characteristic African scenery. Models
will display the principal geographic and physiographic characters.
In brief, a visit to the African Hall will resemble as nearly as is possible
in a museum a visit to Africa itself. This method of treatment is

[ 165 ]

61° Srecer

ECONOMIC ECONOMIC

GEOLOGY ZOOLOGY

PLANETARY AUSTRALIAN AFRICAN BAe

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AMERICA. AND FisHes in GEoGRAPHIC ORDER.

Seconp Frioor (Mary).

[ 166 ]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

entirely practicable. Through our expeditions and through the gifts
of the late King Leopold of Belgium we shall soon be able to give a
complete synthetic treatment of this remarkable country. At the end
of the hall may be an exhibit of the entirely unique LIFE OF AUS-
TRALIA, its vegetation, its peculiar mammals, birds, and fishes, and
its inferior human tribes. Unfortunately the Museum possesses few
materials for this exhibit at present.

Halls arranged on the same principle will extend in geographic
sequence around this entire floor. Thus the visitor passes, in the
Southeast Hall, into the SOUTH ASIATIC LIFE, materials for which
are already in the Museum and will be amplified in the course of the
next few years; this life is closely akin, in fact, it was only in recent
geologic time detached from, that of Africa. In the same hall we next
pass into the LIFE OF NORTHERN ASIA, which is closely akin to
that of the northerly region of America; and thus by an entirely natural
transition we enter the BOREAL LIFE OF ALASKA AND BRITISH
COLUMBIA, vast materials for which are already in the possession
of the Museum or on exhibition.

Passing around we enter the NORTH AMERICAN LIFE of the
South Hall, an extension of the collections already displayed there,
which may extend into the South Central Pavilion. This will lead
the visitor naturally into the Life of the Southern Portions of North
America, the so-called Sonoran Zone, which, in turn, will introduce us
naturally into the SOUTH AMERICAN LIFE, from the Andes to
the Pampas, Patagonia, and Terra del Fuego. Materials for the
exhibits are partly in the Museum, partly to be collected through our
proposed expeditions in South America. The remainder of this hall
may be devoted to the CIRCUMPOLAR LIFE, or LIFE OF THE
ARCTIC and ANTARCTIC regions, connecting with the LIFE OF
THE ESKIMO, which may be removed from the floor below. Superb
materials for the exhibits of Arctic life are already in hand through
the Peary expeditions. It is proposed to enter actively upon Antarctic
exploration to supplement our decidedly limited materials from this
region.

[ 167 ]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

This circle completes the circuit of the world and will be equivalent
to a great journey around the globe and from pole to pole.

The anthropological section to the west may include two halls
devoted to AMERICAN ARCHASOLOGY extending into the South-
west Pavilion, rich materials for which are already in the possession
of the Museum. From this we pass into the Southwest Hall which
may be devoted to the Archeology and Ethnology of ECUADOR
AND COLOMBIA, in which our materials are at present very limited.
This naturally connects with the gallery floor of the MEXICAN AND
CENTRAL AMERICAN HALL, and leads into the PERUVIAN
HALL in the West Transept, in which our collections are particularly
rich through the gifts of Mr. Henry Villard and others.

THIRD FLOOR.—tThe third floor may be devoted on the east
to the Animal Kingdom, arranged by natural affinity or classification,
and on the west to the Anthropology of Europe, Asia, Indo-Malaya,
and Australia.

If the second floor is especially devoted to the needs of the general
student, the third floor may be arranged especially for the needs of
special students of zodlogy of high school, college, and university
grade, as well as for animal lovers. On this floor we enter the south
transept with its beautiful HABITAT GROUPS OF BIRDS, im-
proved by the widening of the galleries. We pass into a SYSTEM-
ATIC COLLECTION OF BIRDS arranged according to affinity in
the Rotunda Gallery and also in the East Transept, and extending, if
necessary, into the galleries of the grand Entrance Hall. This leaves
four halls for the SYSTEMATIC COLLECTIONS OF MAMMALS.
One may be devoted appropriately to a SYNOPTIC COLLECTION,
or key to the classification of mammals, another to a COLLECTION
OF WHALES. The Central South Pavilion may be devoted perma-
nently to the Collection of MONKEYS AND APES, extended to
include the Transition to Primitive Man.

This hall will naturally connect with that devoted to the RACES
OF MEN on the west, a subject of the utmost importance which we

[ 168 ]

SNNAAY SNgWNTO)D

AUSTRALIA

EUROPEAN
ANTHROPOLOGY THE

AND RACES oF MEN
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Jan. 19/0.

Mammnats, Brrps, REpriLEs,

AMPHIBIANS AND FISHES IN

Orper or KINSHIP.

Fioor (GALLERY).

[ 169 |

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

have hardly begun to treat. It is important to observe that this
floor will give us the History of the Origin of Civilization. We shall
have a passage from the anthropoid apes to the most primitive races
of men, and be able to trace the successive human cultures, as dis-
played only in Old World remains. Valuable collections are already
in the Museum illustrating these culture stages, but we need to sup-
plement them by others, and to give the entire collection arrangement
under the best scientific authorities. The subject is naturally one
where the American Museum for the first time touches the historian.
ASIATIC ANTHROPOLOGY and ARCHAZOLOGY will naturally
lead out of the European. Here again our collections are very limited.
Similarly we have only made a beginning in the INDO-MALAYAN
ARCHIPELAGO and in AUSTRALIA, which will complete this
Anthropological Circuit.

FOURTH FLOOR.—tThe Fourth Floor is the finest in proportions
of any of the floors and best lends itself to the display of objects of
large size requiring considerable vertical space. It is therefore pecu-
liarly suited to the display of the PAST HISTORY OF THE EARTH,
on the east side, and of the anthropological collections of Africa,
Polynesia, the Philippines, China and Japan, and the Siberian tribes,
on the west side. Again, the circular arrangement of the halls in the
completed south plan enables us to present a perfect evolutionary
sequence on the east, and a natural geographic sequence on the
west.

The Past History of the Earth, as told by fossils, begins with the
PALASOZOIC, or AGE OF MOLLUSKS, provided for by the great James
Hall Collection and additions which have been made to it, in its present
location, namely, the South Transept Hall. The collections await re-
arrangement, the elimination of certain parts which more properly
belong elsewhere, and the addition of paleogeographic maps showing
the past history of the American continent, based upon the researches of
Professor Schuchert of Yale University and others. The student at
this point begins with the first stages of life in the Cambrian and pre-

[170 |

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[171]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Cambrian, estimated at 40,000,000 years ago. He passes into the
gallery surrounding the rotunda and is introduced to the AGE OF
FISHES by a collection of living fishes, which, in turn, will lead him
into the East Transept devoted to later paleozoic times, or close of the
Age of Fishes. Here the Museum is rich in the Newberry Collection,
deposited by Columbia University, and, through the Dodge Fund,
is in a position to acquire and arrange most instructive exhibits of the
life of this great period of time.

The East Entrance Hall may be partly devoted to exhibits of the
larger fishes of modern times and to the Carboniferous and Permian
periods, when the AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES first make their
appearance on the earth. This is the Age of the Coal Formations, and
mural decorations, illustrating the Carboniferous or Coal Period and
its rich flora will be appropriate. Following this is the Permian in
which we have unsurpassed collections. The next hall in the Southeast
Wing leads us into Jurassic times and may be known as the FIRST
HALL OF DINOSAURS, for which imposing materials have already
been assembled, namely, the great Brontosaurus and other giant reptiles
of this period. Splendid specimens of these animals, as yet unmounted,
from the Museum’s expeditions and from the Cope Collection pre-
sented by Mr. Jesup, await the space which a new hall will afford. In
the south end of the same hall one may pass into that long period of
time known as the Middle Cretaceous, when the Rocky Mountain
region was beneath a series of shallow seas which swarmed with
MARINE REPTILES, over which hovered various types of flying
reptiles and primitive birds. Again, the collections now in the Museum,
those unprepared and those being brought together by our western
expeditions, are ready to fill a considerable space. The visitor now
passes into the Southwest Pavilion, which will be known as the
SECOND HALL OF DINOSAURS, and which will portray the second
and final great period of dinosaur life in North America. Here we are
now ready to make a most imposing display of Jguanadons, giant carniv-
orous reptiles, or 7’yrannosaurus, great horned dinosaurs and the small
forms of life from this remarkable period. The flora of this period is

[172]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

also known and may be splendidly shown both in transparencies
and in large mural restorations.

At this time the first small mammals were discovered and gave
transition to the Ceeonozic life of the South Hall, which will be devoted
to the TERTIARY MAMMALS. This hall, which represents the
results of twenty years of exploration and purchase, is now overcrowded,
and it is proposed to move the Quaternary mammals into the Pavilion
Hall beyond, the ample proportions of which lend themselves admirably
to the crowning forms of LIFE OF PLEISTOCENE times, the great
elephants and mastodons of North America, as well as the ponderous
forms of South America, assembled in our Pampean Collection.

This will complete the circuit of the Past History of Life in a
manner which will be unrivaled in any museum in the world, and it is
peculiarly appropriate to present in mural paintings on the walls here
the Pleistocene man as a hunter of these great mammals in Europe and
North America and as the artist who depicted forms with rare fidelity
on the walls of caves in Europe. This PLEISTOCENE hall, there-
fore, like that below it, connects perfectly the zodlogical with the
anthropological section to the west, and gives us a perfect sequence.

The Hall of AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGY, to the west, is rapidly
being prepared for the munificent gifts of the late King of the Belgians,
through a number of important purchases, through photographs
donated to us by several explorers and through our own expeditions
in various parts of Africa. It is one of the halls in which a splendid
arrangement and exhibition is already in sight. The visitor then
passes into the Southwest Pavilion displaying the anthropology of
the PACIFIC ISLANDS, of POLYNESIA, of HAWAII, where our
collections are still in the initial stage.

In the adjoining hall of the Southwest Wing, however, we enter the
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, where our collections are really very rich
and promise to be nearly complete in the course of a few more years.
The next section west of the Entrance Pavilion brings us naturally
to CHINA AND JAPAN, from which we have already secured, through
the East Asiatic Committee, gifts from Mr. J. H. Schiff, Mr. Edward D.

[173 ]

ANNAAY SNBWNTIAD

ANTHROPOLOGY

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[174]

CenTRaL ParK Wesr

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

Adams, and others of very rich materials from the earliest stages of
culture in these countries, and some ethnological and archeological
material of note. From here we pass into the West Transept Hall,
which will be devoted to the SIBERIAN TRIBES. It may be said
that the collections from these tribes are superb, again through the
generosity of the East Asiatic Committee.

FIFTH FLOOR.—tThe Top, or Fifth Floor, of the Museum will be
devoted to administration, to preparation and research rooms of the
Scientific Staff, to storage rooms and to the great MUSEUM LIBRARY
AND READING ROOM, which it is now proposed to place in the
center of the rotunda. The Library has already attained the rank of
one of the first scientific libraries of the country, through the co-
operation of the New York Academy of Sciences, as already set forth.
It should be made both a working library for all departments of
the Museum, and a reference library in most of the branches of science
embraced in the future Museum. Certain subjects, however, like
astronomy, physics, and physiology will naturally be left to the New
York Public Library and to Columbia University, as it is proposed
only to develop the educational and exhibitional sides of the subjects
rather than the theoretical.

SUMMARY

The above proposed plan of arrangement is an exposition of what
may be done rather than a deliberate and thoroughly considered
plan of what shall be done, and it is subject to careful discussion by
the Trustees, by the Director and other members of the Scientific
Staff and to the advice which we shall welcome from experts at home
and abroad in the various subjects involved. It has the advantage of
definitely presenting a plan which can be understood, criticised and
doubtless improved through prolonged study and consideration.

[175 ]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

MUSEUM EXTENSION

The Museum has already entered upon a method of Museum
Extension which reaches the entire school system of the City through
the circulation of small traveling museums. Within its walls there
has been established a CHILDREN’S ROOM, which promises to
become a more important feature as time goes on. Children’s Rooms
have been successively established in the Brooklyn Museum of Arts
and Sciences, and the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. The
American Museum has also made a beginning in reaching the blind
through a MUSEUM FOR THE BLIND, the first of its kind to
our knowledge.

The final recommendation of this report is that the Trustees should
be willing to consider the advisability of establishing an

EAST SIDE BRANCH MUSEUM

placed in the most congested district of the City, in the center of a
population eager for education and keenly appreciative both of the
Branch Library and of the Free Lecture Systems. The attendance at
the Aquarium, which is within easy reach of the congested East Side
district, amounting to three and a half millions a year, gives some idea
of the number of people, both old and young, who could be reached
and educated through a branch. Such an institution should be the
gift of some special benefactor and philanthropist. It should be amply
endowed, so as not to be a tax on the parent institution. It should
enjoy a maintenance fund from the City which would provide merely
for its upkeep and administration, but not for its collections. The
parent Museum could contribute to such a branch, without sacrifice,
many admirable educational exhibits. Such a branch would be a great
force in the public education of the newcomers of all lands who are
crowding into the East’ Side of the City. Similar undertakings in
London have met with extraordinary success and popular approval.
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AMERICAN MUSEUM OF
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AMERICAN MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY

ITS ORIGIN, ITS HISTORY
THE GROWTH OF ITS DEPARTMENTS

TO DECEMBER 31, 1909

BY

HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN

PRESIDENT

WRITTEN WITH THE COOPERATION OF
MEMBERS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND SCIENTIFIC STAFFS

SECOND EDITION
1911

NEW YORK
THE IRVING PRESS
1911

TRUSTEES’ EDITION, 50 copies, published — 7
Curators’ Eprrron, 600 copies, published July 1, 1911

I

ORIGIN OF THE MUSEUM

i ja cee a

FOREWORD

the benefit of the Trustees, Members and Scientific Staff.

The present edition is abbreviated from a full report pre-
sented to the Trustees February 14, 1910, and constituting the
Trustees’ Edition.

The first manuscript History of the Museum was that written at the
request of the late President Morris K. Jesup by Mr. L. P. Gratacap. It
is still unpublished, but has yielded very valuable information.

The materials for the present History have been assembled chiefly by
Assistant Secretary George H. Sherwood and the Curators of the various
Departments, from the Minutes of the Meetings of Trustees and Exec-
utive Committee, the Annual Reports of the Presidents, and from the
records of the several Departments. The text of the historical sections
has been prepared largely under the direction of Mr. Sherwood by Miss
Elsé Grant Symonds. The editing and proof-reading of the manu-
script have been done chiefly by Curator Edmund Otis Hovey.

One of the chief objects of the History is to record our grateful ac-
knowledgments to the many scientific men and to the many patrons of
science as well as to the three past Presidents and their supporting Trus-
tees, who have guided the affairs of this great institution.

Doubtless there still remain many omissions despite the best efforts
at accuracy. The names and special services of some of our many
friends may have been unintentionally passed by or unrecorded. It is
hoped to remedy such omissions as are discovered in a third and fuller
edition of this History. Suggestions and corrections should therefore
be addressed to the Assistant Secretary at the Museum.

she outline of the History of the Museum has been prepared for

HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN,
July ¥, 1911, President.

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I. ORIGIN OF THE MUSEUM

] OUIS AGASSIZ, the great Swiss naturalist, came to this country
in 1848 on a call to Harvard College, and his influence
was immediate and far-reaching. One of his best gifts

was that of inspiring all who heard him with a love of natural

history. Among his many pupils at Cambridge was Albert 8. Bick-
more, who studied under him for four years (1861-65) and who
caught his enthusiasm. Coming to New York in 1865 to arrange for
an exploring expedition into the Far East, funds for which had been
provided by New England friends, Mr. Bickmore made the acquaint-
ance of Mr. William Earl Dodge, 2d, and broached to him his plan

for a great museum of natural history in the metropolis. Such a

museum had been projected by Agassiz for Harvard College.

After three years (1865-67) spent in the Dutch East Indies,
China, Japan, and Siberia, Mr. Bickmore, on his way home, stopped in
London where he showed Sir Richard Owen, Director of the British
Museum of Natural History, his plans for a natural history museum
in New York, which had been maturing during his long journey in the
Kast. Owen expressed general approval of the plan, thereby greatly
encouraging the young traveler.

This general conception of a very large and comprehensive museum,
as developed through the action of the Trustees and the original
architects, Calvert Vaux and J. Wrey Moulder, together with the
fortunate selection of the site of Manhattan Square, resulted in the
bold projection of the great American Museum building, one-third of
which is now completed.

On his return from London, Mr. Bickmore again called upon Mr.
Dodge, who at that time was too much occupied with other matters
to give his personal attention to the new project, and therefore sent the
young man with a message to Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., in whom

[9]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

the museum project found a strong friend and energetic supporter.
Through Mr. Roosevelt and through Messrs. William A. Haines,
Benjamin H. Field, and Robert Colgate, a remarkable group of men
was brought together which ultimately resulted in the establishment
of the first Board of Trustees. Mr. William A. Haines was both a
merchant and a student; he had brought together a large collection of
shells; he had in conversation and in correspondence emphasized his
hope of seeing a museum of natural history erected in New York, and
his talent as an organizer led to his taking a prominent part in the
movement and being elected chairman of the Executive Committee.
The Founders, or original Board, included the following:

John David Wolfe, William T. Blodgett,
Robert L. Stuart, Andrew H. Green,
Robert Colgate, Morris K. Jesup,
Benjamin H. Field, D. Jackson Steward,
Richard M. Blatchford, J. Pierpont Morgan,
Adrian Iselin, Moses H. Grinnell,
Benjamin B. Sherman, A. G. Phelps Dodge,
William A. Haines, Charles A. Dana,
Theodore Roosevelt, Joseph H. Choate,
Henry G. Stebbins, Henry Parish,

Howard Potter.

The steps in the organization of the Museum were as follows: The
first letter to the Commissioners of Central Park, dated December
30, 1868, with nineteen signers, received favorable response from
Mr. Andrew H. Green, as Comptroller of Central Park, dated January
13, 1869. The signers of the letter then took immediate steps to raise
a fund for the purchase of important collections which were then offered
for sale.

The Special Committee appointed to perfect the organization con-
sisted of

William A. Haines, Howard Potter,
Theodore Roosevelt.
[10]

ORIGIN OF THE MUSEUM

This Committee nominated the Trustees of the new Museum. Mr.
John D. Wolfe was elected Chairman, and Mr. Howard Potter, Treasurer
pro tem. ‘The next meeting of the Trustees was held at the residence
of Mr. Haines, and Theodore Roosevelt was made Secretary. A plan
for subscriptions was then considered, and this eventful meeting, the
results of which actually installed the first great museum devoted to
natural science in New York City, adjourned.

The conception of the Museum, its original purposes and its future
may be gathered from passages in the First Annual Report of President
Wolfe: “That, recognizing the necessity of such a Museum as a means
of education and recreation, and desiring its establishment upon a
scale commensurate with the wealth and importance of our great
city . . . we have, if properly supported and aided with funds by
our fellow citizens, a guarantee of a prosperous future in the formation
of a Museum of Natural History that will be second to none, and which,
while affording amusement and instruction to the public, will be the
means of teaching our youth to appreciate the wonderful works of the
Creator.”

The original officers were the following:

President
JOHN Davip WOLFE

Vice-Presidents
Rosert L. STuartT WiuuiAM A. HAINES

Secretary
A. G. PHEtpes DopGE

Treasurer
Howarp PoTtTER

Chairman of the Executive Committee
Wiuu1aM A. HAINES

The original letter of application was sent to the Commissioners of
Central Park on December 30, 1868. The Commissioners accepted
on January 13, 1869, the responsibility of “the establishment of a

[11]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Museum in the Park that shall become an aid in the Great Educa-
tional System of the City, concentrate and develop Scientific efforts
in all departments of Natural History, and at the same time be an
instructive and acceptable resort for the people of the city, and for
the throng of strangers that visit it.” Under the presidency of John
David Wolfe and the able guidance of William A. Haines, Chairman
of the Executive Committee, the Museum was incorporated April 6,
1869. The financial relations between the Trustees and the City were
laid down December 23, 1869, and finally became embodied in the
law relating to the Department of Parks.

A most fortunate circumstance in the educational history of the
City of New York was the discovery and embodiment in the Con-
tract with the City of a new idea in municipal government—namely,
the erection of the building and its maintenance by the munici-
pality, and the donation by Trustees and other citizens of all the col-
lections. This idea appeared in all the early correspondence, in the
first contract, and was finally and formally expressed in the contract
drawn up by Mr. Choate and Mr. Green when the Museum entered the
original building on Manhattan Square.

This reciprocal adjustment was stimulating both to public expendi-
ture and to private munificence; it formed the model on which the re-
lations of the American Museum and of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art were established, and on which, in later years, the Botanical
Garden and the Zodélogical Park were founded. It is by far the wisest
and best adjustment which has ever been devised, since it has proved,
by experience, to be superior to exclusive municipal or state control,
or to private control. The essential features in these agreements are
as follows:

“The Trustees of the American Museum to employ their
own Curators for the care and arrangement of their collection,
and to pay them their salaries, all such persons to be subjected
to the regulations of the Park Commissioners.

“The collections already acquired and those which may
from time to time be acquired and so deposited, to remain

[12]

ORIGIN OF THE MUSEUM

the property of the American Museum of Natural History, to
be removed by them immediately after the expiration of six
months’ previous notice in writing to the Commissioners of
the Park, or within six months after receiving a written
notice from the Commissioners asking them to withdraw their
property from the Park.” *

“The Board of Commissioners of the Department of
Public Parks in the City of New York is hereby authorized
to contract, direct, and to maintain in and upon that portion
of the Central Park, formerly known as Manhattan Square,
or any other public park, square, or place in said city, a
suitable fireproof building . . . for the purpose of establish-
ing and maintaining therein ...a Museum of Natural
History, by the American Museum of Natural History . . .
and it shall be the duty of and lawful for the Comptroller
of the City of New York to create and issue in the manner
in this act provided such additional amounts of a public
fund or stock, to be denominated ‘The Museums of Art
and Natural History Stock,’ as shall be necessary to provide
the money required for erecting said buildings, for an amount
not exceeding the aforesaid limitations.” +

* Letter from W. A. Haines to Andrew H. Green, December 23, 1869. The

terms were accepted by Mr. Green, January 21, 1870.
t Act of the Legislature of the State of New York, passed April 22, 1876.

[13]

II
HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

UNDER THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF

JOIN DAVID WOLKE
1869-1872

ROBERT L. STUART
_ 1872-1881

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP
1881-1908

JOHN DAVID WOLFE

FIRST PRESIDENT

1869-1872

From Museum Portrait by Daniel Huntington

PRESIDENCY OF

JOHN DAVID WOLFE
1869-1872

HERE was a universal predisposition to assist the new in-

stitution, and public administrators as well as individuals

welcomed its foundation, indorsed its aims, and promised
assistance.

It was almost immediately realized that the Museum, thus tenta-
tively organized, needed a charter, to give it corporate functions and
responsibility, and Messrs. Joseph H. Choate, William A. Haines, and
Howard Potter were made a committee to prepare a charter, suggest
a name and apply to the Legislature for the passage of an act of in-
corporation.

On February 26 a meeting of the Trustees was held at the resi-
dence of the President, and the committee appointed at the previous
meeting to prepare a draft of a charter presented their report, which
was adopted section by section and as a whole.

This charter, which first contained the name American Museum
of Natural History, was referred back to the committee under in-
structions to present it to the Legislature.

It was introduced to the Assembly by Mr. Kiernan, to the Senate
by Mr. William M. Tweed, read twice, and referred to the Committee
on Public Education—reported favorably from that committee, and
committed to the Committee of the Whole—and on April 6, 1869, it
had passed both houses of the Legislature. It was immediately ac-
cepted by the Trustees. This act, significant (by its prompt passage
by the Legislature) of general recognition of its utility, and signifi-
cant as emanating from a representative body qualified to support the
claims it created, was hailed with general pleasure.

[17]

The Charter.

Constitution.

Subscriptions.

Collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

The Trustees at once, on motion of Charles A. Dana, at the same
meeting in which the Act of Incorporation was accepted, appointed
a committee of three to draft a constitution. This committee was —
composed of Messrs. Charles A. Dana, Theodore Roosevelt, and Joseph
H. Choate.

The Constitution of The American Museum of Natural History was
carefully framed and was adopted May 4, 1869, precisely as originally
drafted by Mr. Choate. It was a document embodying fundamentally
the aim of the founders of the Museum to restrain and limit all gov-
ernment of the Museum within the body of Trustees. This design
appears throughout the document, and its wisdom has been amply
illustrated in the whole subsequent history of the institution. The
Constitution was a simple and adequate fabric. It was purely regu-
lative, and its provisions have met the requirements of nearly forty
years.

Meanwhile the financial outlook was unexpectedly promising, and
the response to solicitation generous. The personal prestige repre-
sented in its Trustees, their own pledges and the quick appreciation
of the educational purposes of the Museum, established at once a basis
of appeal that was irresistible. By November of the first year (1869)
of the Museum’s corporate existence $44,500 had been subscribed.

Several large collections had been offered and negotiations were
opened for their purchase. The Trustees finally acquired the col-
lection of American birds of the ornithologist, D. G. Elliot, consisting
of about 2,500 specimens; the important collections of Prince Maxi-
milian of Neuwied on the Rhine above Bonn, comprising 4,000
mounted birds, 600 mounted animals, and about 2,000 fishes and
reptiles mounted and in alcohol, and the principal parts of the Ver-
reaux and Vedray collections—the former embracing 2,800 mounted
birds, 220 mounted animals and 4,000 mounted skeletons of mammals,
birds, reptiles, and fishes, and the latter, 250 specimens of mounted
mammals and birds of Siberia. These four collections formed the
nucleus about which the Museum has grown.

[18]

JOHN DAVID WOLFE

THE ARSENAL—THE FIRST HOME OF THE MUSEUM

At first there was no building, no hall or room for the exhibition
of the collections, and this urgency caused the President and Trustees
first to look to the Cooper Union, that hospitable center for all public
efforts in education and culture, and subsequently (December 30, 1868)
to the Commissioners of the Central Park, correspondence with whom
led later to the occupancy of the old Arsenal building in Central Park.

The Arsenal was an oblong structure of four stories with its corners
broken by four polygonal towers, and four more placed midway be-
tween them. The second and third stories were surrendered to the
Museum. New cases were furnished by the Commissioners, numerous
repairs effected, and, through the efforts of Professor Bickmore and
Dr. Holder, it was made attractive. In reality, the conjunction of
this first position of the Museum with the Park Menagerie, or Zodlogical
Gardens, in the midst of which it stood, was a fortunate coincidence.
It assisted greatly the Museum’s popularity.

With the additions almost daily made to the collections, and the
complete absence of space for the accommodation of duplicates, and
preparation of specimens, as well as the obvious temporary and danger-
ous nature of the Arsenal building, the Trustees became more and
more impressed with the need of erecting a different and suitable struc-
ture. From the outset of this enterprise it was intended eventually to
erect a building which in its capacity and architectural features would
command attention, and by permitting a proper exhibition of its col-
lections lead to a scientific revival in New York. Messrs. Blodgett,
Roosevelt, and Morgan were therefore early (November 14, 1870)
appointed ‘‘to take in charge and procure such legislation as may be
necessary to promote the interests of the Museum.”

The moment was propitious. The sister Museum of Art, already
in its personnel partly identified with the Museum of Natural History,
wished also a better home than a wandering locus in private residences.
The movements combined. Their united strength was irresistible. A
great petition actually inclosing 40,000 names was prepared, a body

[19]

The
Building.

The General
Design.

Discussion
as to Site.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

of citizens made up of what was best and most valuable in New York
society. The petition begged for an appropriation sufficient to begin
the building of an Art and of a Scientific Museum, and the unanimity
of the appeal and its extraordinary strength brought almost instant
acquiescence to this request.

The Legislature responded to this appeal, and passed an act
authorizing the Department of Parks to contract for, erect, and main-
tain in and upon that portion of the Central Park formerly known as
Manhattan Square, or any other public park, square or place in said
city, a suitable fireproof building for the purpose of establishing and
maintaining therein, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by
the said Board from time to time, a museum of natural history to be
occupied by the American Museum of Natural History.

Steps were taken to grade Manhattan Square and to prepare it for
the erection of the building. It is interesting to note that the original
committee, in preparing a report containing preliminary recommenda-
tions as a basis for the designs, was instructed to consider both the
Metropolitan Museum and the American Museum. The preliminary
preparatory stages toward the submission of designs for the new
building were entered upon in earnest. Meetings of the Trustees were
convened for a discussion of the location of the new building, and
inspection trips were taken through the Park to consider this important
question in detail. At first there was an evident impression that the
site should be near the Menagerie or Zodlogical Gardens, that is, near
the Arsenal. The first position offered for the American Museum
was the site subsequently allotted to the Museum of Art. A special
Committee on Site, composed of Messrs. Haines, Jesup, and Stuart,
was finally appointed to confer with the Department of Parks with
reference to selecting a site for the new building, either within Central
Park, Reservoir Square, or Manhattan Square. Thus the sites of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and of the New York Public Library
were both originally considered by the American Museum, and we
must regard it as a most fortunate circumstance that both were re-
jected and that Manhattan Square was finally chosen. This, however,

[ 20 ]

JOHN DAVID WOLFE

as described below, was not until after a site within the Park itself was
first selected.

The action regarding plans was most broad-minded. It was first
resolved that Messrs. R. M. Hunt, Russell Sturgis, Jr., and Renwick
and Sands be invited to unite in furnishing designs. The united plans
were received by the Trustees on May 138, 1872, and again referred to
a Committee on Plans composed of Messrs. Haines, Steward, Blodgett,
and Roosevelt. At the same time, to insure a full discussion, it was
resolved that letters be written to prominent scientific gentlemen
asking their views in regard to the scope that should be comprised at
this day in a Museum of Natural History for the City of New York,
and Mr. D. G. Elliot was requested to communicate with Professor
Asa Gray and Professor Richard Owen, asking them to submit a
report furnishing a plan and a policy best calculated to promote the
success of the Museum.

In the midst of these promising steps toward the founding of a
great Museum, President Wolfe died on Friday evening, May 17,
1872, after a long and very honorable career of service to the city of
New York. His presidency covered only three years, but this forma-
tive period fixed the outlines and assured the future of the Museum.
He lived long enough to see the prospect of its future greatness. The
Museum owes its foundation in large measure to his aid and wise
counsel, and will always count among its best treasures the name and
character of its First President.

[21]

The Plans.

Trustees,

Site.

PRESIDENCY OF

ROBERT L. STUART
~—- 4872-1881

Mr. Wolfe. His identification with the Museum had been

close from the start; he had been one of the first contributors
and his sympathies were thoroughly enlisted in its success. He was a
deeply interested observer of the beauties of nature, and his succes-
sion, influenced doubtless by considerations of his age and standing in
the community and his financial responsibilities, was natural.

The Board of Trustees at that time included two men of some
scientific training, William A. Haines and D. Jackson Steward; the
former prominent as a collector, the latter skillful as a critic. A
few changes in the personnel of the Board occurred in 1872: five
of the Founders, Messrs. Blatchford, Grinnell, Dodge, Dana, and
Parish, retired, and to their places succeeded five Trustees who became
strong supporters of the Museum, namely, Messrs. Percy R. Pyne,
John B. Trevor, James M. Constable, William E. Dodge, 2d, and Joseph
W. Drexel.

The plans of the new building, the purchase of new collections,
and the financial interests of the Museum principally engaged the at-
tention of the Trustees. Manhattan Square on the west side of the
Park, comprising eighteen acres of very rough land, quite inaccessible
from the lower part of the City, was assigned. It had been proposed
to make a Zodlogical Garden of this square, and extravagant plans
had been prepared. These plans, however, were pronounced immature
by the Park Department, and when the Museum proposition arose,
somewhat against the deliberate judgment of the Trustees, Manhattan
Square was chosen as its site.

Ru: L. STUART was unanimously elected to succeed

[ 22]

= -

ROBERT L. STUART

SECOND PRESIDENT

1872-1881

From Museum Portrait by Daniel Huntington

ROBERT L. STUART

Calvert Vaux was selected as the architect. The grand design Original

offered by Mr. Vaux was accepted. It contemplated for the entire
edifice a hollow square whose sides were to be formed of four great
buildings 700 feet long, ornate in material and detail, and distinguished
by large entrances of architectural dignity and strength. The whole
structure was intended to cover fifteen acres and fill a space three
times larger than the basement area of the British Museum. A build-
ing of this great size would embrace the most diverse and apposite
kingdoms of nature. The exact sciences might even find here a home;
and the technical applications in the arts, room for the exhibition of
their numberless adaptations.

On June 2, 1874, the corner stone of the first section of the Museum
was laid with great ceremony. The President of the United States,
the Governor of the State, and the Mayor of the City were present.
The President was accompanied by three of his Cabinet. Joseph
Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, added a scientific
prestige and delivered a memorable address. Many other prominent
men were present. President Stuart’s address recited the history of
the Museum, paying high tribute to John David Wolfe and to Albert
S. Bickmore, ‘‘whose services and devotion to the interests of the
institution and untiring industry in carrying out the wishes of the
Executive Committee, have done much to advance the prosperity
of the Museum.” Mr. H. G. Stebbins, President of the Department
of Parks, spoke for the Park Commissioners in language which now
appears singularly prophetic:

“To the stranger who comes here to-day these rugged
foundation walls and these rough surroundings are not well
calculated to make a pleasant impression; but to us who
have watched the rapid growth northward of this City, and
who were familiar with the barren and rocky ground upon
which the Central Park has been created, it requires but little
strain upon the imagination to conceive of the speedy occu-
pation of all these vacant lots by substantial dwellings, and
to picture to ourselves the spot upon which we now stand,
known as Manhattan Square, as covered by the proposed

[ 23 ]

Design.

Dedication.

Equipment.

Study
Collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Museum of Natural History, costing ere its final completion,
not less than $6,000,000, and embracing a collection of objects
of scientific interest second to none other in the world. . . .
What nobler exhibitions could be given of the crowning
achievements of this municipality than those which this
Museum and its sister institution, the Art Gallery, will
afford!”’

From June 2, 1874, to December 22, 1877, was occupied in the
building and equipping of this section, the City having appropriated
$200,000 for the purpose. The new building was opened to the pub-
lic on December 22, 1877, and at this time a contract of great
importance was concluded between the Trustees of the Museum and
the Department of Parks. This contract, or it might be called
Charter of the institution, was drawn by Messrs. Andrew H. Green
and Joseph H. Choate. It was entitled ‘“‘Contract with the Depart-
ment of Public Parks for the Occupation of the New Building.” It
recited the previous correspondence and legislation relating to the
respective rights and obligations of the Museum and of the City, and
embodied all the previous provisions in a new and comprehensive
document. It was adopted by the Park Commissioners January 30,
1878.

The Museum’s collections had now greatly increased in all depart-
ments of natural history. A generous donation by Miss Catharine
L. Wolfe, in memory of her father, had established the Library,
in March, 1874.

The building up of the study collections, as distinguished from
the exhibition collections, had begun in 1873, and from this time on
the Museum as a center of study and research became increasingly
prominent. The great collection of fossils of the State of New York,
brought together by Professor James Hall, was acquired. It had been
said by Louis Agassiz that ‘‘whoever gets Hall’s collection gets the
Geological Collection of America.’”’ The Trustees acquired it for
$65,000, a sum which put a severe strain upon the finances of the
Museum for several years.

[ 24 ]

ROBERT L. STUART

The question of maintenance was also a serious difficulty. The Maintenance.
City had not carried out its original agreement to maintain the insti-
tution, and in 1878, Messrs. Potter and Choate were appointed a special
committee to prepare a bill to enable a permanent contract to be made
between the Museum and the Department of Parks for adequate
annual maintenance. In 1879, Messrs. Auchincloss and Bickmore
solicited the Legislature for an increase in maintenance to $20,000.
The appropriation obtained for the Museums of Art and Natural His-
tory for a common maintenance had been $40,000. In 1875 they
received $1,390, and in 1876, $1,538. The growth of the mainte-
nance fund from the beginning to the present time is shown in another
part of this report.

The staff of the Museum at the opening of the year 1878, was as staff.
follows:

Professor Albert 8. Bickmore, Superintendent.
Dr. J. B. Holder, Assistant.
Professor R. P. Whitfield, Curator of Geology.

The coming of Professor Whitfield added greatly to the scientific
strength and prestige of the Museum. Alliances had been formed with
the United States National Survey of the 40th parallel, and several
distinguished members of its Corps were housed in the Museum, includ-
ing Clarence King, Raphael Pumpelly, Arnold Hague, and others.

In 1875, the Museum lost one of its Founders, Mr. William T.
Blodgett, and in 1878, Mr. Theodore Roosevelt died in the forty-fifth
year of his age. In 1880, Mr. William A. Haines died in the fifty-
eighth year of his age. The Trustees recorded their great appreciation
of the services of these founders and active friends.

Manhattan Square, far beyond the residence district, was grad-
ually becoming approachable. The Park Board developed its walks
on the south side. It is of interest to record that the Trustees in 1876
petitioned the Legislature to allow them to establish an Aquarium
in connection with the Museum, of sufficient size to enable the public
to learn on a somewhat satisfactory scale the form and habits of a

[25 ]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

large class of marine fauna. The estimated cost was $50,000. In this
connection it was stated that the visitors to the Museum at that time
exceeded by 2,000 per week the number visiting the British Museum
in London. This petition was one of the last acts of Mr. Stuart’s
administration.

Mr. Stuart resigned the presidency on February 14, 1881. His
connection with the Museum had been made memorable by important
changes both in the erection of the building and in the equipment of
the collections. An increase in maintenance had been secured from
the City. It can be said that the Museum had entered in a way upon
its present scientific career.

[26 ]

on
-

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

THIRD PRESIDENT

1881-1908

From Museum Portrait by Eastman Johnson

PRESIDENCY OF
MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

1881-1908

1881, at a time both promising and critical. The prospects

of the Museum were broadening, but the responsibilities
were increasing in the same proportion. The institution had out-
grown its original organization, and scientific and educational devel-
opment was needed, as well as more building space. The revenues
from the City were very inadequate, and the foundation of an endow-
ment fund was imperative. Little advance had been made in the
methods of display of the collections, or in meeting the real educational
needs of the public.

Mr. Jesup had been fitted for the office by his connection with the
founding of the Museum and by his long service on the Executive,
Auditing, Nominating, Legislative, and Building Committees. He
was elected Chairman of the Executive Committee on March 29, 1880,
and immediately qualified himself for this office by a thorough ex-
amination of the work of every department of the Museum: its col-
lections, its scientific officers, its methods of exhibition, and the im-
pression it was making upon visitors. His observations were embodied
in a report to President Stuart of April 13, 1880. He especially
observed that the grand collection of birds and mammals was not
exhibited in attractive form, and that it was desirable to show some
of the applications of science both in forestry and geology. As regards
income, he pointed out that the only fixed annual income of the Museum
was the City’s appropriation of $15,000, and the interest from the
$55,000 of invested funds.

M JESUP was elected to the presidency on February 14,

[27]

Experience.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

The spirit of Mr. Jesup’s administration is, perhaps, best expressed
in his own language in one of his later reports (1884):

‘“‘Tt would appear to be very desirable to place the Museum
on such a permanent basis of maintenance that the annual con-
tributions of the Trustees and Members could be appropriated
exclusively to the purchase of objects of science. Valuable
collections, which the Museum needs, are continually being
offered us for sale, but we are obliged to decline their pur-
chase for want of funds.

“The great Museums of Europe are chiefly sustained by
public funds, through the force of an enlightened public
sentiment both as to their educational and economic value.

‘“‘The value of what you have already accumulated in your
halls rises to a large figure commercially, but it is a difficult
task to estimate the money value of what belongs to science
and scientific institutions. To their value must be added
their ameliorating power, their educational force, and the
scope they afford the higher faculties of man to apprehend
the wonderful phenomena of Nature, and to master and
utilize her great forces.

“To the multitude shut up in stone walls, to whom are
denied an acquaintance with the beauty of natural objects, or
the study of nature in its usual aspects and conditions, the
advantage of your Museum is, that it affords opportunity ; and
out of a great number who look on vaguely and experience
only the healthful excitement of a natural curiosity, one here
and there may be found endowed with special aptitude and
tastes. Perhaps some child of genius, whose susceptibili-
ties and faculties once aroused and quickened, will repay
in the field of discovery and science, through the force of
some new law in its manifold applications, all your expendi-
ture a hundredfold.

“Commercial values and purely scientific values meet
often on common ground; but their essential life belongs
to opposite poles. To some it appears necessary to vindicate
the employment of large amounts of public money in such
an institution as that which you control from the charge
of extravagance; their ideas of value appear to be limited to

[28 ]

J. PIERPONT MORGAN

A FOUNDER AND TRUSTEE

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

that which is exchangeable in the current coin of the market;
but the highest results of character and life offer something
which cannot be weighed in the balances of the merchant,
be he ever so wise in his generation.”

This remarkable series of sentences contains the secret of Mr.
Jesup’s administration which crowned it with success: his sympathy
with the ideals of science, his dominant desire that they should be
brought within the comprehension of all classes of people, his firm
conviction that truth values are higher than money values, his love
of the beautiful. It does not, of course, indicate the other qualities
of character which enabled him to carry these ideals into effect, namely,
his business instinct, his incessant energy of mind, his excellent judg-
ment, his liberality.

The Board of Trustees at the opening of his administration was
constituted as follows:

Morris K. Jesup, James M. Constable,
Robert L. Stuart, William E. Dodge, 2d,
Robert Colgate, Joseph W. Drexel,
Benjamin H. Field, Andrew H. Green,
Adrian Iselin, Frederick W. Stevens,
J. Pierpont Morgan, Abram 8. Hewitt,

D. Jackson Steward, Charles Lanier,
Joseph H. Choate, Hugh Auchincloss,
Percy R. Pyne, Oliver Harriman,
John B. Trevor, Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Many of these Trustees contributed largely both of their time
and of their means to the support of the administration.

Among Mr. Jesup’s first acts was the establishment of the Depart-
ment of Woods and Forestry, under the direction of Professor Charles
S. Sargent, of Cambridge, the leading authority on this subject. The
opportunity of making the collection arose in connection with the
preparation of the Tenth Census of the United States, which embodied
the plan of a report upon the wood resources of this country. Parties

[29 ]

Trustees.

Woods.

Stones.

Bulletins,

Sunday
Opening.

Taxidermy.

Exploration,

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

were sent to all parts of the United States to gather the woods, and
the services of Mrs. Sargent were engaged to add the element of beauty
to the collection through her paintings of the leaves, flowers, and fruits. ,

At the same time the collection of Building Stones forecast the
ultimate development of an economic department which should em-
brace the ores and industrial products of the earth, and give also
sections of mines and the products and systems of metallurgy. After
thirty years this project is in the way of being put into execution.

A rapid review of the chief steps in this administration will, per-
haps, give the best idea of Mr. Jesup’s originality and of his high ideals
for the scientific future of the Museum. The year preceding his ap-
pointment, popular lectures in natural history had been instituted
by Professor Bickmore. In 1881 came the issue of the first number
of the Scientific Bulletins. In 1884 Professor Joel A. Allen, a dis-
tinguished zodlogist and pupil of Agassiz, was appointed as head of the
Department of Zodlogy. To systematize the free lecture courses the
Department of Public Instruction was organized under Professor
Bickmore.

In 1885 began the agitation for the Sunday opening of the public
museums. This was a step regarded by many as hostile to religion, and
led to the withdrawal of certain financial support. Mr. Jesup was at
first opposed to Sunday opening because of his religious convictions, but
his breadth of view is shown by the fact that, when the resolution in favor
of Sunday opening was finally adopted by the Board of Trustees, he de-
voted his energies to making the movement a success. This change took
effect in August, 1892, with the result that more visitors, especially
among the laboring class, were attracted than ever before.

The first step toward the artistic display of the collections of
zoology was taken in the engagement of Mrs. Mogridge, an English
lady, from the British Museum, who introduced the first bird groups
and accessories. This opened the way for the perfected series of
Habitat groups in which the American Museum now leads the world.

A new policy of exploration in the field was instituted in 1888 by

an expedition for the fast-vanishing bison, supported by Messrs. Jesup

[30]

JOSEPH H. CHOATE

A FOUNDER AND TRUSTEE

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

and Constable. This was the first step toward an exploring policy
which has now developed (as the history of the various departments
shows in subsequent pages of this report) into the sending of expedi-
tions to all regions of the world.

In 1888 the economic importance of insect life was emphasized in
the appointment of Mr. Beutenmiiller as Curator of Entomology and
in the beginning of a collection of economic entomology showing the
relations of insect life to forestry. The naturalistic methods introduced
in the bird and mammal department were followed here with equal
success.

In 1891 Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn was called from Princeton
as Curator of Mammalian Paleontology, and the Museum entered on a
new line of scientific development in the long history of the vertebrate
life of the earth, in which it has now attained first rank. Mr. Jesup
contributed liberally to the purchase of three great collections and to
the dispatching of an expedition to Africa.

In the mean time the spirit of hospitality to various scientific insti-
tutions of the city and country, and of coéperation with other institu-
tions, led to the opening of courses of lectures both by Columbia
University and by the Board of Education, in addition to the multi-
plying courses given in the Museum’s Department of Public Instruction.

The year 1895 was noteworthy as marking the first effort to bring
Robert E. Peary home from the Arctic regions. In response to an
appeal from Mrs. Peary, Mr. Jesup fitted out a relief expedition, and
thus began his interest in the work of the explorer, which was con-
tinued in successive contributions to Peary’s expeditions, finally result-
ing in the discovery of the Pole. Indirectly the Museum has benefited
by becoming the depository of all of Peary’s remarkable collections,
including several animals new to science.

The most noteworthy scientific feature of Mr. Jesup’s administra-
tion was the establishment of the Department of Anthropology on a
commanding basis, under the inspiring direction of Professor Frederic
W. Putnam, of Cambridge. The beginning of the Department dates
back to the inception of the Museum and includes the acquisition of

[31]

Vertebrate
Paleontology.

Scientific
Societies.

Peary.

Anthropology

Jesup
North
Pacific
Expedition.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

many valuable collections which were now rounded into more complete
form under the direction of a remarkable group of men, including
Messrs. Putnam, Boas, Saville, Bandelier, Lumholtz, Smith, Jochelson,
Bogoras, and others. The financial and scientific codperation of
Messrs. Hyde, Loubat, Villard, and others was enlisted, and the Museum
sprang into the front rank, both of exploring and of special institutions
in the field of archeology and ethnology. British Columbia, the Plains
region, the Southwest, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru were visited by
special parties and rich collections brought back.

The central feature of this great work was the North Pacific Expedi-
tion, which began in 1897 and which bore Mr. Jesup’s name. In his
annual report of that year, Mr. Jesup says: “‘In closing my reference
to the work of this Department it is proper to add a few words regard-
ing a subject of great interest, not only to the student of Anthropology,
but also to persons interested in scientific research in other fields. I
refer to the theory that America was originally peopled by migratory
tribes from the Asiatic continent. The opportunities favorable for
solving this problem are rapidly disappearing, and I would be deeply
gratified to learn that some friends of the Museum may feel disposed
to contribute means for the prosecution of systematic investigation
in the hope of securing the data to demonstrate the truth or falsity
of the claims set forth by various prominent men of science. A map
of the localities which should be covered by such system of research
appears in this report.’’ His interest in this purely scientific problem
of the origin of American races, like that in the discovery of the Pole,
illustrates Mr. Jesup’s enthusiasm for pure scientific investigation and
exploration.

During the closing years of Mr. Jesup’s administration, he was
relieved of much detail and his labors were lightened by the appoint-
ment of Professor Hermon C. Bumpus, of Brown University, as Scien-
tific Director of the Museum. The institution of this office had
been strongly urged by Professor Osborn, who for some years had
been closely associated with the President in the administration of
the Museum.

[32]

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

SuMMARY OF Mr. JEsup’s GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM Gifts.

Collection of North American Woods and Forestry, 1884-1908.
Collection of Building Stones, 1886.

Portraits of Audubon and of von Humboldt.

Anthropological Collection from southern Mexico, 1894.
Materials from the Peary Arctic Expeditions, 1896-1908.

Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1897-1903.

Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1899-1908.
Anthropological Collection from Colombia and Costa Rica, 1899.
Anthropological Collection from the Plains Indians, 1899.

Cope Collection of North American Fossil Vertebrates, 1902.
Robinson Collection of Prehistoric Copper Implements, 1902.
Anthropological Collection from the Philippine Islands, 1905.
Japanese Reception Room, 1905.

Series of ten marble portraits in the Foyer, 1906.

Egyptian Faytim Expedition, 1906-1907.

Anthropological Collection from Amazonas, 1907.

Robley Collection of Maori Heads, 1907.

Altogether Mr. Jesup contributed upward of $450,000 to the
Museum, and in his will he left a bequest of $1,000,000.

The material development of the Museum; the growth of its build- Growth

ings from one wing to the magnitude shown in the present report; the pea
increase of its maintenance by the City from $10,000 a year to $160,-
000 a year; the increase of its endowment fund from $55,000 to $1,047,-
750; the increase of its annual attendance from 250,000, in 1884, to
537,000 in 1907; the extension of the influence and example of the
Museum to every part of the country, were the results of the continuous
effort of the President and of the generous codperation of several of
the Trustees.

The conscientious administration of public funds is notably illus-
trated in the economic construction of the Museum itself. The build-
ing, up to the close of Mr. Jesup’s administration, cost the City $4,838,-

[33 ]

Bequest.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

000; owing to the wise expenditure of this fund, a total floor space
of 438,859 square feet had been secured, and a total exhibition space
of 262,236 square feet.

The natural satisfaction which the President felt in the growth of
the Museum is simply expressed at the close of his Report for the
year 1905:

“Tn concluding this my quarter of a century of service
as President of the American Museum of Natural History, I
cannot refrain from referring to the Report of twenty-five
years ago, when the Trustees stated that ‘they most respect-
fully appeal to the generous citizens of New York, to aid in
the effort to make our Metropolitan City the center of the
highest scientific culture in our land, and to join in adding
new collections and new departments to the admirable
nucleus which has been already secured.’ As your President
it has been my constant effort to fulfill the desires, as expressed
by the Trustees, which were so clearly formulated at the time
of my appointment, and when we view the stately building in
Manhattan Square, when we wander through the exhibition
halls and study the priceless collections therein displayed,
when we realize that thousands of the people of our City are
assembling here to listen to prominent educators, that school
children are here receiving their first love for nature and their
first taste of science, and that the influence of this institution
is being felt throughout the civilized world, truly we can say
that the appeal of 1881 to the generous citizens of New York
has not remained unanswered.”

Mr. Jesup’s death occurred January 22, 1908. The terms of his
bequest set forth his views as to the relations of the public funds and
of the private funds in the support of the work of the Museum:

I give and bequeath to The American Museum of Natural
History in the City of New York one million dollars ($1,000,-
000), to constitute a permanent fund, the principal to be in-
vested and kept invested, and the income to be applied and
appropriated to the general purposes of the Museum, other
than alterations, additions, repairs or erection of buildings,

[34]

MORRIS KETCHUM JESUP

the purchase of land or the payment of salaries, or for labor
or for services of any kind, ordinarily considered under the
item of maintenance.

I wish to explain that I have bequeathed this sum of one
million dollars ($1,000,000) to The American Museum of
Natural History, and that I have made for it the other be-
quests and provisions contained in my Will because of the
fact that I have been identified with the Museum from its
Act of Incorporation to the present time. I have been its
President since 1881. Since that time I have devoted a great
part of my life, my time, my thoughts and my attention to its
interests. I believe it to be to-day one of the most effective
agencies which exist in The City of New York for furnishing
education, innocent amusement and instruction to the people.
It can be immensely increased in its usefulness by increasing
its powers. The City of New York, under its contract with
the Museum, is to provide buildings and to maintain them,
but the buildings must be filled with specimens. This means
that for the purpose, the necessary amount must come from
individual donors. It is in order that the means for this pur-
pose may be helped, as the Museum must grow in additional
buildings by the City, and in view of its great possibilities for
the future, that I make for the Museum the bequests and pro-
visions contained in my Will, relying upon the Trustees of
the Museum to do their share, by looking after the invest-
ment of the funds, the use of its income and by carefully
watching over, and wisely planning for the best interests of
this great institution.

[35]

IT]

HISTORY OF
THE DEPARTMENTS

STAFF OF THE MUSEUM

THE MUSEUM HAS AN ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
AND A SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

A | \HE original Administrative Staff of the Museum was under the
direction of Professor Albert 8. Bickmore, who was likewise a
member of the Scientific Staff. In 1884, on assuming the head

of the Department of Public Instruction, Professor Bickmore resigned

his general administrative duties, after a service of fifteen years, and

President Jesup gave personal and detailed attention to the adminis-

tration of the Museum. Under him were Mr. John H. Winser, Sec-

retary and Assistant Treasurer, and Mr. William Wallace, Superinten-
dent of Buildings.

The growth of the Museum was such that in 1899 Mr. Jesup invited
Professor Osborn to act as Assistant to the President and to give his
attention to general administration. Professor Osborn introduced a
number of new methods of systematizing the work of the Museum, es-
pecially in the requisition system, in standard systems of casing and of
labeling, in stated meetings of the Scientific Staff, in stated meetings of
the Publication Committee, as well as other changes in the scientific and
administrative departments. He also outlined the present adminis-
trative system for the Rules and Regulations of 1902.

The rapid development of the Museum and the expansion of its
business affairs, however, pointed to the necessity of selecting an officer
to give his entire time to the supervision both of the scientific and admin-
istrative work of the Museum. Accordingly, Dr. Hermon C. Bumpus,
Professor of Comparative Anatomy at Brown University, a member of
the U. 8. Fish Commission Staff and one of the trustees of the Marine

[39 ]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, experienced both in biological
research and in administration, was appointed Assistant to the Presi-
dent, and assumed office January 1, 1901. He entered immediately on
a most thorough examination into all the affairs of the Museum, both
financial and scientific, and introduced a number of changes in adminis-
trative methods.

In February, 1902, the Trustees created the office of Director, and
unanimously elected Dr. Bumpus thereto. The powers given the Direc-
tor made him the chief administrative officer of the Museum.

Following the death of Mr. Winser in 1906, Mr. George H. Sherwood,
a graduate of Brown University, was appointed Assistant Secretary and
Assistant Treasurer.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

At the beginning of Mr. Jesup’s administration the Scientific Staff
consisted of four persons. At the close of Mr. Jesup’s administration
the Museum building had grown eightfold, namely, from one wing or
section including four exhibition floors and one laboratory and research
floor, to eight sections, including twenty-nine exhibition halls, five
laboratory and research halls, one hall devoted to the administrative
offices. The Scientific Staff increased accordingly, and now (1909) is as
follows:

Scientific Directory 1s 022 Co, Ghee ee 1
Caratorst)3 5 Vu<e2. eee Sale eee 12
Associate and Assistant Curators................ 11
Curators Mimerttus . 86550402 25s, Pee ee eee 2
Honorary Curatores5)s 26s Se ek ee eee 5

There are in addition a number of scientific assistants whose names
do not appear in the Annual Report.

The appointment of a Scientific Director gave an impulse to the
Museum which was felt in every department, and additional men of
university training and distinction as university professors were at-
tracted to the Museum to take charge of various departments. At the

[ 40 ]

STAFF OF THE MUSEUM

same time the Scientific Staff, through the continued appointment of
highly trained men, has enjoyed an increased prestige in this country and
abroad, and an appointment has come to be regarded as an honor equal
to a collegiate or university professorship.

Several scientific experts who have gratuitously rendered conspic-
uous service to the Museum in their various departments of research
have been appointed Honorary Curators.

[41]

Holmes
Collection.

Haast
Collection.

James Hall
Collection.

GEOLOGY AND FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

Sinai was given to the Museum in 1869, the first year of its

existence, the Holmes Collection of Post Pliocene fossils from
South Carolina was purchased in 1873, and the Haast Collection of
New Zealand Moa bones in 1874. The acquisition of this material,
together with other valuable acquisitions, led the Trustees in 1875 to
direct special effort “‘toward establishing the Geological Department
upon such a basis, both as to its extent and authority, as to render it
of high and permanent scientific value.”

The first step toward this end was the purchasing of the collection
of fossils and other geological material belonging to Professor James
Hall, of Albany. This material was collected almost entirely by Pro-
fessor Hall, with whose investigations as State Geologist it is iden-
tified, much of it having been gathered during the Survey of New York
State. Large collections had also been made from the Western States
for the purpose of fixing the New York geological nomenclature. It
comprised 80,000 to 100,000 specimens, including about 7,000 types and
figured specimens. The acquisition of this collection placed the Museum
in the lead among American institutions in respect to Paleozoic fossils.
Especially noteworthy in the Hall Collection, aside from the New York
series, are the Potsdam fossils from Minnesota; Trenton forms from
Wisconsin and Iowa; Niagara fossils from Indiana; corals from the
falls of the Ohio River; crinoids from Burlington, Iowa; and the Lower
Carboniferous fauna of Spergen Hill, Indiana. The price paid for the
Hall Collection was $65,000, $40,000 of which was specially subscribed
by the Trustees and friends of the Museum. The duplicates were
separated into the collections, some of which were sold, others used in
exchange for other material.

\ important collection illustrating the geology of Palestine and

[42]

Bast Pom
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Teel ea Seca

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!
a
ie
'
i]
'
i
i
1
!

Cuter Areas or Expioratrion IN GEoLoGy AND INVERTEBRATE PaLeonroLocy, Durinc THE YEARS 1897-1909.

7

qe wares

*

"LIEU FLIOK VV

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(D> [ASP E Beers Thee ae psy 18a) -Fa0N

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GEOLOGY AND FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

The Holmes Collection of fossils of South Carolina, vertebrate and
invertebrate, from the Pliocene and Postpliocene periods, was purchased
in 1873 from Professor Francis 8. Holmes. It included the types of
the species described in Tuomey and Holmes’s works.

In 1878 valuable geological material was received from Professor
C. H. Hitchcock in exchange for two series of Hall duplicates. It
contained a complete set of Vermont and New Hampshire rocks,
numbering about 2,000, illustrating the geological survey of those
States under the direction of Professor Hitchcock; types of Tertiary
plants from Brandon, Vermont; also rocks and fossils from Maine.

The collection of rocks and fossils gathered by the United States
Survey of the 40th parallel was received on deposit in 1878. It con-
tained 3,523 fossils, 3,880 rocks, and also 2,800 microscopic sections
of rocks.

The Department of Geology was greatly enlarged in 1886 by the
acquisition of the series of building stones. This series, a duplicate
of that collected under the direction of the 10th Census Commission,
was prepared at the expense of Mr. Morris K. Jesup, and contained
1,053 four-inch blocks, polished on the face and variously dressed on
the other sides. The specimens represent nearly every State and
contain samples of all rocks used for building and ornamental purposes.

A group of important fossils from the Calciferous and Chazy forma-
tions of Vermont was received in 1886 as a donation from Professor
-H. M. Seely, President Ezra Brainerd, and other members of the faculty
of Middlebury College.

The Tyrrell Collection of Placoderm fishes from the Devonian
rocks of Ohio was presented in 1899 by Mr. William E. Dodge, 2d.

Some of the collections acquired by purchase or exchange, besides
those mentioned previously, are the series of plants of the Devonian
age, received in 1882 in exchange for one series of Hall duplicates;
Palestine fossils purchased in 1886 from Rev. Dr. William Bird
of Abeih, Syria; collection of Utica Slate fossils, comprising about 200
specimens purchased in 1890; collection of Silurian fossils of Ohio,
purchased in 1904; the Woodman collection of fossils, corals, and shells

[ 43 ]

Holmes
Collection.

Hitchcock
Collection.

Building
Stones.

Meteorites.

“Ahnighito.”
‘“‘Woman.”

“Dog.”

“Willamette”
Meteorite.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

from Iowa and Illinois purchased in 1878, and the Braun Collection of
fossil crinoidea, purchased in 1880.

The Museum’s collection of meteorites in 1896 represented twenty-
six falls and finds, thirteen of which were aérosiderites (iron meteorites),
seven aérosiderolites (iron-stone meteorites), and six aérolites (stone
meteorites), discovered in various parts of the world, and received
with the Bailey Collection of minerals, and through individual purchases
and gifts.

The Ward-Coonley Collection of meteorites was deposited with the
Museum in 1901. This collection is said to be the largest in the world
and to be exceeded in value only by that of Vienna. It contains 1,600
specimens, representing 603 falls and finds.

The meteorites now in the Foyer belonging to the Museum collec-
tion are: Cafion Diablo, from Arizona, weight 1,087 lbs.; Brenham
(two masses, 75 and 52.5 lbs.), from Kansas; Forest City (75 lbs.),
from Iowa; and Long Island (86 lbs.), from Kansas.

The Tucson meteorite is a reproduction in cast iron, the original
of which was found in Arizona and is now in the National Museum of
Washington. The model was presented by the Smithsonian Institution.
The weight of this cast is the same as that of the original, 1,400 lbs.

The three meteorites from Cape York, Greenland, known as “ Ahni-
ghito,” or “The Tent,” “The Woman,” and “The Dog,” were visited -
by Commander Peary in 1894 and 1895, and brought to New York in
1895 and 1897. “Ahnighito,” the largest and heaviest meteorite
known, weighs 36.5 tons and was obtained by Commander Peary in
1897. “The Woman,” which weighs 6,000 lbs., and “The Dog,” 1,100
lbs., were brought back in 1895. All were acquired by the Museum
in 1909 as the gift of Mrs. Jesup.

“Willamette,” the gift of Mrs. William E. Dodge, 2d (cost, $20,600),
is the largest meteorite ever found in the United States and one of
the three largest known. It weighs 31,107 lbs., and was discovered
in 1902 near Portland, Oregon. With the acquisition of “‘ Willamette,”
in 1906, the Museum’s collection of meteorites became one of the finest
known to science.

[44]

GEOLOGY AND FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

‘‘ Selma,” the largest entire stone meteorite known, was found in
Alabama in 1906 and purchased for $1,200. It weighs 306 lbs.

The latest addition to this department was the “‘Guffey”’ meteorite,
weighing 682 lbs., and purchased in 1909 for $1,500.

EXPEDITIONS

The various expeditions by Associate Curator Hovey added greatly
to the value of the department, both in extent of collections and the
scientific data obtained. The publication of the investigations of
the volcanic phenomena following the eruptions in Martinique and
St. Vincent in 1902 placed the name of the Museum among the leading
contributors to volcanology.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Professor Robert Parr Whitfield has been in the active service of
the Museum since 1877. The Museum’s report for that year states
that ‘‘ the purchase of the Hall Collection has made the Departments
of Geology and Paleontology so important that the services of a special
Curator have been required and Professor R. P. Whitfield has been
employed to take charge of that part of our collections.” He has
served the Museum continuously as Curator of the Department of
Geology and Invertebrate Paleontology since that time, devoting
himself assiduously to the cataloguing and arranging of the collec-
tions. It was chiefly at his suggestion that the Bulletin was estab-
lished as a medium for publishing the scientific research of the
Curators, and he himself has made many valuable contributions to it.
The Department of Marine Invertebrate Zodlogy was also under his
charge from 1890 until 1901, when it was established as a separate
Department under Dr. Bumpus. Professor Whitfield was Curator of
Mineralogy and Conchology also until they were made a separate
department in 1901.

[45]

** Selma.”

* Guffey.”

Robert Parr
Whitfield,
A.M.
1877-1909.

Louis Pope
Gratacap,
Ph.B., A.B..,
A.M.

1876-

Edmund Otis
Hovey, A.B.,
Ph.D.
1894—

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Mr. Louis Pope Gratacap has been associated with the Museum
since 1876. He was appointed Assistant Curator of Mineralogy in
1880. This department was placed under Geology ‘in 1882, and Mr.
Gratacap became Assistant Curator of Geology. In 1901 he was made
Curator of Mineralogy, in charge also of Conchology, and in 1902
Curator of the Department of Mineralogy and Conchology, which
office he still holds.

Dr. Edmund Otis Hovey has been associated with the Museum
since January, 1894. He came at that time as an Assistant Cura-
tor in the Department of Geology, Mineralogy, Conchology, and
Marine Invertebrate Zodlogy, and in 1901 was appointed Associate
Curator of the Department of Geology and Invertebrate Paleontol-
ogy. Dr. Hovey conducted investigations at the volcanoes of Mt.
Pelé and La Soufriere for the Museum in 1902, 1903, and 1908, and
the published results of his research have been valuable contributions
to our knowledge of the phenomena.

BENEFACTORS—DONORS OF SPECIMENS TO VALUE OF
$200 OR MORE—1869-1909

Beirut Protestant College,

Bodwell Granite Company,

H. Booth,

T. B. Brooks,

Calumet and Hecla Mines Com-
pany,

Geological Survey of Canada,

Central Pacific Railroad Company,

James M. Constable,

Copper Queen Consolidated Min-
ing Company,

. Leonard Corning,

Sir William Dawson,

Delaware, Lackawanna and West-
ern Coal Company,

Sidney Dillon,

D. Stuart Dodge,

William E. Dodge, 2d,

Mrs. William E. Dodge, 2d,

James Douglas,

State Geological Survey of Georgia,

William C. Greene,

John P. Haines,

James Hall,

Morris K. Jesup,

Mrs. Morris K. Jesup,

[ 46 ]

GEOLOGY AND FOSSIL INVERTEBRATES

MacDonald, Field and Company,

Jules Marcou,

O. C. Marsh,

E. A. Mearns,

J. Pierpont Morgan,

State Geological Survey of New
Jersey,

Francis C. Nicholas,

J. W. Powell,

Raphael Pumpelly,

A. L. Rawson,

Rutland Marble Company,

Henry M. Seely,

Samuel Sloan,

Charles E. Slocum,

D. Jackson Steward,

Robert L. Stuart,

Frank Springer,

Augustus Taber and Brothers,
James Terry, .

U.S. Fortieth Parallel Survey,
U.S. Geological Survey,

A. W. Vogdes,

William Wallace,

R. P. Whitfield,

Joseph Willcox.

[47 ]

Bailey
Collection,
$4,000.

J. Pierpont
Morgan
Collections.

Bement
Collection,
$100,000.

MINERALS

Collection, the acquisition of which at once led to the estab-
lishment of a Department of Mineralogy.

The Bailey Collection of Minerals contained 7,000 cabinet specimens
and was purchased in 1874 for $4,000. It was stored in the Arsenal
until transferred to the Geology Hall in 1882.

The minerals exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
by the Governments of Canada, Spain, Brazil, Tasmania, and New
Zealand, were given to the Museum in 1876.

The development of the Department of Mineralogy since the
Bailey Collection was secured has been due largely to the generosity
of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, to whom the Museum is indebted for its
gem collection and the Bement Collection of minerals. The first part
of the Tiffany gem collection was presented in 1890, and consists of
the exhibits made by the Tiffany Company for display at the Paris
Exposition of 1889. Especially noteworthy are the series of sapphires,
topazes, beryls, garnets, and tourmalines. The gem collection was
more than doubled in 1900 by the acquisition of the Tiffany Exhibit
at the Paris Exposition of 1900, comprising 1,453 entries, which was
purchased by Mr. Morgan (estimated value $100,000) and presented
to the Museum. The Tiffany gem collection has been continuously
increased by gifts from its founder, until to-day it ranks first in size,
value, and importance in the country.

The Bement Collection of minerals was presented to the Museum
in 1900 by Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan (estimated value $100,000).
This collection was brought together by Mr. Clarence S. Bement, and
had long had the reputation of being the finest private collection of
exhibition specimens in the world. It contained 12,000 specimens,
including many rare species.

f big: mineral collections began with the purchase of the Bailey

[ 48 ]

MINERALS

As part of the Bement collection the Museum received a series of
meteorites, containing representatives of nearly 500 falls and finds.

Another important collection in the Department of Mineralogy Copper
is the series of specimens of malachite and azurite, which was pre- Paar
sented by the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company and added Mining Com-
to by Messrs. William E. Dodge, D. Willis James, and Professor James Gotesuene
Douglas.

The acquisition of the Spang collection of minerals added a large Spang
number of new species, and also made a general improvement in many ne
groups. It was purchased in 1891 for about $9,000.

In 1904 an endowment of $10,000 for the Department of Mineralogy
was received from Miss Matilda W. Bruce. The income from this fund

has made possible the purchase of many desirable minerals.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
MINERALOGY

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE

Hugh Auchincloss, James B. Haggin,
George S. Bowdoin, D. Willis James,
Matilda W. Bruce, Morris K. Jesup,
Brazilian Commission of Centen- Mrs. Morris K. Jesup,
nial Exposition, M. 8. Mepham,
Copper Queen Consolidated Min- J. Pierpont Morgan,
ing Company, New York Mineralogical Club,
James M. Constable, Minas PedrazziniCompany, Arizpe,
William E. Dodge, Sonora, Mex.,
James Douglas, Ernest Schernikow,
Edward L. Dufourcq, Robert L. Stuart,
A. E. Foote, Mrs. Robert L. Stuart,

D. Jackson Steward.

[49 ]

Early
Collections.

Jay
Collection.

Crooke
Collection.

Steward
Collection.

SHELLS, INSECTS, INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

CONCHOLOGY

OLLECTIONS of shells were among the first gifts to be received
{ by the Museum in the early days at the Arsenal, and they
soon became one of the chief sources of attraction in the
Museum. Early in 1870 one hundred specimens, representing fifty
species, were presented by Mr. Albert Storer, and during the same
year a collection of land and fresh water shells from Switzerland
and Wurttemberg were received from Mr. Frank Daulte; a collection
of shells and alcoholic mollusca collected by Professor Bickmore in
the East Indian Archipelago; and the conchological collection gathered
and presented by Mr. Coleman T. Robinson, containing about 1,000
species represented by about 4,000 specimens.

These collections formed the nucleus of a Department of Conchology,
which in 1874 was firmly established by the acquisition of the Jay
Collection of shells, presented by Miss Catharine L. Wolfe as a memorial
of her father. It numbered 50,000 specimens and contained 10,000
species and many varieties. This collection, with the rare concho-
logical library, together known as the ‘‘ Wolfe Memorial,” was formed
by Dr. John C. Jay, from whom it was purchased by Miss Wolfe for
$25,000. It was exhibited in the Arsenal until the opening of the new
building, where it was prominently displayed on the first floor.

The number of species in the Conchological Department was
greatly increased in 1890 when Mr. John J. Crooke presented his valu-
able cabinet of land and fresh-water shells, containing about 3,000
specimens and 2,300 species.

A series of marine shells, notable for the beauty and perfection of
the specimens, and containing a large number of very rare examples,
was presented in 1890 by Mr. D. Jackson Steward.

[ 50]

SHELLS, INSECTS, INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

The acquisition of the Haines collection of shells greatly added to
the quality and scope of this Department. It consisted of marine,
fresh-water, and land shells, being especially rich in the last-named.
The collection contained 3,891 species, and was purchased in 1895
for $12,000.

Nearly 18,000 specimens of land and fresh-water shells, with 1,000
species, were received in 1898 from the estate of Professor Edward D.
Cope.

A collection of shells important to the Museum, because of the
more showy genera, was presented by Mr. Albert H. Storer in 1904.
It comprised about 3,500 specimens.

To Mr. F. A. Constable the department is indebted for many fine
specimens of shells, principally from China and Japan. Between
the years 1901 and 1905 he presented 737 species from Japan, 464
specimens from China, besides 18,000 specimens representing 4,000
species from other localities.

The collection of shells from the Philippine Islands numbers about
5,530 specimens, 700 of which were gifts from Colonel C. A. H.
McCauley and Dr. Hugh M. Smith, the remainder, containing 477
species and varieties, being received through an exchange.

The specimens now in the Conchological Department number
about 200,000, embracing over 16,000 species, and representing local-
ities all over the world.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

CONCHOLOGY

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE
Albert 8. Bickmore, Coleman T. Robinson,
John J. Crooke, D. Jackson Steward,
Fred. A. Constable, Albert H. Storer,
HK. D. Cope, R. A. Witthaus,
Frank Daulte, Mrs. M. Witthaus,
Rev. Richard B. Post, Miss Catharine L. Wolfe.

[51]

Haines
Collection.

Cope

Collection.

Storer
Collection.

Constable
Collection.

Philippine
Islands.

Osten-Sacken
Collection.

Robinson
Collection.

First Study
Collection.

Drexel
Collection.

Southwick
Collection.

Jesup Col-
lection of
Economic
Entomology.

ENTOMOLOGY

The collections of insects presented to the Museum in 1870 by
Baron Osten-Sacken and Mr. Coleman T. Robinson were so important
that Mr. Robinson was made curator of them, serving without salary
till his death in 1872. The number of specimens in the department
was about 20,000. A large part of these collections was subsequently
destroyed by pests, so that in 1886, when a separate Department of
Entomology was again established, the total number of specimens was
less than 30,000, and many of these were in poor condition.

The collection presented by Baron Osten-Sacken in 1870 comprised
about 3,800 North American insects of all orders except Lepidoptera,
and contained 2,000 specimens of beetles, representing 1,000 species.

The series of American and European lepidoptera presented by
Mr. Coleman T. Robinson in 1870 consisted of about 10,000 specimens,
representing 3,000 species.

In 1874 Mr. R. A. Witthaus gave a collection of American coleoptera
containing about 8,000 specimens, and 2,000 species, desiring that it
should form the nucleus of a cabinet to be devoted exclusively to the
use of persons especially interested in entomology. This gift marked
the beginning of the study collections.

A collection numbering 2,235 specimens of insects, butterflies,
and moths was the gift of Mr. Joseph W. Drexel, in 1880.

About 5,600 insects collected in New York and New Jersey by
Mr. E. B. Southwick were presented by him in 1886.

The material acquired previous to 1889 was almost entirely through
gift. Since 1889 the additions by gift, purchase, and expedition have
gained for this Department an enviable reputation, especially in its
collections of lepidoptera, formicide, and diptera.

The insect groups in the Jesup Collection of economic entomology,
begun in 1889, represent the life history and other phases of insects
injurious to trees, and are illustrated by their food plants made in
wax, showing the injury done to the trees by the insects. These

[52]

ENTOMOLOGY

groups, of which there are fifty-three, were prepared at the expense of
Mr. Morris K. Jesup.

LEPIDOPTERA—BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS

The present collection of lepidoptera contains about 100,000 speci-
mens, representing 10,000 species.

One of the most important gifts to this section of the department,
and one which extended over several years, is the collection of butter-
flies presented by the Very Reverend Eugene Augustus Hoffman, D.D.,
LL.D. Dr. Hoffman’s desire was to extend the Museum’s collection
so as to include the more important species of the world. He began,
in 1897, by purchasing ($508) a series of the butterflies found in
America north of Mexico, containing 1,650 specimens, representing
475 species. The next year he added 2,250 specimens collected in
Mexico, Central and South America, and during the following four
years purchased and presented various collections, containing over
2,500 specimens from South America, Australia, and Asia.

Dr. Hoffman also provided funds for Museum expeditions to the
Black Mountains, North Carolina, in 1900, 1901, and 1902. The
material thus obtained numbered fully 13,200 specimens of various
insects, among which were many butterflies and moths.

After the death of Dr. Hoffman in 1902, many additions were made
as the result of expeditions by Curator Beutenmuller, the expenses
for which Dr. Hoffman had provided.

Since 1902, Mr. Samuel V. Hoffman has generously continued the
work begun by his father, the Very Reverend Eugene A. Hoffman,
in his efforts to extend the butterfly collection. His contributions
include 364 African butterflies, 3,600 specimens of North American
and exotic lepidoptera, and a collection presented in 1908 of specimens
from Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and Africa.

The collection which had been gathered by Dr. S. Lowell Elliot
was presented to the Museum by Mrs. Elliot in 1890. It contained
6,600 butterflies and moths in absolutely perfect condition, almost
all of which were bred specimens, with many of the rarer types repre-

[ 53 ]

Hoffman
Collections.

Samuel V.
Hoffman
Collection.

Elliot
Collection.

Angus

Collection.

Edwards

Collection.

Schaus

Collection.

Sachs

Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

sented by entire broods showing the variation and intergradation of
the species.

About 13,000 butterflies, moths, beetles, grasshoppers, wasps, etc.,
were contained in the collection presented by Mr. James Angus in 1891.

The Harry Edwards collection was one of the largest private col-
lections in the world. It numbered 150,000 specimens (60,000 lepidop-
tera), many of which were types, and 20,000 species, gathered from
all parts of the globe. It was purchased in 1892 for $15,000, $9,600
of which was received from friends of Mr. Edwards in response to an
appeal from a committee headed by Mr. A. M. Palmer, which had been
organized to secure the collection for the Museum.

The Schaus collection comprises some 31,000 specimens of butter-
flies and moths and was presented by Mr. William Schaus in 1897
and 1906. About 5,000 specimens of the collection representing the
principal known genera of Old World moths were gotten together
by Mr. Schaus as a study collection for comparison with New World
forms. It contains many type specimens and species authentically
determined by comparison with British Museum types, a feature
making the collection highly useful to specialists and students. (Esti-
mated value of Old World Collection, $10,000.) Some 26,000 speci-
mens were gathered by Mr. Schaus during three years’ search in Mexico
and Central and South America.

A series of butterflies and moths from Africa, India, and other
parts of the world was presented by Mr. William Sachs in 1900. It
contained about 300 specimens, many of which were very rare.

About 500 butterflies were collected in Sumatra in 1895 by Mr.
Rudolf Weber. Almost all of them were new to the Museum collec-
tions. Seven hundred and fifty were collected by Mr. F. C. Nicholas
in Honduras and U. 8. of Colombia in 1895.

DIPTERA—FLIES

The Museum’s collection of diptera attained the first rank of scientific
importance in 1903, through the addition to its collection of over
8,000 North American flies, containing more than 1,000 species and

[54]

ENTOMOLOGY

170 types. The collection was the gift of Dr. William Morton
Wheeler.

A collection containing 400 specimens of North American diptera
was purchased in 1906.

FORMICIDAI—ANTS

The collection of ants numbers not less than 50,000 specimens and
3,000 species, received largely through gift and expeditions.

To Professor Auguste Forel the Museum is indebted for a large
and valuable collection of ants presented in 1907. It contains 3,519
specimens, representing 1,385 species.

The largest collection of formicide in this country, and one of
the three largest in the world, was presented in 1908 by Dr. William
Morton Wheeler. It contained many types and cotypes, and nearly
every species is represented by long series of specimens—often many
hundreds in number.

The large termite nests and ant hills on exhibition were collected
by Mr. Francis Child Nicholas in Hayti and U.S. of Colombia, and pre-
sented in 1897 by Mr. Henry C. Pratt.

On a collecting trip to Florida and the Bahamas in 1904 Professor
Wheeler obtained a practically complete series of the ants of Andros
and New Providence Islands, containing about fifty species, together
with a fine series of mollusks, myriapods, arachnida, etc.

An extensive collection of the ants of Culebra and Porto Rico,
containing about 5,000 specimens and representing about 60 species
and subspecies, was obtained by Dr. Wheeler on an expedition in 1906.

A collection of Madagascar formicidz purchased in 1904 contains
373 specimens and 83 species.

COLEOPTERA—BEETLES

The present collection of beetles has been acquired through ex-
peditions and field work of Curator Beutenmuller, as well as by gift
and purchase. Among those received as gifts are the 2,000 specimens

[55]

Forel
Collection.

Wheeler
Collection.

Bahamas.

Porto Rico.

Godman
Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

collected by the late Mr. George D. Bradford, and presented by his
mother in 1895; 500 North and South American beetles, presented by
Mr. William Menzies, also in 1895; a fine collection from Mt. Kinabalu,
British North Borneo, presented in 1904 by Messrs. G. A. Goss and
A. D. Dodge.

The collection was greatly enlarged in 1907 through the generosity
of Mr. F. Du Cane Godman, a well-known English scientist and author
of the famous work “Biologia Centrali-Americana.’’ The collection
contains more than 4,000 specimens from Mexico and Central America,
representing 1,679 species, many of which were described new to
science in the “Biologia.” It is of great scientific importance, since
it is part of the material upon which the Coleoptera section of the
“‘Biologia’”’ was based.

Several thousand beetles, containing many new to science, also
many extremely rare specimens, were collected on the Curator’s
various trips to the Black Mountains of North Carolina.

The additions to the beetle collection by purchase are: 2,000 speci-
mens of European beetles, purchased in 1895, and 300 tiger beetles
purchased in 1907.

EXPEDITIONS

The expeditions by Curator Beutenmiiller to the Black Mountains
of North Carolina in 1895, and between 1900 and 1906, yielded an
immense amount of insect material. On the last six trips over 31,000
specimens were collected, among which were many new as well as
very many rare species.

The funds for the trips made in 1902, 1903, and 1906 were provided
by the Very Rev. E. A. Hoffman and Mr. Samuel V. Hoffman.

Through local field work by the Curator, many thousand insects of
various orders have been obtained, as well as a large collection of
insect galls, and through the codperation of expeditions sent out by
other departments of the Museum, the Department of Entomology
has received valuable collections from many localities—especially

[ 56 ]

ENTOMOLOGY

Sumatra, where 1,600 specimens were collected, and Siberia, Africa,
Patagonia, Jamaica, W. I., Mexico, Bolivia, and various parts of the
United States.

The accessions of collections through gift, besides those previously
mentioned, include: 5,000 specimens of various orders, collected by
George Dexter Bradford, and presented in 1896 by his mother; a
valuable collection of gall insects, containing several thousand speci-
mens and many types donated in 1903 by Mrs. Margaret Bassett; a
collection of more than 1,000 vials of spiders from the United States,
the work of the young naturalist, Horace Britcher, donated by his
mother and friends; 2,600 butterflies, bees, wasps, beetles, etc., from
the State of Amazonas, Brazil, presented in 1907 by Mr. Morris K.
Jesup.

Among other important collections purchased in recent years are:
3,000 insects from localities within fifty miles of New York (1894);
5,000 insects from Merida, Venezuela (1904); collection of Orthop-
tera, containing 825 specimens and representing 255 species (1905);
700 Cuban insects (1907).

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Mr. Coleman T. Robinson gratuitously served as Curator of Ento-
mology from 1870 until his death in 1872. His work was in connection
with the large collection of Lepidoptera which he had presented.

Baron Osten-Sacken gave valuable assistance in arranging the
collection of insects which he presented in 1870.

Dr. E. B. Southwick was in charge of the Department of Entomology
from July, 1886, to 1887. His attention was devoted to the classifica-
tion and placing on exhibition of the specimens. Dr. Southwick
collected in the vicinity of New York in 1886.

Mr. William Beutenmitller joined the Museum in 1888 and since
1893 has been associated with it as Curator of the Department of
Entomology. He has made frequent expeditions to the Black
Mountains of North Carolina in search of insects, the published

[57]

Coleman T.
Robinson.
1870-1872.

Baron Osten-
Sacken.
1870.

E. B. South-
wick.

1886.

William
Beutenmiiller.
1888-

Raymond
Lee Ditmars.
1891-1897.

Protozoans.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

results of which formed valuable contributions to the knowledge of
entomology.

Mr. Raymond Lee Ditmars, the present Curator of Reptiles in the
New York Zodlogical Park, served the Museum as Assistant Curator
of Entomology from 1891 until 1897. He also prepared the Museum’s
Guide Leaflet on ‘‘Reptiles of the Vicinity of New York City,”’ which
was published in 1905.

INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

The present Department of Invertebrate Zodlogy was established
in 1901. The departments of Conchology and Entomology were
merged in it in 1909. The collections in Invertebrate Zodlogy, except
in regard to shells, developed slowly through the first years of the
Museum’s life, though many gifts of corals, sponges, sea urchins, etc.,
were received before the Arsenal was vacated. In 1885 this material
was brought over to the new building where, because of lack of space,
only the most important specimens were exhibited, the remainder
being stored in the basement, where it remained until about 1890.
Most of the collections, excepting the models of the lower invertebrates,
which were made at the Museum, have been acquired through gift and
expeditions. Until 1901 Prof. R. P. Whitfield served as curator of
these collections. ;

The first important accession to this Department was the collec-
tion of corals presented in 1885 by Mr. Percy R. Pyne.

‘Invertebrate material ranging from mollusca and crustaceans
through the lowest branches of the animal kingdom, from the Atlantic
and Pacific waters, have been received at various times since 1873 as
a result of the deep-sea dredgings conducted by the United States
Fish Commission. _

Many of the animals in the various groups of invertebrates are so
minute, or their anatomical structure is so complicated, that it is not
practicable to place the original specimens on exhibition. In order

[58 ]

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INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

to bring out more clearly the structure of these animals, and their
relation to man, large models, carefully constructed, have been pre-
pared. This is especially true in the lowest group of the animal king-
dom, namely—the Protozoans. The models are constructed in wax and
glass, and are worked out with the most careful detail.

The sponge collection represents extensively the forms found in
Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Japan. Almost all of this material,
excepting that from Japan, was collected by Professor R. P. Whit-
field. A series of siliceous sponges from Japan, containing exception-
ally fine examples, was purchased in 1901. The collection contained
thirty-seven specimens, representing twenty-six species.

The superb collection of corals is representative of the forms found
in the East and West Indies, Bermudas, Bahamas, Hawaiian Islands,
New Zealand, and Florida, and have been acquired largely through
the generosity of Mr. Percy R. Pyne, Mrs. R. P. Dana, Mr. D. Jackson
Steward, the Pacific Mail 8. S. Company, Dr. D. Bryson Delavan, and
Professor R. P. Whitfield. One hundred and twenty-five unusually
fine specimens from Florida and the Pacific Ocean were given by Mr.
Pyne in 1885. Some beautiful forms were contained in a collection
from the West Indies, given by Mrs. R. P. Dana, and from the
East Indies by Mr. D. Jackson Steward. Most of the corals from
Florida, Bermuda, and the Bahamas were collected, and many
presented, by Professor R. P. Whitfield. Of special note is the
specimen of Madrepora palmata, which is probably the finest ever
collected, and the unusually large and perfect specimen of Orbicella
annularis.

A representative series of corals from the Hawaiian Islands was
obtained on an expedition by Dr. J. E. Duerden in 1905, when 1,500
specimens representing between thirty and forty species were col-

Sponges.

Corals.

lected, forming probably the largest collection of Hawaiian corals ever ©

made.

An expedition to the Bahama Islands in 1908 under Dr. William
Morton Wheeler in search of material for use in a coral reef group
yielded many choice specimens of corals, including an exceptionally

[59 ]

Echinoderms,

Annulates,
Arthropods,
Mollusks.

Malaria
Mosquito.

Marine
Habitat
Groups.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

fine example of Madrepore coral, measuring ten feet across and weigh-
ing nearly two tons.

A series of hydrozoans and actinozoans, containing forty-seven
specimens mounted in alcohol and representing the marine life of the
Bay of Naples, was received in 1896 as a gift from Mr. William E.
Dodge, 2d.

The other groups of invertebrates, namely, the echinoderms, an-
nulates, and arthropods (aside from insects) are represented by typical
specimens, although our collections are not extensive. The structure
and anatomy of the more complicated invertebrates, such as the clam
and the oyster, are shown by models enlarged six to seven diameters.

Models have also been prepared showing the consecutive stages
in the development of the eggs of different forms, namely: mollusk,
brook trout, frog, and lancelet. These series, in each case, embody
the researches of investigators in their particular subjects and are
prepared under their supervision or from their published works.

To bring out more clearly the relation between man and the lower
animals, a series of models, illustrating the development and structure
of the Malaria Mosquito and the life cycle of the Malaria Organism,
has been prepared.

The Marine Habitat Groups represent the typical life of several
marine species. These include sea urchins, brittle stars, land crabs,
and sponges.

Marine invertebrate material acquired through expeditions, in
addition to those previously mentioned, includes many species of sea
fans, gorgonias, crustaceans, etc., from Bermuda, and echinoderms,
sea anemones, sea cucumbers, starfish, etc., from the Bahamas, all
collected and presented by Professor R. P. Whitfield; actinians and
aleyonarians from the West Indies, collected by Dr. J. E. Duerden;
sea fans, etc., from the Bahamas, collected by Professor William
Morton Wheeler; sea urchins, etc., from Newfoundland, collected
by Mr. L. P. Gratacap; and other invertebrate material from Massa-
chusetts, Florida, New Mexico, Alaska, Patagonia, Siberia, and the
Philippine Islands.

[ 60 ]

INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE

J. A. Britcher, M. M. Metcalf,

Mrs. Richard P. Dana, Pacific Mail Steamship Company,
D. Bryson Delavan, Percy R. Pyne,

William Earl Dodge, 2d, D. Jackson Steward,

Gilman A. Drew, U. 8S. Bureau of Fisheries,
Auguste Forel, W. M. Wheeler,

Edward H. Harriman, R. P. Whitfield,

Morris K. Jesup.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

In 1901 Dr. H. C. Bumpus became Assistant to the President and
was also placed in immediate charge of the Department of Invertebrate
Zodlogy. His time was so fully occupied with administrative work
as Assistant to the President that he could devote very little time to
the development of this Department. Accordingly, in 1902, Dr.
William Morton Wheeler succeeded him as Curator of the Department,
Dr. Bumpus having been appointed Director of the Museum.

Dr. Wheeler served until 1908, when he resigned, having been
appointed to the Professorship of Economic Entomology in Harvard
University. The Museum at this time made him Honorary Curator
of Social Insects, and as such he will continue to be identified with the
work. Dr. Wheeler was elected a Patron of the Museum in 1908 in
recognition of his gift of his collection of formicide.

The present Curator of this Department is Dr. Henry E. Cramp-
ton, who assumed his work January 1, 1909. Dr. Crampton is well
known as a writer and investigator and for several years has held the
Chair of Zodlogy at Barnard College.

Mr. Louis Pope Gratacap has had charge of the mollusca since
1880. In 1901 he was appointed Curator of Mineralogy, in charge
also of Conchology, and in 1901 Curator of the latter also. His
present title in this Department is Curator of Mollusca.

[61]

Hermon
Carey
Bumpus,
Ph.D., Sc.D.
1901-1902.

William
Morton
Wheeler,
Ph.D.
1902-1908.
Honorary
Curator,
1908-

Henry E.
Crampton,
A.B., Ph.D.
1909-

Louis Pope
Gratacap,
Ph.B., A.B.,
A.M.

1880-

George
Herbert
Sherwood,
A.B., A.M.
1901-

J. E. Duer-
den, Ph.D.
1902-1906.

B. E. Dahl-

gren, D.M.D.

1902-1908.

Roy W.
Miner, A.B.
1905-

Frank E.
Lutz, A.B.,
A.M., Ph.D.
1909-

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Mr. G. H. Sherwvod was appointed Assistant Curator of Inverte-
brate Zodlogy in November, 1901. During the curatorship of Dr.
Bumpus he attended to the routine work of the Department, but par-
ticularly carried out the idea of the Director for bringing about a more
intimate relation between the Museum and the educational system
of the City. This included the development of the circulating col-
lections which was begun in December, 1903, and the inauguration
of the lectures for school children. With the retiring of Professor
Bickmore from active service in 1905, Mr. Sherwood was appointed
Curator of the Department of Public Instruction. In 1906 he was
appointed Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer.

Dr. J. E. Duerden was identified with the Museum as Honorary
Curator of Ccelenterates from 1902 until 1906. He has contributed
several papers to the BULLETIN.

Dr. B. E. Dahlgren joined the Museum in 1902 as an Assistant in
the Department of Invertebrate Zodlogy. He was appointed Curator
of the Department of Preparation and Installation when it was es-
tablished at the beginning of 1903, and served in this capacity until
1906, when he was appointed an Assistant Curator of the Department
of Invertebrate Zodlogy. Dr. Dahlgren was especially interested in
the preparation of biological models. He served till 1908.

Mr. Roy W. Miner has been associated with the Museum since
1905 as Assistant Curator in the Department of Invertebrate Zodlogy.
He has given special attention to the installation of the collections
on exhibition and is carrying on researches on the sponges and myria-
pods.

Dr. Frank E. Lutz was appointed Assistant Curator in this Depart-
ment in 1909. Dr. Lutz has been a research assistant in the Carnegie
Institution at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, and has published a
number of papers on the general subjects of Inheritance and Variation.

Other specialists who have served the Museum through this Depart-
ment are Professor Verrill, who was engaged in 1894 to identify un-
determined invertebrate material; Dr. Tarleton H. Bean, who iden-
tified and catalogued the fishes received from the Aquarium in 1898;

[ 62 ]

INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

Mr. Frederick M. Holbrook, who identified and catalogued turtles in
1898, and Dr. L. W. Williams, who made the large model of the com-
mon squid in 1906.

The present Scientific Staff of this Department includes also three
Honorary Curators: Professor William Morton Wheeler, Dr. Alexander
Petrunkevitch, and Professor Aaron L. Treadwell.

Dr. Alexander Petrunkevitch, an authority on American spiders,
became an Honorary Curator of Arachnida in 1909. Dr. Petrunkevitch
has rendered valuable service to the Museum through correspondence,
exchange, and the general enrichment of the collections.

Professor Aaron L. Treadwell, of Vassar College, was appointed
Honorary Curator of Annulata in 1909.

[63 ]

Alexander
Petrunke-
vitch, Ph.D.
1909-

Aaron L.
Treadwell,
B.S., M.S.,
Ph.D.
1909-

Fishes.

FISHES, REPTILES, AND BATRACHIANS

on exhibition, and very few reptiles. Lack of space had

made this necessary, and the accumulations of the preced-
ing thirty years found storage room only. The collection of reptiles
and batrachians up to this time consisted of specimens received from
the Department of Parks and the Zodlogical Society, a number col-
lected on Museum expeditions to Florida, Mexico, and Cuba, thirty-
seven reptiles and batrachians from the Island of Trinidad, twenty-
five from Utah, Wyoming, and Nebraska, and 110 collected in
Sumatra. Fifty snakes, 40 lizards, and 125 embryos of loggerhead
turtles, collected in Florida, were presented by Dr. Charles Stover
Allen in 1898. In 1899 Colonel Nicholas Pike presented his large
collection of reptiles and batrachians containing about 1,300, mostly
from Long Island, New York.

The collection of fishes was very small, and consisted mainly of
painted wax and plaster models, which resembled but slightly the
fish in nature. Most of these were received in a collection purchased
from the Smithsonian Institution in 1886 ($727). It contained
colored casts of eighteen species of fish and fourteen species of rep-
tiles. A series of fishes collected by Professor Agassiz was presented
by the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy, Cambridge, in 1876, and
other specimens were received from time to time through the United
States Fish Commission.

When the present Department of Invertebrate Zodlogy was es-
tablished in 1901, the collections of fishes and reptiles were placed in
its charge. Exhibition space was assigned for them, and efforts
toward an attractive exhibition series were at once begun. All known
methods of preserving and exhibiting fishes were unsatisfactory, so
experiments along this line were begun, and have continued with

[ 64]

U= 1901, there were practically no batrachians and fishes

FISHES, REPTILES, AND BATRACHIANS

very satisfactory results. The present exhibition series of fishes
comprises 125 casts, models, and mounted skins, together with about
the same number of colored plates of the various families. To the
New York Aquarium the Department is indebted for very many
specimens, also to the United States Fish Commission. From the
latter, twenty specimens—types and cotypes of new genera and
species of fish from the Philippines—were received in 1903, and in 1904
a collection of 200 Hawaiian fish, besides various smaller collections
received from time to time.

The exhibition series of reptiles numbers in specimens and groups:
of turtles, 54; batrachians, 28; lizards and snakes, 62. About 150
specimens have been received from the Zoological Society, and over
fifty from the Department of Parks.

Four hundred and sixty batrachians, representing every species
of the United States but one, were presented in 1905 by Miss
Mary C. Dickerson. In 1907 eighty-two exotic lizards from various
localities were given by Mr. A. Hermann; and thirty-eight reptiles and
batrachians from Brazil were presented by Mr. Morris K. Jesup.

The expeditions sent out by other departments of the Museum
have added many specimens to the study collections from Mexico,
Porto Rico, Alaska, Patagonia, Fayim Desert (Egypt), and Siberia.
In 1906 an expedition sent to New Mexico and Arizona for reptiles
returned with 1,000 specimens. Another trip to Colorado in 1908
yielded fifty-one specimens.

A new Department of Ichthyology and Herpetology was estab-
lished in July, 1909, and Dr. Bashford Dean appointed its Curator.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHES,
REPTILES, AND BATRACHIANS

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE

Cleveland H. Dodge, Alessandro Fabbri,
Ernesto Tabbri.

[ 65 |

Batrachians
and
Reptiles.

Maximilian
Collection,
$7,500.

Elliot
Collection
of Birds,
$7,351.62

Verreaux
Collection,
$16,000.

Vedray
Collection,
$1,000.
North
Atlantic

Right Whale.

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

the Trustees began the purchasing of collections, and by 1870
had secured the Elliot, the Maximilian, the Vedray, and
Verreaux collections.

The most important was that of Prince Alexander Philipp Maxi-
milian of Wied, which was purchased for £1,500 sterling. It con-
sisted of 4,000 mounted birds, 600 mounted mammals, and about
2,000 fishes mounted and in alcohol. Prince Maximilian visited
Brazil in 1815, 1816, and 1817, exploring it through ten degrees of lati-
tude, and gathering specimens for his collection. He came to the
United States in 1832, when little was known of the Far West, and as
an experienced naturalist visited the region between the Rocky Moun-
tains and the Mississippi. His collection, containing many types, was
regarded as the most important in Europe.

The Elliot Collection of Birds consisted chiefly of North American
species and comprised over 2,500 specimens, and was purchased from
Dr. Daniel Giraud Elliot for $7,351.62.

The Verreaux Collection, placed on the market because of the
death of its owner, Edward Verreaux, of Paris, at that time the largest
dealer in specimens in the world, was purchased for $16,000. It
comprised 220 mounted mammals, 2,800 mounted birds, and 400
skeletons of mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes.

Two hundred and fifty specimens of mounted mammals and Siberian
birds were purchased from M. Vedray, also of Paris, for $1,000.

The skeleton of the North Atlantic right whale was one of the
first gifts of importance received by the Trustees for the new Museum.
This whale came ashore off Long Island, and the bones were purchased
by the Honorable Peter Cooper for use in Cooper Union. They proved
too cumbersome, however, and were stored in the basement until,

[ 66 ]

GS seth after the Museum’s Charter was granted, in 1869,

»
Bays!

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aes a
Sohse

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i
i
i
i
i
i

;
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i
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i
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i
i
i
i
i

Cuier Exptoration ArEAs For Mammats AND Birps up ro tHE YEAR 1908.

a | asa Cr os bags ey
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tered foe af FO ons
oe

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-”

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

upon the organization of the new Museum, they were presented to the
Trustees by Mr. Cooper. The specimen was mounted in the Arsenal
and first exhibited in 1883.

Before the mammals and birds were transferred from the Arsenal
to the new building early in 1878, there were many additions, principally
the mounted specimen of the extinct great auk, the gift of Mr. Robert
L. Stuart in 1870, a collection of birds’ nests given by the Smithsonian
Institution in 1874, and 11,000 skins of North American birds presented
in 1875 by Dr. Daniel G. Elliot.

After the new building (north wing) was opened, the collection of
mammals and birds was constantly enlarged by various gifts.

Several mounted mammals, among them an elk, a moose, tapir,
camel, and an ostrich, which had been exhibited at the Centennial
Exhibition in Philadelphia, were purchased by a number of the Trustees
and presented to the Museum in 1878. They were considered to
represent the finest taxidermy of the time, and formed one of the
chief attractions to the Museum in the early days.

The first material for study collections was given by Dr. E. A.
Mearns in 1882, consisting of skins and eggs of North American and
European birds.

The gift of Mrs. Robert L. Stuart made possible the series of 37
groups showing the nesting habits of our native birds, the first of
which were exhibited in 1887. The Museum is also indebted to Mrs.
Stuart for the series of groups of the smaller species of mammals found
within the vicinity of New York.

A valuable collection of humming birds, numbering 2,000 speci-
mens and representing 400 species, was the gift of Dr. Daniel G. Elliot
in 1887. That same year Dr. EK. A. Mearns presented 2,235 specimens
of birds collected in Arizona.

The Snowden Howland Collection of Eggs of North American
Birds, numbering 3,000, was the gift of Mr. Clarence King in 1889.

Another collection received in 1889 was that of a number of mam-
mals and birds and a small collection of eggs and nests from South
Africa, collected by Dr. B. N. Bridgman and presented by Mr. D.

[ 67 ]

Ward
Centennial
Collection,
$1,896.

Beginning
of Study
Collections.

First Bird
Groups and
Mammal
Groups.

Elliot
Collection of
Humming
Birds.
Mearns
Collection.

Snowden
Howland
Collection.

Bridgman
Collection.

Dutcher
Collection.

Cetaceans.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Willis James, Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Mr. Charles Smith. In
1890 about 440 bird skins and the skins and skulls of 55 mammals
collected in Florida were given by Mr. W. E. D. Scott.

The five specimens in the habitat group of orang-outangs, collected
in Borneo in 1878-81 by Mr. W. T. Hornaday, were presented to the
Museum by Mr. Robert L. Colgate.

Mr. James A. Bailey was a frequent contributor to the depart-
ment. A chimpanzee and a two-horned rhinoceros, as well as the
skeleton of “Jumbo,” all of which are on exhibition, were his gifts.

The skeleton of “‘Samson,” an Asiatic elephant, was presented by
Mr. W. W. Cole in 1887.

A collection of 2,500 bird skins from India was presented by Mr.
James M. Constable and Mr. William E. Dodge in 1894.

In 1895 the Linnean Society of New York contributed the William
Dutcher Collection of birds, containing about 2,000 specimens, most
of which were collected in Long Island.

Through the codperation of the Park Commission and the Zodlogical
Society, the department has received many additions to its collection.
“ Tip,” the Asiatic elephant received in 1894, the Indian rhinoceros,
and the chimpanzee ‘Kitty,’ all on exhibition, are among those re-
ceived from the Central Park Menagerie. Since January, 1904, the
accessions from that source have numbered 272 mammals and 341
birds. During the same period 282 mammals and 41 birds were re-
ceived from the Zodlogical Society. One of the best-known specimens
is ‘‘Hannibal,” the African lion, presented to the Zodlogical Park by
Miss Carnegie, which was given to the Museum in 1905.

The development of the series of Cetaceans has been largely through
the generosity of Mr. George 8. Bowdoin. In 1907, through funds
provided by him, three skeletons were purchased: Gray’s whale, a
bottle-nose whale, and a rare ziphioid whale, which proved to be a
new species and was named in honor of Mr. Bowdoin. The Museum
is also indebted to Mr. Bowdoin for the skeleton of the finback whale,
and the model of the sulphur-bottom, which was prepared from
photographs and measurements. The exhibition series also contains

[ 68 ]

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

models of the blackfish, harbor porpoises, and common dolphins.
In the study series there are skulls and skeletons of the narwhal,
and skulls of the white whale, collected by Commander Peary and
presented by the Peary Arctic Club.

Two North Atlantic right whales, captured off Amagansett, Long
Island, were obtained by Mr. Roy Chapman Andrews and Mr. James
L. Clark in 1907. One of these whales was the largest specimen of
which there has been definite scientific record. The sum paid for
the two skeletons and a complete set of baleen was $3,278, also the
gift of Mr. Bowdoin.

Kight specimens of the fur seal for a group illustrating a seal rookery
were presented to the department in 1908 by Mr. D. O. Mills. The
specimens were collected at the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.

Among recent gifts of special interest are the following:

The skins and skeletons of the rare Solenodon paradoxus, which
were obtained in Haiti by Mr. A. H. Verrill and presented in 1907 by
President Jesup; the small but valuable collection of mammals from
the border of Tibet, received in 1908 through the generosity of the
Honorable Mason Mitchell (the takin, mounted in 1909, was in this
collection); the group of Paradise birds, numbering 75 specimens and
containing 46 species, the gift of Mrs. Frank K. Sturgis.

MAMMAL AND BIRD COLLECTIONS BY PURCHASE

A number of important accessions to the department have been
purchased by the Museum.

In 1882 two contracts were made with Professor H. A. Ward, of
Rochester—one to supply mounted specimens of such mammals of
North America north of Mexico as were necessary to complete the

North Pacific
Seal Group.

Ward

Museum’s collections, not to exceed the value of $8,000—the other Collection,

to procure for the Museum specimens of all the monkeys in the world.

In the first four years following the drawing up of these contracts a

large number of specimens was sent in, a few were delivered in 1888,

and the last received in 1892. The funds for the first contract were
[69 ]

$15,000.

Bailey
Collection of
Nests and

Eggs, $2,000.

H. H. Smith
Collections.

Lawrence
Collection,
$9,000.

Rusby
Collection.

Sennett
Collection,
$4,500.

Price
Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

provided by Mr. Jesup personally, and for the second, which amounted
to over $7,000, by Mr. Robert Colgate.

The H. B. Bailey Collection of nests and eggs, considered at that
time one of the finest in the country, was purchased in 1885; $1,500
of this was given by Mrs. Robert L. Stuart.

A collection of 4,000 bird skins, several hundred eggs, and several
hundred sterna, collected by Mr. Herbert H. Smith in Brazil, was
purchased from him in 1887. On an expedition to South America in
1898-99 Mr. Smith was authorized to collect mammals for the Museum
to the value of about $3,000. In 1904-5, an additional 656 speci-
mens of mammals, together with 714 birds, eggs, and nests, collected
by Mr. Smith in Colombia, were purchased.

The Lawrence Collection of American Birds was purchased in 1887
for $9,000 and added to the collections about 12,000 specimens, mostly
from Mexico, Central America, South America, and the West Indies,
containing 4,000 species and 300 original types. They were the result
of the life work of the ornithologist, Mr. George N. Lawrence.

A collection of 400 Bolivian birds, containing several new to science,
and collected by Dr. H. H. Rusby, was purchased in 1888.

With the acquisition of the George B. Sennett Collection of birds in
1903, the study collection was increased to over 80,000 specimens.
This collection contained about 8,000 birds, several hundred nests,
and several thousand eggs, largely from Mexico and Texas.

The Price Collection of birds contained 3,918 specimens from Cali-
fornia and Mexico, and was purchased in 1904.

An extensive series of Philippine birds, containing 1,000 specimens,
was purchased in 1905.

In 1906 the department acquired 79 specimens of mammals from
China, most of which had been heretofore unrepresented. In 1907
another collection from China, containing 55 specimens, was purchased.

[70]

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

EXPEDITIONS

In addition to the material acquired through gift and purchase,
the various expeditions sent out in the interest of this department
have procured many valuable specimens which have contributed to
both the exhibition and the study series. The first organized expedi-
tion sent out from the Museum was the one from this Department in
1886, when Dr. Daniel G. Elliot and Mr. Jenness Richardson went to
Montana in search of material for the Bison group.

Of the six specimens in the Moose group, completed in 1895, two
were obtained on expeditions to Maine in 1888 and New Brunswick
in 1884. One was presented by Mr. John L. Cox, and another by Dr.
EK. A. Mearns, while the other two were purchased.

The specimens for the Wapiti group, with the exception of the
large male, were collected in the Olympic Mountains in Washington
in 1900 by Mr. C. Lincoln Free. This group was completed in 1906.

The Collared Peccary group, mounted in 1905, was obtained in
Sinaloa, Mexico, by Mr. J. H. Batty on his expedition in 1902. On the
same expedition he also collected the material for the California mule-
deer group, which was mounted in 1905.

Grant’s caribou was discovered by Mr. Andrew J. Stone on an ex-
pedition to Alaska and British Columbia in 1901-3. The specimens
for this group, completed in 1902, were obtained in the extreme west-
ern end of the Alaskan peninsula. This expedition also provided the
specimens for the Dall sheep group, completed in 1909, as well as a
large and important collection of other mammals. Especially note-
worthy are the series of the golden lemming, Osborn caribou, and
the Stone sheep, both of the latter being species new to science.

Through the expeditions of this department a fine series of mam-
mals, both large and small, were received in addition to material for
the groups mentioned above.

A large collection of mammals from Arctic America was brought
back by Captain George Comer in 1902, and comprised, besides a

[71]

Bison Group.

Moose Group.

Wapiti
Group.

Collared
Peccary
Group.
California
Mule Deer
Group.

Grant’s
Caribou
Group.

Dall Sheep
Group.

Habitat
Groups of
North
American
Birds.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

number of small mammals, specimens of the Barren Ground caribou,
musk ox, and a few bearded seals.

On an expedition to Central and Southern Mexico in 1902, under
Mr. J. H. Batty, an extensive collection of mammals and birds was
obtained.

The mammals collected in Eastern Siberia during 1900 and 1901
by the Jesup North Pacific Expedition numbered over 500 specimens,
representing 30 species, about one-third of which proved new to science.

Through the Tjiider Expedition to British East Africa in 1906 and
1907, about 450 specimens of mammals and birds were received,
among which were a number of Grant zebras.

Through the Peary Arctic Club the Museum has acquired a large
number of mammals and birds collected by Commander Peary on his
expeditions to the Far North. Among the specimens brought back
on one of the earlier expeditions were the musk oxen, now mounted in
a habitat group. These were collected on Bache Peninsula in October,
1908. About 100 specimens, among them an especially fine polar
bear, were received when Commander Peary returned in 1902.

The material brought back in 1906 added a large number of speci-
mens to the collections from the Far North, the most important being
a herd of a new species of white caribou (the Peary caribou) and
nearly 70 specimens of musk oxen.

The latest and largest addition to the Arctic mammal series was
received when Commander Peary returned from his expedition of
1908 and 1909. It contained about 250 specimens, among them a
very large series of musk oxen and Peary caribou.

One of the unique features of the Department’s collection of birds
is the series of habitat groups of North American birds which have
recently been completed. These groups not only depict typical bird
life of North America, but the backgrounds painted from nature also
show typical American scenery. To bring together the material for
this exhibit, many expeditions have been sent into the field during
the last fifteen years, under the direction of Curator Chapman, who
has traveled more than 65,000 miles to secure the necessary data.

[72]

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

For these groups the Museum is directly indebted to Mr. John L.
Cadwalader, Mrs. Morris K. Jesup, Mrs. Philip Schuyler, Mrs. John
B. Trevor, Mrs. Robert Winthrop, Mr. F. Augustus Schermerhorn,
Mr. H. B. Hollins, Mr. Henry Clay Pierce, Mr. Henry W. Poor, Mr.
Courtney Brandreth, Mr. James C. Carter, Mr. Charles Lanier, and
Miss Caroline L. Morgan, to whose subscriptions an equal sum has
been added from the funds of the Museum.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

As Superintendent of the Museum, Professor A. 8. Bickmore had
general charge of the mammals and birds during the early develop-
ment of this department. In 1872 Dr. J. B. Holder was appointed a
general assistant to Professor Bickmore and devoted his attention to
the zodlogical collections. He was made Curator of Zodlogy in 1881.
In 1885 the Department of Zodlogy was divided into two departments
—that of Mammals and Birds, and Marine Zodlogy. Dr. Holder was
Curator of the latter, which position he held until his death in 1888,
having been in the service of the Museum for seventeen years. Dr.
Holder was an associate of Professor Agassiz and Professor Baird and
had made important investigation on the fauna of New England waters
and later in Florida. He was a voluminous writer, and made many
importam contributions to science.

In 1885 Dr. J. A. Allen was made Curator of the Department of
Mammals and Birds. Dr. Allen had studied under Agassiz, and served
as an assistant in ornithology in the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy
at Harvard. He had already become an authority in several lines of
research. When Dr. Allen assumed charge of the Department, the
collection of mammals numbered not far from 1,000 mounted skins,
and about 300 mounted skeletons. The collection of birds numbered
about 10,000 mounted specimens, and about 300 unmounted skins,
besides several hundred mounted skeletons. Through Dr. Allen’s
efforts the Department of Taxidermy was established in 1886. He also
started the first study collections, which a year after his appointment
numbered 6,000 skins of birds, and from his department also the first

[73]

Professor
A. S. Bick-
more, 1869.

Dre Be
Holder,
1872-1888.

DraA:
Allen,
1885-—

Mr. F. M.
Chapman,
1888-

Mr. R.C.
Andrews,
1907-

Mr. W. De W.
Miller,

1903-

Advisers
and
Specialists.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

expedition organized for collecting and exploring was sent out. Under
his guidance this department has had continuous growth, and at the
present time the collections comprise more than 30,000 mammals and
90,000 birds in the exhibition and study series. Dr. Allen is recognized
as one of the foremost authorities on mammals and birds, and his
numerous contributions to systematic zodlogy are widely recognized
as of the highest merit. Besides carrying on his numerous researches,
in recent years he has devoted much of his time to editing the scientific
publications of the Museum.

In 1888 Mr. Frank M. Chapman was appointed Assistant Curator
in this Department. His attention has been given primarily to orni-
thology, in which branch of zodlogy he has attained preéminence.
It is in a large measure through his untiring energy and careful field
work that the Museum is indebted for the effectiveness of its bird
groups, which competent observers have declared to be second to none.

At the present time the Scientific Staff of this department includes
Mr. Roy Chapman Andrews, Assistant in Mammalogy, and Mr. W.
De W. Miller, Assistant in Ornithology.

From time to time the Museum has availed itself of the services
and advice of scientists who have specialized in particular groups of
the mammals and birds, for the proper identification, classification,
and installation of the material. Foremost among these should be
mentioned Dr. Daniel Giraud Elliot, who served as scientific adviser
to the Trustees in the purchase of the first collections secured. It
was on his recommendation that the Verreaux and Vedray collections
were acquired. A few of the others who have assisted in the develop-
ment of the collection of mammals and birds are: Dr. Edgar A. Mearns,
U.S. A., who in 1883 identified, labeled, and catalogued a large col-
lection of European birds; Dr. A. K. Fisher and Dr. J. Dwight, Jr., who
in 1885 gratuitously labeled and catalogued the Elliot collection of
birds, and Mr. E. G. Lewis, who gave gratuitous service in the
Department of Ornithology in 1888.

[74]

MAMMALS AND BIRDS

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MAMMALS
AND BIRDS

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE

James A. Bailey,

P. T. Barnum,

J. H. Batty,

George 8. Bowdoin,

Courtney Brandreth,

John L. Cadwalader,

James C. Carter,

W. W. Cole,

Robert Colgate,

James M. Constable,

Peter Cooper,

Department of Parks, New York
City,

Rev. D. Stuart Dodge,

William E. Dodge,

William Dutcher,

Daniel G. Elliot,

Madison Grant,

H. B. Hollins,

D. Willis James,

Morris IK. Jesup,

Mrs. Morris Kk. Jesup,
Clarence King,

Linnzean Society of New York,
Edgar A. Mearns,

D. O. Mills,

Hon. Mason Mitchell,

New York Zodlogical Society,
Peary Arctic Club,

Henry Clay Pierce,

Henry W. Poor,

F. Augustus Schermerhorn,
Mrs. Philip Schuyler,

George B. Sennett,

Mrs. Robert L. Stuart,

Mrs. Frank K. Sturgis,

Miss Phebe Anna Thorne,
Samuel Thorne,

Mrs. John B. Trevor,

Mrs. Robert Winthrop.

[75]

Plan

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

President Jesup in May, 1891, with Professor Henry Fairfield
Osborn as Curator.

The plan of the department, as outlined by Professor Osborn in
the Annual Report for 1892, was to form representative series from
the successive horizons of the West, in order to present a historical develop-
ment of the Evolution of the Mammals in North America. It was ex-
panded subsequently to cover the evolution of the vertebrata in
general, but its chief aim, and since 1909 its specified limitation, has
been to present the Evolution of the Land Vertebrates, primarily of
North America, but incidentally of other parts of the world.

These plans have met with a substantial success that places this
department among the foremost in the world in this branch of science,
not merely in the size of its collections, but in their quality, and in
the high standards of scientific accuracy, thoroughness, and artistic
excellence maintained in all its work. The generous support received
from Trustees and friends of the Museum and the interest and appre-
ciation shown by the people of New York have warranted expanding
the original plans to a much larger scale than at first contemplated.
Where eighteen years ago a single hall seemed adequate to present
the evolution of the mammalian life of North America, the exhibits
already require three times this space; and we look forward to pre-
senting the broad succession of vertebrate life of land and sea, from
its inception far back toward the beginnings of the geological record,
down to its culmination in the appearance of man, in a succession
of halls corresponding to the great periods of geology. The materials
for this larger plan are rapidly accumulating, and will be prepared
for a splendid presentation before the space is available for their
exhibition.

f lige Department of Vertebrate Paleontology was established by

[76]

Pat
BAS TB ert

Cuter Locauiries or Fossit VERTEBRATES IN

American Museum Coutecrions Opraryep sy Musrum Exprpirions, Girrs,

ExcHANGE or PurcHAsE.

C7UER POCTTING Ob Lor ,RLeNETER mn reno Se ae Te
a meee a

RE OOD ti in

mB,”

eas
ea

Ses

a : %

x ds oe! i‘ Z

TN Ee |

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

COLLECTIONS

The collections in this department are mainly from three sources,
namely, Expeditions, Exchange, Purchase.

First, and most important, are the collections brought in year by Collections

year by expeditions sent out by the Museum to explore various fossil- Eelaiie
bearing horizons in the United States and other parts of the world.
Fifty-two expeditions have been sent out in this department between
the years 1891 and 1909 inclusive, at a total cost of upward of $110,000.
The expense of these expeditions is borne partly by the General
Endowment Fund provided by the Trustees, partly by the special
annual fund of $2,000 provided by Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn,
and in some instances by funds for special explorations which have
been provided by the late President Jesup, by Mrs. Jesup, by the
late William C. Whitney, by Messrs. Perey R. Pyne, J. P. Morgan, Jr.,
Frank IK. Sturgis, Henry Fairfield Osborn, and George J. Gould. More
than half of the collections, both in number and value, have been
obtained through Museum expeditions.

Fire_p EXpLoratTions.—Beginning in 1891, the various geological
horizons and countries have been explored in the following seasons:

Permian, Texas, 1902, 1906, 1908.
Triassic, North Carolina, 1894, 1895.
Upper Jurassic, Wyoming, 1897-1905; Montana, 1903.
Marine Cretaceous, Kansas, 1897; S. Dakota, 1903.
‘“‘Laramie”’ Cretaceous, Wyoming, 1892, 1900; Montana, 1902-9.
Judith River Cretaceous, Montana.
Paleocene (Puerco and Torrejon), New Mexico, 1892, 1896.
Lower Eocene (Wasatch), Wyoming, 1891,1896; New Mexico, 1896.
Lower Eocene (Wind River), Wyoming, 1891, 1896, 1905, 1909.
. Hocene (Huerfano), Colorado, 1897.
Middle Eocene (Bridger), Wyoming, 1893, 1903-6, 1909.
Middle Kocene (Washakie), Wyoming, 1893, 1895, 1908.
Upper Eocene (Uinta), Utah, 1894, 1895; Wyoming, 1909.
Oligocene (Fayim), Egypt, 1907-9.

[77]

Hall

Collection.

Cope
Collection
of Fossil

Mammals.

Cope
Pampean

Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Oligocene (White River), South Dakota, 1892, 1894, 1902.
Oligocene (White River), Colorado, 1898, 1901.

Oligocene (White River), Montana, 1902; Wyoming, 1909.
Miocene, Montana, 1902.

Miocene (Santa Cruz), Patagonia, 1899.

Lower Miocene, 8. Dakota, 1905-7; Nebraska, 1907-8.
Middle Miocene, Colorado, 1898, 1901-2; Nebraska, 1908.
Upper Miocene, 8. Dakota, 1894, 1902-3; Kansas, 1898.
Upper Miocene, Texas, 1899-1901.

Lower Pliocene, Nebraska, 1908.

Middle Pliocene, Texas, 1899-1900.

Lower Pleistocene, Nebraska, 1893, 1897; Texas, 1899-1901.
Lower Pleistocene, Arkansas, 1903-4; Alaska, 1907-8.

Second, but first in point of time, is the collection of vertebrate
fossils obtained by Messrs. White and Meek for Professor Hall and
purchased with the rest of the Hall Collection for the Museum by the
Trustees in 1878.

Third, the collection of North American Fossil Mammals brought
together by Professor E. D. Cope between 1872 and 1890, and pur-
chased for $32,000 by subscription of Mr. Morris K. Jesup, Mrs. William
H. Osborn, Messrs. Henry Fairfield Osborn, W. E. Dodge, J. Pierpont
Morgan, James M. Constable, Theodore A. Havemeyer, D. Willis James,
John D. Crimmins, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Adrian Iselin, Charles Lanier,
Frederic E. Church, and an unnamed friend of the Museum. In
this collection of about 7,000 specimens, is included a great num-
ber of skeletons and skulls of extinct mammals of the American
Tertiary formations, some of them unique, and all of great value
in illustrating the history and evolution of the mammalia in North
America.

Fourth, the Cope Pampean Collection, obtained in the Pampean
Formation of the Argentine Republic by Messrs. Ameghino, Larroque,
and Brachet, exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1878, and pur-
chased by Professor Cope. It was purchased from his estate for the

[78 ]

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FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

Museum at a cost of $10,000 in 1899 by Messrs. Havemeyer, Dodge,
James, Iselin, Constable, and Osborn, Trustees of the Museum. This
collection contains a fine series of skeletons of ground-sloths, glyptodons,
saber-tooth tiger, and other extinct South American mammals, of high
exhibition value.

Fifth, the Cope Collection of Fossil Reptiles, Amphibians, and
Fishes of North America, presented to the Museum in 1902 by Presi-
dent Jesup at a cost of $20,000. It includes magnificent skeletons of
the amphibious, carnivorous, and duck-billed dinosaurs, a splendid
series of the ancient reptiles and amphibians of the Permian Period,
and other specimens of high scientific and exhibition value.

Sixth, the Whitney Collections of Fossil and Recent Horses, ob-
tained and prepared in 1901-3 by Western expeditions sustained
through a special fund of $15,000 provided by the late William C.
Whitney. This includes a splendid series of skeletons, skulls, etc.,
of extinct and living horses, illustrating the Evolution of the Horse
in Nature and under Domestication. This exhibit has since been
much expanded and improved by specimens presented or through
funds provided by Messrs. Randolph Huntington, James R. Keene,
Frank K. Sturgis, George J. Gould, Arthur Curtiss James, Percy R.
Pyne, Francis R. Appleton, and Henry F. Osborn.

Seventh, the Warren Collection, brought together by Professor
J. Collins Warren of Harvard University in 1840-55, and purchased
for the Museum from his heirs by J. Pierpont Morgan in 1906 at a cost
of $30,000. It includes the famous Warren Mastodon, the most per-
fect skeleton of an extinct elephant ever discovered; also a skeleton
of the extinct cetacean Zeuglodon, a collection of Dinosaur footprints,
and other valuable specimens.

Kighth, various choice specimens of fossil vertebrates from Kansas,
Wyoming, and Texas, purchased from Mr. Charles H. Sternberg and
presented by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup, Mr. Charles Lanier, and others, or
purchased through general endowment funds. The most remark-
able of these specimens are the mummified skeleton of a duck-billed
dinosaur, a fine skull of the horned dinosaur, a skeleton of the great

[79]

Cope
Collection of
Fossil
Reptiles, etc.

Whitney
Horse
Collection.

Warren
Collection.

Sternberg
Collections.

Ichthyosaur
Skeletons.

Exchange
Collections.

Miscellaneous
Gifts and
Purchases.

Value of
Collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Cretaceous fish, Portheus, and of the toothed bird Hesperornis.
Their aggregate cost is $5,787.

Ninth, a skeleton of [chthyosaurus with the outlines of the body
preserved, from Holzmaden, Wurttemberg, purchased for $1,000 and
presented by Mrs. Jesup in 1908. Three other fine skeletons of the
same species have also been purchased.

Tenth, specimens and collections of fossil vertebrates received in
exchange from various European and other foreign museums in 1896
to 1909, notably those of London, Paris, Munich, Stuttgart, Tibingen.
Basle, Leipzig, Darmstadt, Lyons, Christiania, Bucharest, Buenos
Ayres, Adelaide, and in the United States with the Yale, Princeton,
University of Kansas, University of California, and other museums.
The most important fossils received in this way are skeletons of Ich-
thyosaurus (with seven young), Pterodactylus, Ophthalmosaurus, Crypto-
clidus, saber-tooth tiger, giant wolf, and casts of skeletons of Hippidium,
Macrauchenia, Halitherium, etc. Estimated value, $6,000.

In addition to these collections are miscellaneous minor gifts and
purchases of an aggregate value of probably $5,000.

The aggregate cost of the collections in this department, not in-
cluding the cost of preparation, is as follows, so far as obtainable
from the records of the Department:

Field expeditions... ....0 22 ee, ce et
ineda ea ae aht Ate eae 2 Oe oe Bee a ce

ee 20,000
ca dale CASA a Shae SY eee ee

Whitney Collections (including preparation)........ 15,000
Warren Collectigit. (200.0 2255 fc" rae ee ce ee
Sternberg Collections. fu 5 55.20) a4 .oe we eee 5,787
Exchange Collections...0 620000002 sc. Lee ee ee
Miscellaneous. |). te rate ee doe eee kt ae te oe eee
$233,787

If to these should be added the cost of preparation of the speci-
mens (which has in past years been largely carried on endowment
[80]

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

funds), the present value of the collections would be between four and
five hundred thousand dollars, and the expenditures of the Trustees
thereupon would amount to about $300,000.

SUMMARY

The total number of catalogued specimens is over 18,000, of which
14,000 are mammals. These specimens, it is estimated, represent
about 2,000 distinct species. They include an exceptionally large
number of type specimens and casts of types. There are 403 original
type specimens of valid species of fossil mammals from the North
American Tertiary formations; the total number of type specimens
(originals and casts) of fossil vertebrata is estimated at over one
thousand.

The collections include forty-nine complete mounted skeletons of
extinct mammals, twenty-four of extinct reptiles and amphibians, and
one extinct bird. There are in addition many complete or nearly
complete skeletons which have not yet been mounted for exhibition,
many hundreds of skulls of extinct vertebrates, and thousands of
jaws, feet, or other portions of skeletons, only a small part of which
(some two thousand specimens) are placed on exhibition.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

The scientific staff of the department at its organization consisted
of Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn, Curator, Dr. Jacob L. Wortman,
Assistant Curator, and Mr. Charles Earle, Assistant. Professor
Osborn has contributed his services to the Museum for fifteen years
without salary. Mr. Earle remained with the department until 1894.

In 1895 the Cope Collection of Fossil Mammals was presented by
a number of the Trustees, and Dr. W. D. Matthew was engaged in
connection with its cataloguing and arrangement. In 1899 Dr.
Wortman resigned his position with the American Museum to take
charge of vertebrate paleontology in the Carnegie Museum, and Dr.

[81]

Summary of
Collections.

W. D.
Matthew,
1895-

O. P. Hay,
1900-1907

Bashford
Dean,
1903-

Field Staff.

Museum
Staff.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Matthew was appointed Assistant and subsequently Associate Curator
in Dr. Wortman’s place.

In 1900 Dr. O. P. Hay joined the staff as Assistant Curator, sub-
sequently as Associate Curator of Chelonia in connection with the cata-
loguing of the Cope Collection of Fossil Reptilia, and from 1904-7
took especial charge of the arrangement and exhibition of the col-
lections of extinct chelonians, while engaged upon his monograph
upon this order of reptiles.

In 1903 Dr. Bashford Dean was appointed Honorary Curator of
Fossil Fishes, and in 1909 the living and fossil fishes were transferred
to a distinct department under his charge.

The field work of the department was at first in charge of Dr. J.
L. Wortman assisted by Mr. O. A. Peterson and others. Since 1898
Professor Osborn has exercised a general supervision over all field
exploration, and he took personal charge of the Fayim Expedition in
1907. The various expeditions in the Western States and elsewhere
have been conducted by Messrs. Barnum Brown, Walter Granger,
W. D. Matthew, J. W. Gidley, Albert Thomson, E. C. Case, Charles
H. Sternberg, and L. 8. Quackenbush, assisted by Messrs. Peter Kaisen,
George Olsen, Paul Miller, F. B. Loomis, R. 8. Lull, Handel T. Martin,
H. W. Menke, William Stein, W. J. Sinclair, Roy L. Moodie, Harold
J. Cook, Charles 8. Mead, W. K. Gregory, A. E. Anderson, G. R.
Wieland, J. D. Irving, Norman Grant, C. Forster Cooper, D. D. Streeter,
and others.

Since 1893 the laboratory work has been in charge of Mr. Adam
Hermann, who has introduced and improved year by year the careful
and skilful methods of preparation first employed by Professor Marsh.
Under his training has grown up a staff of expert laboratory assistants.

Mr. W. K. Gregory joined the staff in 1900 as research assistant.
Mr. A. E. Anderson as Department photographer, Albert Thomson in
field photography, Erwin Christman, Mrs. L. M. Sterling, and Miss
Helen Cox in illustration have also contributed to the success of the
department.

In 1895 Mr. Charles R. Knight commenced a series of restorations

[82]

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES

of extinct animals executed for the Museum under the direction of
Professor Osborn and provided for by Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. These
restorations have been a most successful and generally attractive
phase of the work of the Department.

Since 1902 Mr. S. H. Chubb has been engaged, in connection with
the evolution of the horse studies, in the collection and preparation of
the material illustrating the osteology of the modern horse. A splen-
did series of mounted skeletons and preparations of skulls are the
result of the work.

The collections of the Department afford unsurpassed opportunities
for research in this branch of science. Many preliminary and a few
monographic studies have been completed and others are in progress.
The published studies include two volumes of Memoirs (Vols. I and
IX) and 119 articles in the American Museum BULLETIN from 1892 to
1909, besides miscellaneous articles in other publications, by Professor
H. I’. Osborn, Professor Bashford Dean, Dr. J. L. Wortman, Dr. O.
P. Hay, Dr. W. D. Matthew, Mr. Barnum Brown, Mr. Walter Granger,
Mr. J. W. Gidley, Dr. L. Hussakof, Mr. Charles Earle, and Mr. W. K.
Gregory of the Museum Staff, and Dr. F. B. Loomis, Dr. J. H. McGregor,
Dr. E. C. Case, Mr. Earl Douglass, and Dr. W. J. Sinclair.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
VERTEBRATE PALHONTOLOGY

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE

Francis R. Appleton, Edward Henry Harriman,
Frederic E. Church, Henry Osborne Havemeyer,
James M. Constable, Theodore A. Havemeyer,
John Daniel Crimmins, Randolph Huntington,
Cleveland Hoadley Dodge, Adrian Iselin,

William Earl Dodge, Arthur Curtiss James,
George Jay Gould, Daniel Willis James,

[83]

Research.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Morris Ketchum Jesup, William Henry Osborn,

Mrs. Morris Ketchum Jesup, Mrs. William Henry Osborn,
James Robert Keene, Percy Rivington Pyne,
Charles Lanier, Mrs. Robert L. Stuart,

John Pierpont Morgan, Frank Knight Sturgis,

John Pierpont Morgan, Jr., Cornelius Vanderbilt,

Henry Fairfield Osborn, William Collins Whitney.

[84]

ANTHROPOLOGY

ceived a fresh impetus through the appointment of Professor

F. W. Putnam as Curator in 1895. Its collections increased
so rapidly—-by purchase and donation alike—that until the west wing
was ready, the question of exhibition and storage room was a most
serious problem.

a he Department of Anthropology was formed in 1873. It re-

Miscellaneous archeological material, especially Indian implements,
had been received from the very beginning of the Museum’s history,
but the first accession of importance was a collection of rare imple- 2. Rican
ments made by the aborigines of Porto Rico, purchased and presented Collection,
by the Trustees in 1873. The following year the E. H. Davis Archzo- eee Bhi
logical Collection, containing many typical and rare forms of pre- Collection,
historic workmanship from the mounds of Ohio, was purchased. at

_ The collection of rare antiquities gathered by Hon. E. G. Squier eB

during his several years’ search in Central and South America was $2,000. ”
acquired by purchase in 1875.

In 1878 over 200 pieces of Missouri mound pottery were received See am
as a gift from Mr. H. G. Marquand; a very important collection con-
taining 3,000 implements used by the prehistoric men of the valley

of the Somme, France, was purchased and presented by the President, Stuart

Mr. R. L. Stuart; and by purchase the Museum acquired the Bement peas
e
Collection illustrating the Stone Age of Denmark. Gellceuon!

The next large collection acquired was that gathered by Colonel **°°
Charles Jones among the Indians of the southern United. States. It Jones —
represented their art, religion, and industries. Two thirds of this Papen
collection was purchased by the Museum in 1877, the remainder being
presented by Mr. Robert L. Stuart in 1881.

All of these were the collections which comprised the Department

[85]

Collections
Exhibited
when the
Building was
Opened.

Sturgis
Collection,
$39,001.

Terry
Collection,
$29,744.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

of Anthropology in the early part of 1877, when the material was
being removed from the Arsenal.

The collections exhibited when the new building was opened on
December 22, 1877, besides those brought from the Arsenal, included
the following: a series of stone implements of Ireland, presented by
Mr. T. W. U. Robinson; three cases of stone and bronze implements
and pottery from the Swiss Lakes, and bones and stone implements from
the Dordogne Caves of southern France, deposited by Mr. G. L.
Feuardent; Indian and Eskimo dresses and implements from Hudson
Bay, the gift of Mr. Hugh Auchincloss. The collection gathered by
Mr. A. W. Sturgis illustrating the island life of the Pacific and Indian
oceans was also exhibited. This was on deposit only, but was finally
(in 1891) purchased for the Museum by the Trustees. This collec-
tion, which surpassed all the combined public collections of this class
in the country, contained 2,200 specimens illustrative of the arts,
customs, dress, ornaments, and weapons of the people of the Hervey
Islands, Mangara, Samoa, and Solomon Islands.

In 1880, Mr. James Terry also deposited with the Museum the great
collection, comprising nearly 26,000 catalogued specimens, which he
had obtained during his extended researches. This was purchased
by the Museum in 1891. The collection, while especially rich in
material pertaining to the native races of the west coast of North
America, between Mexico and British Columbia, contained over 500
vessels of great ethnological interest from the Mississippi Valley;
stone pipes and implements from Tennessee; copper weapons from
Wisconsin; 2,500 specimens from Long Island, Westchester County,
and Staten Island, and many objects from Maine, Connecticut, and
northern New York; also sculptures of great antiquity from the Co-
lumbia River Valley. The large series of archeological material from
California is especially important, since it illustrates the prehistoric
culture condition of the Indians of Southern California more com-
pletely than any other. The collection also embraces interesting
objects from Alaska and the South Seas.

Another valuable archeological collection brought to the Museum

[ 86 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

at about this time was that of Mr. Andrew Ellicott Douglas. It num-
bered 23,000 specimens, arranged to show synoptically the various
types occurring in North America. Mr. Douglas donated his entire
collection to the Museum in 1901.

In 1882 Mr. Heber R. Bishop presented a valuable collection il-
lustrating the ethnology of British Columbia, gathered at his expense
by Dr. J. W. Powell, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in that Province.
It contained costly dresses, implements, carvings, etc. The large
Haida canoe from the Bella Bella Indians, on exhibition at the Museum,
was received in this collection.

The collection of Lieut. G. T. Emmons, U. 8. N., was presented to
the Museum by the Trustees in 1888. It contained nearly 1,300 speci-
mens illustrating the ethnology of Alaska. Each specimen was ob-
tained by Lieutenant Emmons himself and was accompanied by
records and full notes regarding the use made of each object by the
natives.

This collection was supplemented in 1894 by the ‘‘Emmons Second
Collection,” numbering 2,966 specimens, among them about 500 from
the Bering Sea and Siberia.

The Department of Anthropology was reorganized in 1894, ‘‘in
order to illustrate the history of man in the same way as we are show-
ing the history of animal life.”” The Emmons and Bishop collections,
together with those of Sturgis and Terry, formed the most complete
collection of anthropological material in this country. The develop-
ment of the Department, however, had been somewhat neglected, for
Professor Bickmore, who was nominally in charge of it, had been en-
gaged in the development of the Department of Public Instruction
since early in the eighties.

In 1894 the exhibition collection relating to man was confined to
what is now the “‘Shell Hall” on the fifth floor, and the western half of
the Bird Gallery on the third floor. There had been no systematic ex-
plorations, no scientific publications. The Department has grown until
at the present time the collections overflow eight large exhibition halls
and twenty-five storage rooms, and the scientific publications fill a

[ 87 ]

Andrew
Ellicott
Douglas
Collection.

Bishop
Collection.

Emmons
First
Collection,
$12,000.

Emmons
Second
Collection,
$25,000.

Jesup North
Pacific
Expedition,
1897-1903,
$60,070.

Publications
Jesup North
Pacific
Expedition,
$25,000.

New York
State.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

score of volumes. Its growth is largely due to the many expeditions
which have carried on research work throughout America and parts
of Asia. First among these is the Jesup North Pacific Expedition,
which was organized by Mr. Morris K. Jesup, in 1897. Mr. Jesup
provided the means for a thorough investigation of the tribes of the
North Pacific coast of America and Asia, to determine their early
relations with each other. Between 1897 and 1903 a number of ex-
peditions were sent into the field, and the tribes of the North Pacific
coast, beginning in the west with the Amur River in Siberia, including
the various native tribes between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Arctic
Sea, and the peoples of Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington
were investigated. The collections brought home by the eleven
collectors make up a very considerable portion of the ethnological
collection of the Department. The scientific results are extensive,
and important contributions to our knowledge of these tribes have
been published in the “Memoirs” of the Museum. The _ publica-
tions, which will fill twelve volumes, were also provided for by
Mr. Jesup.

The following summary gives by locality the principal collections
which the Museum now possesses :

NORTH AMERICA

ARCHAOLOGY

The accession of the Terry Collection of 26,000 specimens, the
Douglas Collection of 23,000, together with the Davis and Jones Col-
lections, and other smaller ones, provided excellent general archxo-
logical material from several localities, but it did not represent the
archeology of any definite area exhaustively, so one of the first under-
takings was to send collectors to carry on researches in a few typical
fields.

Archeological investigations in New York State—more particu-
larly in the vicinity of New York City—were begun in 1895 and carried
on for a number of years. Much of the expense of this work was

[ 88 ]}

ANTHROPOLOGY

defrayed by friends of the Museum: Mr. Theodore Cooper provided
the funds for the explorations at Pelham Bay in 1899, and Mr. William
R. Warren the same year provided for the other local work. Other
contributors toward the field work were Mr. Charles Pryer, Mrs.
Esther Herrman, and Mr. Henry E. Pickering.

In the material obtained are found collections of human remains,
implements, utensils, etc., from an Indian burial place in Tottenville,
Staten Island; Indian skeletons, pottery, stone implements, and vari-
ous objects of Indian make from an Indian burial place at Croton
Neck; various objects from shell heaps and Indian village sites in
Westchester and Rockland counties; implements, etc., from Indian
sites in Schoharie County; Indian skeletons and other material from
village sites and burial places on Long Island. The collectors in the
field at various times were Messrs. George H. Pepper, 1895; M. Ray-
mond Harrington, 1899-1903; Alanson Skinner, 1902.

A recent accession to the New York State series is the Booth
Archeological Collection, numbering 1,154 catalogued specimens, pre-
sented by Mr. Henry M. Booth. It was gathered almost entirely
from the Hudson River valley between Croton and Albany, and well rep-
resents the prehistoric culture of the Algonkin Indians of that region.

Explorations were carried on along the Delaware River near
Trenton, New Jersey, for several years, to investigate carefully the
question which had arisen regarding the antiquity of man in the
Deleware valley.

The most important discoveries were the remains of several skele-
tons unearthed from clay belonging to the glacial deposits and a human
femur in the vicinity of which were also found an elk bone and frag-
ments of the musk-ox. In addition to these there were discovered
several pieces of stone which show evidence of human workmanship
that cannot be doubted. All these discoveries seem to establish the fact
that America was inhabited by men during Glacial time. The research
was begun in 1893 by Mr. Ernest Volk with funds provided by the Duke
of Loubat, and continued from 1898 to 1903 through the liberality of
Dr. F. E. Hyde.

[89]

Booth Arche-
ological
Collection.

New Jersey.

Ohio and
Kentucky.

B. T. B. Hyde
ands.
Hyde, Jr.,
Expedition.

Southwest.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

The mounds and burial places in Mason County, Kentucky, were
explored by Mr. Harlan I. Smith in 1895, while similar work was
carried on in Licking County, Ohio, by Dr. George A. Dorsey, and
in Hamilton County by Mr. C. L. Metz in 1895, resulting in the ad-
dition of an important series from these regions.

The largest collection of Michigan archeological remains in any mu-
seum was collected in the Saginaw Valley by Mr. Harlan I. Smith and
was presented by him in 1896.

The ancient inhabitants of the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona,
and the cliff dwellings of Colorado and Utah are well represented in the
Museum’s collections. For this material the Museum is largely in-
debted to the Messrs. B. Talbot B. Hyde and Frederick E. Hyde, Jr.,
whose desire that the Museum should have an extensive and authentic
collection from the cliff houses, ancient pueblos, burial caves, and
mounds led to their supporting expeditions in New Mexico, Arizona ,
Utah, and Colorado, covering a period of several years. The result
included a large series of archeological objects from the pueblos and
skeletons from the prehistoric Pueblo Bonito and other ruins and
burial places of New Mexico, and from burial caves in Utah. The field
work was in charge of the Curator of the Department of Anthropology,
Prof. F. W. Putnam. Members of the expedition at various times were
Mr. F. E. Hyde, Jr., Mr. Richard Wetherell, Prof. R. E. Dodge, Dr. A.
Hrdli¢éka, F. W. Putnam, G. H. Pepper, and W. Orchard. In addition
to the results obtained by their expeditions, the Messrs. Hyde have pur-
chased and presented several important collections; one of great scien-
tific interest was that collected by Mr. Richard Wetherell from the cliff
houses and caves of the Grand Gulch region of Utah. It contained
mummies and funeral objects of a people evidently distinct from, and
who probably preceded, the builders of the ancient stone pueblos and
cliff houses. The accessions from the southwest also include a collec-
tion of pottery from the modern pueblos, gathered by Mr. Pepper on an
expedition in 1903, which was financed by Messrs. B. T. B. Hyde, F.
E. Hyde, Jr., and Mrs. Robert W. de Forest.

[90 }

ANTHROPOLOGY

ETHNOLOGY

Researches among the Indian tribes of North America were begun
in 1899 under the North American Research Fund which was estab-
lished through the liberality of Mrs. Morris K. Jesup, Mr. C. P. Hunt-
ington, and Mr. Henry Villard. Later the funds for continuing this
work were provided by Mr. Archer M. Huntington, Mrs. Arabella
Huntington, and Mr. Morris K. Jesup. Special attention was given
to the ancient customs which were rapidly disappearing. The decora-
tive art was also carefully studied by all the collectors, and the Museum
now possesses an unrivaled collection illustrating primitive art. Col-
lections were obtained from the Eskimo of Baffin Bay and Hudson
Bay, and the following tribes in western United States, Canada, and
British Columbia; the Sioux, Sauk, Fox, Comanche, Ute, Blackfoot,
Nez Perce, Sarcee, Kootenai, Gros Ventres, Assiniboine, Maidu, Arap-
aho, Pitt River, Shasta, Yurok, Crow, Alsea, Shoshone, Ojibwa, and
Iroquois.

Another important investigation—the study of the Shoshone
and Algonkin tribes — was carried on jointly for the Museum and
the Bureau of American Ethnology, by Mr. H. St. Clair and Dr. Wm.
Jones. The ethnological work was done for the Museum, while the
linguistic researches, largely based on records of tribal traditions,
were made for the Bureau of Ethnology.

The collections from the Plains Indians have been made largely
from the point of view of illustrating their decorative art and cere-
monials. The tribes included in the Plains culture are the Blackfoot,
Cheyenne, Arapaho, Gros Ventres, Sioux, and Shoshone. The ex-
hibition series from the Arapaho is especially complete and contains
among other things life-sized models of the Arapaho dressed in the
regalia used in certain dances. Of special interest in the Blackfoot col-
lection is the Medicine Man’s tepee, which was obtained by Dr. Clark
Wissler in 1904.

The culture of the Indians of California is shown particularly by

North
American
Indian
Research
Fund
Expedition,
1899-1906.

Indians of
the Plains.

Indians of

their baskets, of which the Museum has gathered a very extensive California.

[91]

Briggs
Collection.

Jesup North
Pacific
Expedition.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

collection—the exhibition series alone taking up half of one of our
exhibition halls. One of the largest gifts to the basketry collection
was received in 1901 from Mr. George Foster Peabody. It contained
435 baskets made by the Indians of California, Oregon, Washington,
Alaska, and British Columbia, constituting what is known as the
“Briggs Collection.”

Other large contributors are Messrs. Archer M. Huntington and
J. G. Phelps Stokes, and Mmes. Frank L. Cross, T. K. Gibbs, and C. P.
Huntington. The tribes by which the baskets were made are the
Maidu, Pomo, and Mission, baskets from each of which fill several
cases, also the Moquehumnian, Yana, and Wylakie, Yokuts, Shasta,
Pitt River, and Hat Creek, Modoc, and Hupa. Other material was
collected from the California Indians under the North American Re-
search Fund.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

The extensive collections of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition
embrace specimens illustrating the archeology of the interior and
the coast of British Columbia, and the ethnology of the most im-
portant tribes of that region—the Thompson River Indians, the
Bella Coola, the Kwakiutl, and the Nootka.

The archeological survey of the Thompson River Region was
begun by Mr. Harlan I. Smith for the Jesup North Pacific Expedition
in 1897 and continued through 1899. Extensive excavations were
conducted near Kamloops and Lytton, where numerous remains of
previous inhabitants were discovered. Almost all of the finds ante-
date the advent of the whites, and give an excellent insight into the
culture of the early people. The shell mounds on the Lower Frazer
River, and prehistoric stone monuments of Vancouver Island, were
also studied by Mr. Smith, resulting in many valuable additions to
the Museum's collection.

The ethnological research among the Indians of British Columbia
was carried on by Dr. Franz Boas and Messrs. Livingston Farrand and
Harlan I. Smith, assisted by the Messrs. James Teit, George Hunt,

[92]

ANTHROPOLOGY

Filip Jacobsen, Roland B. Dixon, and John R. Swanton. The in-
formation which they succeeded in obtaining regarding the art,
traditions, ceremonies, and industries, together with the large col-
lections to illustrate them, form a valuable contribution to our
knowledge of the peoples of that region.

The collection from the Tsimshian and the Haida of northern
British Columbia contains many paintings and models of totem
poles which illustrate fully the use of the crest and the representa-
tion of family traditions. There are also many masks and other
ceremonial objects. The material collected from the Haida sup-
plements that presented by Mr. Heber R. Bishop in 1882, which
together form a very complete collection, illustrating the ethnology
of the Queen Charlotte Islands. In the collection from the Bella
Coola of Central British Columbia there is a fine set of ceremonial
masks illustrating all the important deities of the tribes. A very full
collection from the Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island contains a large
number of ceremonial masks, together with objects illustrating the
industries, fishing implements, etc. The Nootka and Coast Salish of
Vancouver Island are also well represented. From the latter we have
a fine collection of basketry.

ARCTIC AMERICA

The ethnology of the Tlingit Indians of southern Alaska is fully
illustrated in the 4,000 specimens acquired through the purchase of
the Emmons Collection, already noted. The collection from the
Tlingit contains numerous masks and other ceremonial objects, and a
great number of excellent old pieces of superior workmanship. A
recent addition to the Tlingit collection was the gift of Mr. Adolph
Lewisohn. This comprises a number of baskets and a complete sha-
man’s outfit.

The Athapascan Indians of the Lower Yukon region are repre-
sented in the collections made under the North American Research
Fund by Mr. John W. Chapman, a resident missionary of Anvik,
Alaska.

[934

Eskimo
Collection.

Peary Relief
Expedition,
1895.

Stefansson-
Anderson
Expedition,

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

This Museum stands preéminent among all institutions along the
lines of ethnological research amid Arctic peoples. The whole culture
of the Eskimo tribes, with the exception of Hast Greenland, is repre-
sented in the collections. Material from the Siberian Eskimo was
secured by the Jesup North Pacific Expedition; the tribes from the
northwest coast of Alaska are represented in the Emmons Collection;
a collection from the Mackenzie River region was obtained by Mr. An-
drew J. Stone; Captain George Comer made extensive collections in King
William Land, the north coast of Hudson Bay, Melville Peninsula,
Baffin Land at the extreme north end of Fox Channel, and South-
ampton Island. The Cumberland Sound region of Baffin Land is
represented in the Mutch Collection. The material from Grant Land,
Ellesmere Land and North Greenland was collected by Commander
Peary, while Holstensborg and Discoe Islands off the southwest shore
of Greenland are represented in a collection presented by Mr. G. Fred-
erick Norton.

Captain George Comer has been collecting ethnological material
for the Museum during his extensive whaling cruises. His last ship-
ment, received in 1908, consisted of 308 specimens which he had
gathered around Eclipse Sound and Baffin Bay.

Through Mr. Jesup’s relation with the Peary Relief Expedition of
1895, the Museum received the anthropological material gathered by
Commander Peary in the Arctic. The collection, which provided mate-
rial for several groups, contained canoes, sleds, sealskin tents, costumes,
and implements used in the chase and in the daily life of the Eskimo.

The material brought back in 1906 was the gift of the Peary Arctic
Club. The sledge which Mr. Peary had christened the ‘Morris K.
Jesup,’ by the use of which he reached the then farthest north record,
was received in this collection.

The Eskimo along the shores of the Beaufort Sea and among the
islands east of the mouth of the Mackenzie River are being studied by
Mr. V. Stefansson and Dr. R. M. Anderson, who left on a Museum
expedition in the spring of 1908, to remain in the field for two or three
years.

[94]

ANTHROPOLOGY

One of the prominent features of the Eskimo Hall is the mural Mt!

decoration, the funds for which have been generously contributed by
Mr. Arthur Curtiss James. The paintings on the northern end of the
hall, but recently completed, are the work of Mr. Frank Wilbert
Stokes, who, as a member of the Peary Relief Expedition of 1892 and
of the Peary North Greenland Expedition of 1893 and 1894, made
careful studies of the Eskimo people and their country. On the
north wall is the largest picture of the series, a continuous panorama
sixty feet long, on which is portrayed the artist’s conception of the
Eskimo myth of the ‘‘Sun and the Moon.” The three panels on the
east wall represent Eskimo life as it goes on during the Arctic night,
while three more on the west wall picture it during the long Arctic day.

In 1908 the Museum sent Dr. Robert H. Lowie to the Athabascan
region, in the northernmost part of the province of Alberta, Canada,
a region which had not been investigated and which was not repre-
sented in the collections. Dr. Lowie secured data on the mythology
and prehistoric culture of the Chippewyan Indians.

James Bay and western Labrador were visited by Mr. Alanson
Skinner on an expedition in 1908. This was the Museum’s first ex-
pedition into this field. An interesting ethnological collection, num-
bering 149 pieces, was obtained from the Cree Indians, together with
much new and valuable information regarding their religious and
social customs.

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
ARCHAOLOGY

Through the interest and generous support of the Duke of Loubat
and the expeditions and purchases of the Museum, the Museum has
gathered a collection of Mexican and Central American archeology
which offers unrivaled opportunities for the study of the ancient
civilization of this portion of America.

The exhibition material occupies an entire hall—named the Loubat
Hall, in honor of the Duke of Loubat. It is arranged to illustrate the
six different cultures—all pre-Columbian—the Mayan, the Nahuan or

[99 ]

Decorations.

Loubat
Collection.

Museum
Collection.

Mexican
Concession.

Loubat and
Museum
Expedition,
1896.

Loubat
Expedition,
1898,
1900-3.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

“Aztec,” the Mixtecan-Zapotecan, the Tarascan, the Totonacan, and
the South Central American.

The gifts of the Duke of Loubat include casts of prehistoric sculptures
from the Valley of Mexico, Chiapas, Yucatan, Guatemala, and Hon-
duras; pottery and other antiques from Mexico and Guatemala;
reproduction of books of ancient Mexican picture writing and hiero-
glyphics, among them a photographic copy of the “‘Codex Legislatif,’’
an ancient Aztec book preserved in the Library of the Chamber of
Deputies, Paris, and heretofore practically inaccessible for reference;
and the restoration of the Sanctuary of the Temple of the Cross, at
Palenque, Mexico.

Among the collections which the Museum has acquired through
its expeditions and purchases, are terra-cotta figures and stone idols
from West Central Mexico; original stone sculptures, principally from
the ruins of Copan, Honduras; pottery vessels, terra-cotta figures,
sculptured stones, weapons, and ornaments from Mexico and Central
America, and a collection of copper, gold, and carved jadeite objects
which surpasses that in any other museum.

A concession was granted by the Mexican Government early in
1896 enabling the Museum to establish archeological research in
Mexico and Yucatan. By the terms of the contract, the Museum
was permitted to retain all objects found which were duplicates.
The explorations under this concession were in charge of Mr. Marshall
H. Saville, who secured scientific data and exhibition material of great
importance. The ruins of Mitla were explored, also those of Xoxo
and Monte Alban in Oaxaca, and Xochicalco in Morelos. The casts
taken provided the Museum with the splendid series of reproductions,
made at the expense of the Duke of Loubat, which show the art of
stone carving and the mythology as illustrated in the sculpture of
the various cultures.

The Duke of Loubat maintained an expedition in Mexico during
1898 and in 1900-3 under the direction of Mr. M. H. Saville. It
was during this time that the Cruciform Structure Guiaroo, near the
ruins of Mitla, a model of which is at the Museum, was explored.

[96 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

Explorations among the Indian tribes of the Sierra Madre Mountains
in Mexico were carried on for almost four years by Dr. Carl Lum-

Lumholtz
Expeditions,
1892-1900,

holtz. Material was collected illustrating the life and customs of the *!%:°6

Cora, Huichol, Tarasco, Tarahumaras, and Tepehuana Indians. A
full series of ceremonial objects was obtained, together with data
showing their meaning. Photographs illustrating the types and
ceremonies, together with graphophone records of seventy Indian
songs, made the collection complete and of great value. In 1898
Dr. Ales Hrdlicka accompanied Dr. Lumholtz to collect material for
comparative study of the past and present tribes of western Mexico.
He made a series of anthropometrical records and observations on
the physical character of several of the Indian tribes. Plaster casts
were taken of twenty-six Tarahumaras and Huichols, and a number
of human skeletons and skulls secured from burial places and caves.
The notes and records obtained on this expedition proved of great
value and interest and formed the basis for two Memoirs and various
BULLETIN articles. These explorations were begun with funds given by
Mr. Henry Villard, and later continued through the help of several
friends of the Museum, among them Messrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt,
Austin Corbin, Henry Marquand, James H. Jones, and Dr. William
Pepper.
COSTA RICA

The Museum has an excellent exhibit illustrating the archeology
of Costa Rica. The nucleus of it was the collection made by Dr.
Francis C. Nicholas on an expedition in 1899, which was financed by
Messrs. William Mack, Willard Brown, I. McI. Strong, and R. P.
Doremus. Through an exchange in 1908 the collection was enriched
by the addition of over 150 specimens of pottery and stone objects,
among which are some very rare forms. Another exchange with the
Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh added a few new forms and furnished
a rather complete series of small stone objects, especially amulets,
beads of jadeite, and other stones.

The ethnology of the Costa Rican Indians is illustrated in a col-
lection obtained by Dr. Nicholas in 1901.

[97]

Joint Ex-
pedition of
Peabody
Museum and
American
Museum of
Natural
History,
1894.

Expedition
to Colombia,
1899-1901.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

HONDURAS

An expedition to Honduras was made in coéperation with the
Peabody Museum of Cambridge, the Peabody Museum having a con-
cession from the government of Honduras permitting archeological
researches. The work, which was in charge of Mr. George Byron
Gordon, was carried on at the prehistoric ruins of Copan, and as its
portion of the finds the Museum received a number of interesting
sculptures in stone, besides a collection of small objects in pottery
and stone. A series of molds were taken of the sculptures and hiero-
glyphs of the great stairway of the temple in Copan, and facsimiles
made for this Museum through funds provided by the Duke of Loubat.
The Museum’s share of the expedition’s expense was subscribed for
by the Duke of Loubat and Messrs. William C. Whitney and Morris K.
Jesup.

OTHER COUNTRIES

Through the interest and generous support of the patrons of the
Department of Anthropology, the Museum has acquired important
collections from South America, northeastern Siberia, China, Africa,
the Andaman Islands, the Philippine Islands, and the islands of the
Pacific Ocean.

SOUTH AMERICA

The collections from South America are particularly rich in material
illustrating the culture of the prehistoric peoples of Peru and Bolivia.
The recent acquisition of a collection from the Indians of the Amazon
River region greatly increased our representation of the modern
tribes, so that now our collections illustrate, to some degree, at least,
South American ethnology from Colombia to Terra del Fuego.

The collections from Colombia include a general exhibition series
arranged to show the life and industries, and a large collection of
objects in pottery, stone, and shell, a great part of which was collected
by Dr. Francis C. Nicholas on an expedition maintained by Mr. Morris

[98 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

K. Jesup in 1899-1901. A large number of archeological specimens
from ancient tombs in Santa Marta, and interesting material from the
Goajira Indians were in the collection made by Dr. Nicholas.

The entire collection made by Mr. Hermann Schmidt and Mr.
Louis Weiss among the Tukano Indians along the Rio Caiary-Uaupés,
the most important tributary of the Rio Negro, was secured for the
Museum by Mr. Jesup in 1907. The collection contains five hundred
ethnological specimens, an extensive vocabulary of the languages,
drawings of the painted figures found on rocks, and a number of folk
tales. In the collection are about 300 pieces of feather work, such
as head dresses, waistbands, ornaments for the legs and arms, and
plumes to be carried in the hand. There are also spears, shields,
bows, arrows, blow-guns with their poisoned arrows, fishtraps of
basketry, and a variety of baskets and pottery vessels, together with
various musical instruments.

The representation of the modern tribes of Colombia was very
recently increased by the purchase of the second Schmidt-Weiss col-
lection. It was gathered among the Indians of the Isana River region,
and numbers almost 300 pieces.

The archeological series was greatly enlarged in 1908 by an ex-
change with the Carnegie Museum. The accessions from Colombia
also include 150 pieces of curious black ware, gathered by Mr. Frederick
F. Sharpless from graves on ancient burial sites in the Cauca Valley,
and a few pieces of the same type given by Dr. Francis C. Nicholas.

From ancient Peru, which comprised what is now the Republic of
Peru and the greater part of Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile, has been
gathered a wonderful collection which illustrates the highest stage of
civilization attained in prehistoric time in South America. The col-
lection is the result of eleven years’ field work by Dr. Adolph F’. Bande-
lier. The expedition was begun in 1892 under the patronage of
Mr. Henry Villard, and continued since 1894 by the Museum. The
pottery obtained from ancient graves along the coast and interior of
Peru, Bolivia, and Chile fills several cases, while several more are
filled by a general collection showing the industries, decorative art,

[99 ]

Schmidt-
Weiss First
Collection,
$3,000.

Schmidt-
Weiss
Second
Collection.

Expedition
to Peru,
1892-1903.

Garces

Collection,

$4,072.

Gaffron

Collection,

$3,200.

Brazil.

Ecuador,
Bolivia,
Chile.

Paraguay.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

amusements—especially musical instruments—and burial customs.
There are many skulls of the ancient Peruvians showing various forms
of trepanation, artificial deformation, the effects of injuries and
pathological conditions, and normal forms.

From prehistoric sites on the Islands of Lake Titicaca, in Peru, and
at Copacabana, Bolivia, was gathered the valuable Garces Collection,
which was received in 1896 asa gift from Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan.
The collection numbered about 500 pieces, and contained objects
in gold, silver, copper, and bronze, pottery vessels, wooden vases,
and garments.

The importance of the Peruvian exhibit was greatly increased
by the acquisition in 1901 of the Gaffron archzological collection, the
gift of Mr. Morris K. Jesup. It is especially rich in textile fabrics,
in feather work, ornaments of silver and gold, vessels of beaten silver,
and pottery.

Brazil, both ancient and modern, is illustrated in the accessions
from that country. Three of the present-day Indian tribes—the
Tukano, the Karaja, and the Mundruchu, are represented.

The culture of the ancient inhabitants of Ecuador, Bolivia, and
Chile is shown in a general collection illustrating the home life, in-
dustries, amusements, decorative art, modes of personal adornment,
and religious and other ceremonies.

Of special interest among the specimens are the shrunken human
heads—war trophies of the Jivaros Indians of Ecuador—and the
mummified body from Chile, which was found in a copper mine at
Chuquicamata. A very large collection of ancient pottery has been
gathered from Bolivia, and some from Ecuador.

Paraguay is represented by an interesting collection of feather
work, basketry, ornaments, and weapons.

Among the collections from the southern extremity of South
America are several pieces of feather work made by the Canoe
(Yakgan) Indians of Terra del Fuego, and a painted “‘capa”’ from Punta
Arenas, the latter recently given by Dr. Charles H. Townsend. On a
Museum expedition in 1899-1900 Mr. Barnum Brown collected material

[ 100 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

which illustrates, to some extent, the culture and physical character-
istics of several rapidly diminishing tribes of Patagonia and Terra
del Fuego, from the Onas, Yakgan, and especially the Tehuelches, who
are noted for their height.

SIBERIA

Extensive collections from the isolated tribes of northeastern
Siberia were acquired through the Jesup North Pacific Expedition.
The tribes studied by Mr. Waldemar Jochelson and Mr. Waldemar
Bogoras, to whom this part of the work was intrusted, include the
Chukchee of the extreme northeastern part of Siberia, the Koryak
of the north coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and along the Bering Sea, the
Kamchadal of the Peninsula of Kamchatka, the Yukaghir and
Tungus along the Arctic Ocean, the Yakut in the Lena River region,
and the Tungus along the Sea of Okhotsk, also the Yukaghir and
Churantzep.

The collections obtained embrace some 8,000 objects illustrating
the life, customs, beliefs, and culture of the various tribes; seventy-
four plaster casts of faces; skulls and archeological specimens from
graves and abandoned village sites; also 450 tales and traditions,
texts in the various languages, phonographic records, and hundreds
of photographs.

CHINA

For the Chinese exhibit the Museum is indebted to the members
of the East Asiatic Committee, which was organized in 1901 for the
purpose of acquiring and disseminating knowledge of the peoples of
eastern Asia. The formation was initiated by Mr. Morris K. Jesup
and Mr. Jacob H. Schiff. The plan included extensive research among
the Chinese, and collections and studies on the products and culture
of the Philippine Islands and the Malay region in general, and the
publication of studies relating to East Asiatic subjects. The sum of
$18,000 was donated by Mr. Jacob H. Schiff for making collections
and investigations in China, and a further sum of $6,850 was con-

[ 101 ]

Patagonia
and Terra
del Fuego.

Jesup North
Pacific
Expedition
Collections.

East Asiatic
Committee.

Jacob H.
Schiff
Chinese

Expedition,

1901-1904,
$18,000.

Andaman
Islands.

Seton-Karr
Collection.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

tributed for the other work by Messrs. Edward D. Adams, Cornelius
N. Bliss, Henry C. Frick, Edward H. Harriman, George A. Hearn,
Morris K. Jesup, Clarence H. Mackay, Jacob H. Schiff, James H.
Smith, and Samuel Thorne. The funds subscribed for the work in
the Philippines were insufficient and therefore were devoted toward
making available the material collected in China. With the $18,000
provided by Mr. Jacob H. Schiff the work of making collections and
investigations in China was begun in 1901, Dr. Berthold Laufer having
been appointed to carry out the plans of the committee. Dr. Laufer
remained in China nearly three years and made a systematic col-
lection which covers the various aspects of the social and industrial
life, and gives a comprehensive view of Chinese culture. The col-
lections, now installed in the Southwest Corner Hall, are arranged
so as to illustrate the industrial and domestic life of the Chinese, their
amusements, religion, and arts.

From Chefoo, China, comes a collection of about 150 specimens,
acquired through exchange in 1902. It contains a large number of
painted scrolls, besides wearing apparel and ornaments, and objects
used in religious ceremonials.

INDIA

The life and industries of the natives of the Andaman Islands, in
the Bay of Bengal, are illustrated in the Anderson collection, which
was presented by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup in 1908. Among the 251
pieces in the collection are various implements of war and the chase,
specimens of basketry, pottery, and ornaments, and a fine example of
a Ghost House.

A recent accession from India is a series of 71 paleolithic imple-
ments from the Madras Presidency, India. They were found and
presented by Mr. H. W. Seton-Karr, and are interesting as coming
from a country archeologically little known. In addition to these
are some axes from the vicinity of Banda, also received through the
kindness of Mr. Seton-Karr.

[ 102 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

A valuable collection of silver work from the Central Provinces of
India was presented in 1906 by Mr. J. G. Phelps Stokes.

KOREA

The Museum has an interesting collection illustrating the ethnology
of Korea, which was gathered by Dr. C. C. Vinton at various times.
More than 275 specimens were received in his shipments of 1907 and
1908.

JAPAN

A very complete representation of the culture of the Ainu, from
the Island of Yezo, Japan, has been acquired, largely through the
liberality of Mr. Arthur Curtiss James. A collection presented by
him in 1898 included ornaments, utensils, weapons, and other objects
illustrating the custums of the Ainu. It was supplemented in 1901
by the material gathered by Prof. Bashford Dean and purchased by
Mr. James. It comprised religious and ceremonial specimens, and a
series Of photographs relating to the Ainu. Other Ainu material
- was collected by Dr. Laufer while at work for the Jesup North Pacific
Expedition.

AFRICA

The African material which the Museum possesses comprises col-
lections which will probably, in a comparatively few years, be unique
and of inestimable value.

As a result of negotiations carried on early in 1907 the Belgian
Government has presented to the Museum four large collections from
the Congo Free State, containing more than 3,908 specimens illus-
trating the customs, culture, and development of the natives of the
Congo. It contains many examples of native ironwork, basketry,
wood-carving, musical instruments, and many fetiches, masks, and
other objects illustrating the beliefs and observances of the aborigines.

[ 103 ]

Stokes
Collection.

The Congo.

British

South Africa.

Douglas
Collection,
$5,000.

British
East Africa.

Western
Africa, Raff
Collection.

Bowdoin
Collection.

Archeology.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Another large collection for the African hall was acquired in 1907
through the generosity of Messrs. Perey R. Pyne, Cleveland H. Dodge,
and Arthur Curtiss James. It was gathered by Mr. Richard Douglas
on an expedition to Barotseland, South Africa, and contains about
5,000 specimens illustrating the basketry, weaving, pottery, musical
instruments, weapons, etc., of the natives.

More than 200 ethnological specimens from British East Africa,
gathered by Mr. Richard Tjader, were received in 1907. Metal work,
bead work, wearing apparel, household objects, musical instruments,
and a large number of baskets make up the collection.

The Raff Collection of wood-carvings from the tribes of western
Africa was acquired by purchase in 1902. The objects are mostly of
religious or ceremonial character.

The fast-disappearing culture of some of the tribes of Central
Africa is illustrated in a collection which was received in 1903 as a
gift from Mr. George 8. Bowdoin. It contained implements of war-
fare, idols, fetiches, and masks, clothing, baskets, and musical instru-
ments, household utensils of bamboo, ornaments of beads, shell, and
brass, and seven carved ivory tusks.

Among the objects from Benin, East Africa, there are many bronze
figures, ornaments, and tusk stands. Of great interest and value are
the four carved ivory tusks, presented by Mr. Archer M. Huntington
in 1908.

From Mediterranean Africa, the Museum has long possessed a
representative series of flaked material, secured by Mr. Andrew E.
Douglas through the kindness of M. Jacques de Morgan. In addition
there are a few stone implements from Somali Land, presented by
Mr. H. W. Seton-Karr. Recently this nucleus has been augmented
by a series of prehistoric flints from ancient village sites in the Fayam
Desert, apparently belonging to a later period, probably the Neolithic.

[104 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

The Museum’s collection illustrating Philippine ethnology is the
largest and most complete in existence. Most of it was contained
in the Philippine Exhibit at the St. Louis Exposition, a large part of
which was purchased by Mr. Morris K. Jesup and presented to the
Museum in 1905. The collection represents the life and industries
of all the important tribes. It includes clothing and textile fabrics,
household utensils, agricultural implements, fish and game traps, arms,
houses, articles of manufacture, and boats and other means of trans-
portation.

The Philippine Exhibit was further enlarged in 1908 by 113 speci-
mens collected by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, and a large collection of swords,
knives, and spears, presented by Mr. Charles H. Senff.

The most important specimen in the Hawaiian material is an
elaborate feather war cape, known as the ‘‘Curran Cape,’’ presented
by Mr. George 8. Bowdoin in 1908.

A small ethnological collection was made by Mr. Rudolf Weber
on a Museum expedition to the east coast of Sumatra in 1894.

A general idea of the culture of the Samoan Island peoples is shown
in the Zimmermann collection containing 99 specimens, purchased in
1906. Among other things it contains a complete outfit for the manu-
facture of ‘‘tapa”’ cloth, several handsome pieces of finished cloth, and
a number of costumes, household utensils, and other implements.

The life and customs of the various tribes in Central Australia
are represented by 200 specimens which were gathered on the Spencer-
Gillen Expedition of the National Museum of Melbourne, and acquired
by this Museum through exchange.

One of the most interesting exhibits from New Zealand is the
Robley Collection of Maori heads, which was presented to the Museum
in 1907 by Mr. Jesup. Major-General G. Robley of the British Army,
who made the collection, took an active part in the Maori campaign of
1864-66 and spent several subsequent years in the country. Gen.

[ 105 ]

Philippine
Islands
Collection.

Hawaiian
Cape,
$2,500.

Sumatra.

Samoan
Islands.

Australia.

New
Zealand.

Robley
Collection of

Maori Heads,

$6,088.

Fijian
Collection.

Finsch
Collection,
$3,000.

Bismarck
Archipelago.

Schroeder
Collection.

New
Hebrides
and New
Caledonia.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Robley was an enthusiastic collector, and was especially interested
in everything that related to the old-time method of tattooing. He
succeeded in bringing together thirty-three very fine examples of the
tattooed heads, with the implements, pigments, funnel, and all other
accessories used during the process, making this the largest and most
complete collection in existence illustrating the ancient art of ‘‘Moco”’
or Maori tattooing. The practice of tattooing among the Maori ceased
to exist over a generation ago, and the heads are now extremely scarce,
so that Mr. Jesup’s gift was one of special scientific interest and im-
portance.

An ethnological collection from the Fiji Islands was received in
1908 through the liberality of Mrs. Morris K. Jesup. It was gathered
by Mr. John William Waters during forty years’ residence on the
Islands, and is especially valuable in that it represents the life of the
Fijians before they had become acquainted with iron and its uses.
The collection comprises about 1,800 specimens, including household
utensils and implements of war and the chase, made of stone, turtle-
shell and wood.

A good insight into the culture of the natives of New Guinea, New
Ireland, and Marshall Islands is obtained from the Finsch Collection,
the work of Dr. Otto Finsch, which was purchased in 1898. It num-
bers 2,144 pieces, and includes casts of faces and samples of hair of
the natives, besides about 300 explanatory drawings.

Interesting ethnological material from various islands in the
Bismarck Archipelago, brought together by Professor Eugene Schroeder
during many years as a resident there, was purchased in 1908 with
funds provided by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup. Among the most valuable
and striking objects in the collection are several idols from a Ghost
House; an ancient death drum, and several ceremonial masks. The
collection also contains implements of war and the chase, musical
instruments, personal ornaments, clothing, and household utensils.

A fairly representative collection from the Islands of New Hebrides
and New Caledonia was received in the Engler Collection, presented
by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup in 1908. It contains something over 100

[ 106 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

specimens, such as bows, arrows for war and hunting, spears of many
forms, decorated lances, clubs, model of a boat, paddles, baskets,
cloth, pottery, dishes, ornaments, etc.

PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

A series of expeditions devoted to the physical anthropology of
southwestern United States and northern Mexico was carried on for
the Museum by Dr. A. Hrdliéka, the means for which were generously
furnished by Mr. Frederick E. Hyde, Jr. The main object was the
acquisition of knowledge of the physical features of the present as
well as the ancient Indian populations over the territory covered
before the advent of the whites by the Cliff Dwellers, Pueblos, and
branches of the Nahuas. The territory covered extends uninter-
ruptedly from southern Utah and Colorado in the United States to
the State of Morelos in Mexico. The material obtained on the four
expeditions comprises measurements of and observations on nearly
3,000 individuals, more than 1,500 photographs, about 300 skulls
and skeletons, 120 facial casts, and about 3,000 ethnological and
archeological specimens.

The Museum now has a collection of types from the North Pacific
Coast, California, Dakota, Smith Sound, New York, Mexico, the
Southwest, Siberia, and Japan.

An extensive series of typical portrait busts has now been as-
sembled, more than 500 molds having been taken from the various
living types. They represent typical individuals of the North American
tribes, including the Eskimo of the Arctic regions, also the Ainu, the
Chinese, the Japanese, and several Siberian tribes. Molds from the
Philippine, African, and South American native tribes who were at
the St. Louis Exposition were added in 1904.

Several thousand plaster casts of the palates of feeble-minded
and normal children and adults were presented by Dr. Walter Chan-
ning in 1908. They are of great value in the study of racial characters.

[107 ]

Engler
Collection.

Robley
Collection of

Maori Heads,

$6,088.

Fijian
Collection.

Finsch
Collection,
$3,000.

Bismarck
Archipelago.

Schroeder
Collection.

New
Hebrides
and New
Caledonia.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Robley was an enthusiastic collector, and was especially interested
in everything that related to the old-time method of tattooing. He
succeeded in bringing together thirty-three very fine examples of the
tattooed heads, with the implements, pigments, funnel, and all other
accessories used during the process, making this the largest and most
complete collection in existence illustrating the ancient art of ‘‘Moco”’
or Maori tattooing. The practice of tattooing among the Maori ceased
to exist over a generation ago, and the heads are now extremely scarce,
so that Mr. Jesup’s gift was one of special scientific interest and im-
portance.

An ethnological collection from the Fiji Islands was received in
1908 through the liberality of Mrs. Morris K. Jesup. It was gathered
by Mr. John William Waters during forty years’ residence on the
Islands, and is especially valuable in that it represents the life of the
Fijians before they had become acquainted with iron and its uses.
The collection comprises about 1,800 specimens, including household
utensils and implements of war and the chase, made of stone, turtle-
shell and wood.

A good insight into the culture of the natives of New Guinea, New
Ireland, and Marshall Islands is obtained from the Finsch Collection,
the work of Dr. Otto Finsch, which was purchased in 1898. It num-
bers 2,144 pieces, and includes casts of faces and samples of hair of
the natives, besides about 300 explanatory drawings.

Interesting ethnological material from various islands in the
Bismarck Archipelago, brought together by Professor Eugene Schroeder
during many years as a resident there, was purchased in 1908 with
funds provided by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup. Among the most valuable
and striking objects in the collection are several idols from a Ghost
House; an ancient death drum, and several ceremonial masks. The
collection also contains implements of war and the chase, musical
instruments, personal ornaments, clothing, and household utensils.

A fairly representative collection from the Islands of New Hebrides
and New Caledonia was received in the Engler Collection, presented
by Mrs. Morris K. Jesup in 1908. It contains something over 100

[ 106 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

specimens, such as bows, arrows for war and hunting, spears of many
forms, decorated lances, clubs, model of a boat, paddles, baskets,
cloth, pottery, dishes, ornaments, etc.

PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

A series of expeditions devoted to the physical anthropology of
southwestern United States and northern Mexico was carried on for
the Museum by Dr. A. Hrdli¢ka, the means for which were generously
furnished by Mr. Frederick E. Hyde, Jr. The main object was the
acquisition of knowledge of the physical features of the present as
well as the ancient Indian populations over the territory covered
before the advent of the whites by the Cliff Dwellers, Pueblos, and
branches of the Nahuas. The territory covered extends uninter-
ruptedly from southern Utah and Colorado in the United States to
the State of Morelos in Mexico. The material obtained on the four
expeditions comprises measurements of and observations on nearly
3,000 individuals, more than 1,500 photographs, about 300 skulls
and skeletons, 120 facial casts, and about 3,000 ethnological and
archeological specimens.

The Museum now has a collection of types from the North Pacific
Coast, California, Dakota, Smith Sound, New York, Mexico, the
Southwest, Siberia, and Japan.

An extensive series of typical portrait busts has now been as-
sembled, more than 500 molds having been taken from the various
living types. They represent typical individuals of the North American
tribes, including the Eskimo of the Arctic regions, also the Ainu, the
Chinese, the Japanese, and several Siberian tribes. Molds from the
Philippine, African, and South American native tribes who were at
the St. Louis Exposition were added in 1904.

Several thousand plaster casts of the palates of feeble-minded
and normal children and adults were presented by Dr. Walter Chan-
ning in 1908. They are of great value in the study of racial characters.

[107 ]

Engler
Collection.

Demuth
Collection.

A.S.
Bickmore,
1873-91.

James Terry,
1891-94.

Frederick
Starr.

Frederic W.
Putnam,
1894-1903.

Franz Boas,
1895-1906.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

One of the special collections in the Department of Anthropology
is the Demuth Collection of pipes and smoking materials, brought
together through the generous support of Mr. William Demuth, to show
the various kinds of pipes and smoking materials used throughout
the world.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Professor Albert 8. Bickmore was in charge of the collections in the
Department of Anthropology from the time of its establishment in 1873,
and served as Curator from 1885 until he resigned in 1891 to give all his
attention to the Department of Public Instruction. He was succeeded
after a few months by Mr. James Terry, the Department in the mean-
time being in charge of Dr. Frederick Starr, who had been engaged to
label and arrange the Bishop and Emmons collections. Mr. Terry had
been with the Department since June, 1891, and served as Curator from
1892 until 1894.

In 1894 the Department was reorganized with Professor Frederic W.
Putnam as Curator. He served in this capacity until the close of 1902,
when he resigned to accept an appointment as Director of the Depart-
ment of Anthropology at the University of California. He continued to
be identified with the Museum through 1903 as Advisory Curator of
Archeology.

After the retirement of Professor Putnam, the Department of An-
thropology was separated into two distinct departments—those of Eth-
nology and Archeology.

Professor Franz Boas joined the Museum’s Staff in 1895 as Assistant
Curator of Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology. He was
made Curator in 1901, and Curator of the new Department of Ethnology
when it was established as a distinct Department in 1902, and held this
office until he resigned in 1906. Professor Boas is an anthropologist
of international reputation, who has contributed largely to the scientific
literature of this subject. He directed the field work of the Jesup

[ 108 ]

ANTHROPOLOGY

North Pacific Expedition, and was himself a member of several ex-
peditions.

Professor Marshall H. Saville was appointed Assistant Curator when
the Department was reorganized in 1894. He served as Assistant Cura-
tor of the Archeological Division from 1896 until 1901, when he was ap-
pointed Curator of Mexican and Central American Archeology, and
Associate Curator of Archeology from 1905 until he resigned early in
1907. He continued to serve the Museum as Honorary Curator of
Mexican Archeology until 1909. While connected with the Museum,
he spent several years exploring and collecting in Mexico.

In 1905 all the anthropological work was placed under one head, and
Dr. Clark Wissler was appointed Acting Curator. The following year he
was promoted to the Curatorship, which position he now holds. Dr.
Wissler had previously served the Museum as an Assistant and later as
Assistant Curator in the Department of Ethnology. His researches
have been chiefly among the North American Indians, especially the
tribes of the Northern Plains, and on anthropometric problems.

In 1909 the scientific staff was augmented by the appointment of Dr.
Pliny E. Goddard as Assistant Curator. Dr. Goddard was formerly en-
gaged in anthropological work for the University of California, making
a special study of Athapascan speaking peoples.

Mr. Harlan I. Smith has been connected with the department since
1894, and in 1900 was appointed Assistant Curator of Archeology. Mr.
Smith has specialized in North American archeology, and as a member
of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition made extensive archeological
explorations in British Columbia and later in several of the Western
States.

In 1903 Dr. Livingston Farrand was appointed Assistant Curator of
Ethnology and served for two years, when he resigned to accept a posi-
tion as Executive Secretary of the National Association for the Study
and Prevention of Tuberculosis. Dr. Farrand at various times since
1897 had carried on field work for the Museum in the West.

Dr. Robert H. Lowie and Dr. Herbert J. Spinden were appointed
Assistant Curators in 1909.

[ 109 ]

Marshall
Howard
Saville,
1894-1907.

Clark Wissler.
1902-.

P. E.Goddard,
1909-.

Harlan I.
Smith,
1894-.

Livingston
Farrand,
1897-1904.

Robert H.
Lowie, 1909-
Herbert J.
Spinden,1909-.

Advisers
and
Specialists.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Those who have served on the scientific staff as assistants are:

Dr. Berthold Laufer, 1904-6. Dr. Laufer had conducted work in
Siberia and Japan in connection with the Jesup North Pacific Expedi-
tion, and was in charge of the work of the East Asiatic Committee in
China. é

Charles W. Mead, 1905-

George H. Pepper, 1905-8.

Alanson Skinner, 1909-

The scientific work of the Department has been especially advanced
by the researches of Dr. Adolf F. Bandelier in Peru and adjacent South
American countries; by those of Dr. Ales Hrdlicka in physical anthro-
pology; by those of Mr. Waldemar Jochelson and Dr. Waldemar Bo-
goras in Siberian ethnology; and of Professors A. L. Kroeber and R. B.
Dixon among the Indians of California. Among other distinguished
anthropologists who have made investigations for the Department are
Professor Albert E. Jenks, Dr. John R. Swanton, Dr. William Jones, Dr.
Frank G. Speck, Mr. H. H. St. Clair, Jr., Mr. Ernest Volk, and Dr. Carl
Lumbholtz.

CHIEF BENEFACTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

ANTHROPOLOGY

GIFTS TO THE VALUE OF $500 OR MORE
H. E. Bard, William Demuth,
Belgian Government, Cleveland H. Dodge,
Mrs. Albert Bierstadt, Andrew Ellicott Douglas,
Heber R. Bishop, James Douglas,
Henry M. Booth, Lieut. G. T. Emmons,
George 8. Bowdoin, Government of Nicaragua,
Barnum Brown, Archer M. Huntington,
Dr. Walter Channing, C. P. Huntington,
Christian Missions, B. T. B. Hyde,
Miss E. H. Cotheal, Dr. F. E. Hyde,
Mrs. William de Forest, F. E. Hyde, Jr.

[110]

ANTHROPOLOGY

Arthur Curtiss James,
Morris K. Jesup,

Mrs. Morris K. Jesup,
James H. Jones,

Dr. Robert H. Lamborn,
Adolph Lewisohn,
Duke of Loubat,
Henry G. Marquand,
E. P. Mathewson,
Clarence B. Moore,

J. Pierpont Morgan,

Francis C. Nicholas,
George Foster Peabody,
Dr. Wm. Pepper,
Percy R. Pyne,
Charles H. Senff,
Ernest Shernikow,
Jacob H. Schiff,
Alanson Skinner,
Harlan I. Smith,

J. G. Phelps Stokes,
Robert L. Stuart,

Henry Villard.

[111 |

PHYSIOLOGY

animals, particularly in matters pertaining to health and

disease, and the importance of a knowledge of the functions
of the organs of the human body, led to the establishment of the De-
partment of Physiology in 1902. These were subjects which could not
readily be illustrated with known Museum methods of exhibition so
that a great deal of experimentation in methods of preparation was
necessary before the subject of physiology could be presented to the
public in an interesting and non-repellent way.

The demand for exhibition space for the various departments of
the Museum has been so great that it has not been possible to assign
an exhibition hall to this department. Laboratory work, however,
has progressed very satisfactorily and the Museum’s preparation of
anatomical material has been examined and approved by visiting
scientists. Specimens of the heart have been prepared in such a way
that the action of the ventricular valves is clearly shown. Another
model with a preserved specimen of lungs shows the action of the
diaphragm and its relation to the lungs in the usual process of respira-
tion. Another model in wax and glass demonstrates the function of
the kidney, while a large amount of material illustrating the com-
parative anatomy of man and the lower animals has been pre-
pared.

The increasing attention that is being given to questions of sani-
tation and spread of contagious diseases by municipal, state, and
federal bodies, as well as by many philanthropic organizations, will
result in making a physiological exhibit an integral part of a modern
museum.

|": increasing importance of the relation of man to the lower

[112]

PHYSIOLOGY

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

Professor Ralph W. Tower was appointed Curator of the new
Department of Physiology upon its organization in 1902. He has
directed the experimentation in the preservation of anatomical speci-
mens and has also developed the method of preparing skeletons by
the digestion process.

In his laboratory work, Professor Tower was ably assisted by Dr.
Carl W. F. Munchehofe, who was an assistant in this Department
from 1904 to 1908. Dr. Munchehofe had had much experience in
laboratory methods, having worked under Virchow, Huxley, and other
important European scientists, and had acquired a technic especially
applicable to this kind of work. Especially noteworthy are his
corrosion preparations of kidneys, lungs, etc., and the specimen and
apparatus showing the action of the valves of the heart.

[113]

Ralph W.
Tower, A.B.,
A.M., Ph.D.,
1902-.

Carl WF:
Munchehofe
M.D.,
1904-8.

Lectures
on Zoology.

Work under
Grants from
the State.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

established until 1884, began its work in 1881. Its first

Curator, Professor Albert S. Bickmore, was one of those in-
strumental in the foundation of the Museum, and it was he who con-
ceived and planned the system to make the Museum a factor of large
usefulness by taking an active part in the education of the pupils of
our public schools.

In 1880 the Trustees addressed a letter to the Commissioner of
the Department of Education, offering a course of lectures, delivered
by Professor Bickmore, in the Museum and at the Museum’s expense,
to the principals and teachers of natural history in the Primary
Schools. The idea met with the hearty approval of the Department
of Education, and in January, 1881, Professor Bickmore was authorized
to prepare a course of lectures on zodlogy. A small workroom on
the ‘‘attic floor’ —Number 11, now used by the Department of Orni-
thology—was fitted up as a lecture hall. In 1881 the first lecture in
the teachers’ course was delivered by Professor Bickmore before a
class of thirty—all that could be accommodated. This system of
visual instruction, as it was called, proved so successful that the
Museum was requested to provide room for more teachers. The
partition separating an adjoining workroom was removed, which
allowed the class to be increased to 150.

A law passed in 1884 placed the work under the State Department
of Public Instruction, with an appropriation of $18,000, ‘‘to establish
and maintain a course of free lectures to the teachers of the common
schools of New York City and to the teachers of the common schools
and normal schools throughout the State, who wish to avail themselves
of this training.’ The Department of Public Instruction was at this

[114]

é hee Department of Public Instruction, although not formally

PUBLIC EDUCATION

time officially created, and ten lectures on physiology, zodlogy, and
botany prepared for the first course in the autumn of 1884.

The law as reenacted in 1886, with an appropriation of $18,000
annually for two years, authorized Professor Bickmore to deliver at
least one lecture a year at each of the normal schools, normal colleges,
and training schools in the State, and further provided that the lec-
tures at the Museum should be repeated to ‘‘artisans, mechanics, and
other citizens.” The latter part of the contract, however, was not
complied with until 1890, when the new lecture hall was in use.

Professor Bickmore traveled abroad extensively to gather the il-
lustrations and data for the series of lectures on travel, the first of
which was given in 1887. They were appreciated to such an extent
that the Trustees had to hire Chickering Hall for the autumn course,
and here Professor Bickmore delivered his lectures before audiences
averaging more than 1,300.

By the law reenacted in 1888, $15,000 annually was appropriated
for the next two years, and the privileges accorded the other institu-
tions were extended to the Teachers’ Institutes of the State.

A new lecture hall, seating 1,002, was opened in the latter part of
1889, and in the following year Professor Bickmore delivered the
first series of the lectures known as the ‘‘Members’ Course,” and also
those to the general public, which were given on holidays.

The law providing for the support of the Department failed to be
reenacted in October, 1890, but the work was continued by the
Trustees until January, 1891, when the State made an appropriation
of $15,000 annually for the next four years, and at the same time
entered into an agreement with the Museum by which the Museum
received an extra allowance of $700 per month. In 1893 this was
increased to $750 per month, and the State appropriation for the next
four years was increased to $18,000. The following year, 1894, an
extra $18,000 was appropriated to supply deficiencies of former years.

The system was broadened in 1895 by an act to provide the ‘‘ Visual
Instruction Method”’ to the free common schools of the State, thus
permitting the school superintendents in all towns and villages to use

[115]

Law of 1886

Law of 1888.

Law of 1891.

Law of 1895

Law of 1901.

George H.
Sherwood,
Curator,
1906-.

Circulating
Collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

the lectures given by Professor Bickmore at the Museum; $25,000 an-
nually was appropriated for the next four years. The whole system
of Visual Instruction was at this time placed under the supervision of
Professor Bickmore, and a compensation of $1,000 a month granted
for the expenses of inspection, supervision, shipment of material, etc.;
$18,000 annually with $1,000 a month extra was appropriated for four
years beginning with 1897, but this was increased to $20,000 annually
in 1899; $12,666.66 was granted in 1900 for deficiencies occasioned
by the transferring of the appropriation bill.

The allowance of $1,000 extra a month was extended for four years
from January, 1901; $38,000 was appropriated for the year 1902,
and the same for 1903. This was the last appropriation made by the
State for the work. The Saturday morning lectures to teachers were.
discontinued the following year, and in 1905 Professor Bickmore was
appointed Curator Emeritus, his ill-health necessitating a lightening
of his duties. He was relieved of all active charge in 1906, and Mr.
George H. Sherwood was appointed Curator.

In the Department of Public Instruction is centered all those features
of the Museum work which are instrumental in articulating the work
of the Museum with the public at large and especially with the educa-
tional system of the City. Under this heading are the nature study
collections which are loaned to public schools, the lectures for school
children, the free lectures on holidays, the lectures in conjunction with
the Board of Education, and the opportunities afforded to educators for
work at the Museum and Museum extension work with public libraries
and similar institutions.

With the placing of nature Bis as a part of the curriculum laid
down by the Board of Education, numerous requests were made to
the Museum by teachers for material to illustrate the course in Nature
Study. To meet these demands the Museum prepared a number of
cabinets of natural history specimens and instituted a system whereby
these were loaned to the schools of the City. When this work was
begun, only ten collections were available, but the demand for them
has become so great that now the Museum has more than 400, and is

[116 ]

PUBLIC EDUCATION

supplying nearly 400 of the City schools. The collections include birds,
insects, mollusks, crabs, starfishes, worms, sponges, corals, minerals,
and woods.

Museum messengers deliver the collections in a sequence agreeable
to the teacher and call for them at the expiration of the loan period.
In the course of a year, this material reaches from 500,000 to 800,000
school children.

Pursuant to a request of the New York City Teachers’ Association,
the Museum in 1904 arranged for a series of informal lectures to school
children, the purpose of which was to supplement the classroom work
in geography, history, and natural science. These lectures have been
attended by thousands of pupils and have now become a regular part
of the Museum’s educational work.

Further privileges have been extended in connection with the
use of the lantern slides and lecture room. Including the collection of
lantern slides deposited by Professor Bickmore, the Museum possesses
a collection of slides numbering 35,000, of which fully 12,000 are
beautifully colored. Teachers are allowed to select from these slides
to illustrate some topic in connection with their work and arrange
for special lectures to their pupils.

The free lectures to the public, under the joint auspices of the
Museum and the Board of Education, were begun in October, 1900.

The first lecture to the public on holidays was given under the
State Department of Public Instruction on Thanksgiving Day, 1890.
They have been continued since 1904 by the Museum.

The lectures in codperation with Columbia University were begun
in 1892.

In 1906 the Museum appointed an instructor, whose duty it is to
meet classes visiting the Museum and explain to them the exhibits,
thus enabling them to use their time to the best advantage. A large
number of the schools are making use of the Museum in this way.
Another feature of this work is the children’s room, which was es-
tablished in 1908, and which is under the immediate supervision of the
instructor.

[117]

Lectures to
School
Children.

Special
Lectures.

Lectures to
the Public.

Lectures to
the Public
on Holidays.

Columbia
University
Lectures.

Instructor.

WOODS AND FORESTRY

COLLECTION OF NORTH AMERICAN WOODS

NE of the first steps taken by Mr. Jesup, after his election as
President of the Museum, was toward the establishment—

at his own expense and as a gift to the Museum—of a col-
lection showing the natural history and economic features of all
the trees of the United States that could be used for commercial
purposes.

An especially opportune time for making this collection arose when
the Tenth Census of the United States embodied in its work the plan
of a report upon the wood resources of our country. Professor Charles
S. Sargent was engaged as special agent, and Mr. Jesup fortunately
secured his coéperation in the preparation of the collection for the
Museum.

The collection of 420 species was formally presented to the Museum
in 1891, about twelve years having been required to bring it together.
A number of species were at that time lacking, but an expedition sent
out in the fall of 1891 secured all but a very few unimportant ones,
so that the present collection of 3,092 specimens, of which 505 are
on exhibition, is practically complete in its representation of the native
woods of North America, north of Mexico. The trunks of the trees
in the exhibition series are of an average height of five feet, and cut
so as to show vertical, horizontal, and oblique sections, half of each
section being polished.

The foliage, flower, and fruit of each species are illustrated by a
water-color sketch, the work of Mrs. Mary Robeson Sargent, and some
also by artificial sprays in natural size and color.

The sections of the California redwood tree and the giant sequoia

[118]

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a
. a ee

WOODS AND FORESTRY

on exhibition in the Darwin Hall were presented by Mr. C. P. Hunt-
ington in 1891.

A flawless plank of the California redwood, measuring six feet in
width and seventeen feet in length, was added to the collection by Mr.
Jesup in 1905.

Specimens of foreign woods were among the very early accessions
of the Museum. They were received in 1876, being portions of ex-
hibits of the different countries at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposi-
tion. Jamaica and Bermuda presented their entire exhibit, containing
a rich display of tropical woods. Brazil, Argentine Republic, and
Mexico presented a number of specimens from their exhibit, while
others were received from Japan, Turkey, and the Hawaiian Islands.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF

The Jesup collection of North American woods was brought to-
gether under the supervision and direction of Professor Charles Sprague
Sargent, of Harvard University, under whose charge Mr. Jesup placed
the Department of Economic Botany, when it was established in 1880.
Professor Sargent was at that time preparing a report for the Tenth
Census of the United States on ‘‘The Forest Wealth of the United
States.” Professor Sargent is an arboriculturist of note. He was
appointed Director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard in 1873, and
since 1879 has been Professor of Arboricuture there.

Mrs. Mary Robeson Sargent executed the water-color sketches
which illustrate the foliage, flower, and fruit of the trees in the Jesup
collection of woods.

Mr. C. G. Pringle and Mr. A. H. Curtiss were engaged to collect
specimens for the wood collection. It was as agents for Mr. Jesup that
Mr. Pringle increased the existing knowledge of the trees of Arizona
and Southern California, and Mr. Curtiss that of the semitropical
forests of Southern California.

[119]

Charles
Sprague
Sargent,
LEDS
1880.

Mrs. Mary
Robeson
Sargent.

C. G. Pringle.
A. H. Curtiss.

Wolfe.

Brevoort.

Jewett.

Elliot,

Elliot.

LIBRARY

provide for the establishment and maintenance of a Museum and

Library of Natural History, and it is a well-recognized fact that
a thoroughly equipped library is a*necessary adjunct to an institution
devoted to scientific research. Since the incumbency of the present
Curator, Prof. R. W. Tower, in 1902, it has been the aim of the
administration to build up an exhaustive library of natural history
rather than a large general library.

In 1902 the Museum possessed a good nucleus of standard scientific
works, which had largely been received through the gifts of friends of
the Museum. Among those of special importance are the following:

The first important gift was the John C. Jay conchological library,
presented in 1874 by Miss Catharine L. Wolfe. It contained about
850 bound volumes and many pamphlets, gathered at a cost of over
$10,000 and forming what was considered the finest library of its
kind in America.

The Carson Brevoort library on fishes and general zodlogy, on
deposit since 1879, was presented by Mr. Robert L. Stuart. It num-
bered 2,083 volumes and over 1,000 pamphlets, and included almost
all important works on ichthyology up to 1870.

A library of voyages and travel, numbering about 350 volumes,
was received in 1886 as the gift of Mr. Hugh J. Jewett. Among them
were many rare original editions.

The ornithological library of Daniel Giraud Elliot, containing
987 volumes and 675 pamphlets, and ranking third of its kind in the
United States, was purchased and presented to the Museum in 1887
by Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt and Mr. Percy R. Pyne.

The largest addition, in point of numbers, which has been received
at any one time is the library which was gathered by the late Dr. 8.
Lowell Elliot and presented in 1891 as a memorial by his widow,

[120]

‘ie Founders of the Museum in their Articles of Incorporation

LIBRARY

Mrs. M. Schuyler Elliot. It consisted of 9,500 volumes and 3,500 pam-
phlets on insects, fishes, birds, general zodlogy, geography, and history.

The Harry Edwards entomological library of 500 volumes and
1,200 pamphlets was received with the Edwards Collection of butter-
flies, which was acquired in 1892, partly through the generosity of
friends of Mr. Edwards.

The Marcou collection of works on geology was presented to the
Museum in 1898 by Mr. John Belknap Marcou and Dr. Philippe Marcou.
It was brought together by Professor Jules Marcou, an eminent au-
thority on geology, and comprises about 3,000 volumes, 5,000 pam-
phlets and 1,200 maps. It had the distinction of being, with one ex-
ception, the largest private library of geology and palontology in
America.

A collection of 1,200 volumes, 960 numbers of serial publications,
1,833 pamphlets and 66 valuable maps, was presented in 1900 by
General Egbert Viele. To this gift he later added 676 volumes and a
number of pamphlets.

Over 200 volumes on conchology were given by Mr. Frederick A.
Constable in 1901.

Following the reorganization of the Library Staff the books on
hand were catalogued and made available for reference. The Library
was extended through subscriptions to the important scientific periodi-
cals, through exchange and through purchase. The New York
Academy of Sciences deposited its library with the Museum Library
in 1905 under arrangements which permitted of the merging of the two.
This library numbers about 10,000 volumes and is especially rich in
the publications of foreign societies, a branch of scientific literature
which had been but poorly represented in the Museum.

Following the example of the New York Academy, other scientific
bodies have presented or deposited their libraries with the Museum,
so that at the present time the Museum’s Library is the recognized
center in the City for publications on natural science.

Special attention was given to the matter of exchanges, and with
the publications of the Academy of Sciences in addition to the large

[121]

Edwards.

Marcou.

Viele.

Constable.

New York
Academy of
Sciences.

Exchanges.

American
Ethnological
Society.

Allen.

Wheeler.

Bumpus.

Rogers.

Osborn.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

series of the Museum publications available for this purpose the Museum
now annually receives an extensive list of periodicals on natural
science.

The enormous expense attached to the publication of researches
has led the Museum to reduce the edition of its publications, but it
gives them wide distribution by gratuitously depositing complete sets
of the publications in a hundred of the important learned centers
throughout the world. At the present time the Library contains
40,000 volumes and 20,000 separata, all completely catalogued and
available to all who may desire to consult them. .

Since 1902 the Library has been enriched by many gifts, the most
important of which are as follows:

The Library of the American Ethnological Society was permanently
deposited with the Museum in 1903. It numbers 750 volumes and
270 pamphlets, mostly on ethnology and archeology.

In 1904 Dr. J. A. Allen presented his private library of about
3,800 separata on zoology.

The Wheeler collection was also acquired in 1904. It consists of
121 books and pamphlets on arachnida, and many articles on
entomology in general brought together and presented by Professor
William Morton Wheeler. His library of 571 works on North American
Diptera was purchased by the Museum.

Another accession of special interest in 1904 was the gift by Dr.
H. C. Bumpus of his entire scientific library. It is especially rich in
works on comparative anatomy and contains 311 volumes, 1,661 bound
and 1,050 unbound pamphlets, among which were many valuable
volumes and rare reprints new to the Museum’s Library.

A copy of ‘‘Audubon’s Birds of the United States of America,”’
published in 1834 and valued at $3,000, was received in 1904 as a gift
from Mr. Archibald Rogers.

A recent accession of great importance is the paleontological
library of Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn, which he presented to
the Museum in 1908. It contains between 6,000 and 7,000 volumes,
valued at between $10,000 and $12,000.

[122]

LIBRARY

During the earliest years of the history of the Museum the library
was comparatively of small importance, but when the institution
took possession of its own building in 1877, the collection of books
began to grow. At first it was placed under the care of Dr. Anthony
Woodward, then Assistant in Geology. In 1882 Dr. Woodward was
made Librarian, a position which he held until 1902 when he was made
Curator of Maps and Charts. Beginning with 1902, Prof. R. W.
Tower has been Curator of the Department of Books and Publications,
a position which carries with it the duties of Librarian. Professor
Tower has devoted special attention to increasing the library, and its
present efficiency is largely due to his persistent efforts in this direction.

[123]

Bulletin.

Memoirs.

PUBLICATIONS

consist of the ‘‘Annual Report,’ the ‘Bulletin,’ the
“Memoirs,” ‘Anthropological Papers,” an ‘“‘ Ethnographical
Album,” and the ‘‘American Museum Journal.”

The ‘‘Bulletin”’ is a strictly scientific publication in which are pub-
lished the shorter articles embodying the results of the research work
of the various departments of the Museum. These papers are less
voluminous and of more general interest than those which appear in
the ‘“‘Memoirs.”’ The first number was issued in December, 1881—
the first year of President Jesup’s administration—and the first volume
was completed five years later. Since 1892 a complete volume has
been issued every year. Each volume contains about twenty-four
articles, published separately during the year, which relate about
equally to Geology, Paleontology, Mammalogy, Ornithology, and Ento-
mology. It is octavo in size, and contains 400 to 975 pages, with many
plates and text figures. It has an edition of 750 and is distributed
mainly to other scientific institutions in exchange for their publica-
tions, and is thus an important means for the increase of our Library.

The ‘‘Memoirs,” like the ‘‘ Bulletin,” are strictly scientific, but are
devoted to special articles requiring more exhaustive treatment.
The issue of ‘‘ Memoirs” was suggested by Professor Osborn in 1892.
Kach part forms a separate and complete monograph, usually with
numerous plates. The ‘“‘ Memoirs ” are quarto in size, and have been
published in parts at irregular intervals since 1893. The present edi-
tion is 600 copies.

The amount of material brought in and the observations made by
the parties at work under the Jesup North Pacific Exploration Fund
made necessary the establishment in 1898 of a special series of pub-
lications in the ‘“‘ Memoir ’”’ form. At first these were issued by the

Museum, but since 1904 they have been published by E. J. Brill, Ley-
[ 124 ]

fae publications of the American Museum of Natural History

PUBLICATIONS

den, Holland, under a favorable contract. This firm also publishes
the ‘‘Ethnographical Album.”

The ‘Anthropological Papers” are really a part of the ‘‘ Bulletin,”
devoted exclusively to the results of field work and other research
conducted by the anthropological staff of the Museum. They are
published in octavo volumes of about 350 pages each, issued in parts
at irregular intervals. The first issue was in 1907. The present
edition is 600.

The publication of the “American Museum Journal” was begun
in April, 1900, at the suggestion of Professor Osborn. The ‘‘Journal’’ is
a popular record of the progress of the Museum. It was started to give
to the members and the public the Museum news in popular and interest-
ing form, and asa medium for the prompt acknowledgment of gifts and
for making widely known the needs of the Museum. The ‘‘Journal’’
has an edition of 3,000 and is issued monthly from October to May.

It has been the policy of the administration of the Museum so to
label the exhibits that visitors would have the information desired
without the use of a voluminous general guide. The interest of the
public, however, in various collections led Director Bumpus to suggest
the publication of Guide Leaflets on these special subjects. These
leaflets, now thirty in number, appear irregularly and in editions which
vary with the popularity of the subject matter discussed.

Prof. R. P. Whitfield, Curator of Geology, established the form and
character of the ‘‘ Bulletin” through the first four articles, which were
contributed by him and published in 1881 and 1882, but there was no
definite editor until Prof. J. A. Allen assumed the editorship with the
issue of Vol. I, Part 5, in 1884. Professor Allen became editor of the
‘‘Memoirs,”’ likewise, when they were established in 1893. Prof.
Franz Boas has been the editor of the special series of memoirs pertain-
ing to the Jesup North Pacific exploration since it was begun. Dr.
Clark Wissler is the editor of the ‘‘Anthropological Papers.” Mr. W.
K. Gregory was made editor of the ‘‘American Museum Journal,’’ when
that was established in 1900, but since October, 1901, Dr. Edmund
Otis Hovey has been editor of the ‘‘Journal”’ and the Guide Leaflets.

[125]

Anthropolog-
ical Papers.

American
Museum
Journal.

Guide
Leaflets.

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF
THE EXHIBITIONS

it a rank second only to the British Museum, which places

it among the first of our educational and research institu-
tions in this country, which relates it to the college and university
system not only of New York but of the entire United States,
should encourage us not to stop, but to go on with increased vigor
and intelligence. If this is to be a truly great country, its intel-
lectual growth must keep pace with or in advance of its material
prosperity.

It is important to realize that only a beginning has been made;
that the new methods which have been developed in certain depart-
ments should be extended to all departments; that some of our col-
lections, as compared with those of the British Museum, or even of
other American museums, are in their infancy; that certain depart-
ments of science, which properly belong to a natural history museum,
have barely been suggested; that everywhere the lack of sequence in the
arrangement of the collections is most confusing to the visitor. Finally,
while gratifying progress has been made in connection with the public
educational system of the City, we should render even greater service
than we have been doing to the common schools, the high schools,
the colleges and the universities. In other words, the Museum,
through its influence on teachers and on pupils, should become a
more vital part of the educational system of the City, which alone
will justify increased appropriations for maintenance and will justify
the Trustees in their appeal to liberal-minded citizens for an increased
endowment.

& he wonderful growth of the American Museum, which gives

[ 126 ]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

Briefly, these various objects may be summarized as follows:

1. Closer relations with the system of Public Education.

2. Extension of the exhibition system to pure science, as-
tronomy, physics, geography, physical geography, ocean-
ography.

3. Applications of science to public health, economic forestry,
economic zoology, mines and mining.

In the new Department of Public Health, for example, we should
pursue the fine beginning which has been made and show the relation
of the simpler forms of animal and plant life to germ and protozoan
diseases along the lines begun in the mosquito exhibit.

In the Department of Woods and Forestry, we should display
the principles of conservation and teach the lessons of economy rather
than of waste in the natural resources of our country.

In the pure sciences, astronomy has never found its way into any
natural history museum until the present admirable beginning made
in this institution, to the instruction and delight of thousands of visi-
tors. It is obvious from the laws of the unity of nature, taught by
Humboldt and Darwin, that all causes are ultimately astronomic and
physical. Certain temporary exhibits of solar, lunar and stellar
photographs from the Yerkes and other observatories have proved both
fascinating and instructive to the public. We already have the
promise of the superb photographs which are now being secured by
Professor Hale of the Carnegie Institution at Pasadena. These
display the evolution of worlds, the corona of the sun, the vortical
nature of the sun spots. Other astronomers in our observatories,
which now lead the world, will be glad to send us their latest negatives.
Displayed in a darkened room, with transmitted light, these negatives
give a perfect vision of the heavens as they appear through our largest
telescopes. Such an exhibition could be arranged at comparatively
small expense on the first floor of the new Rotunda.

Similarly, in Physical Geography, we are promised the hearty
co-operation of Professor Davis of Harvard University, the leading

[127]

The Depart-
ment of Public
Health.

Conservation.

Astronomy.

Physical
Geography.

Geography.

Oceanog-
raphy.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

student of this subject. He is ready to plan a hall which shall be
devoted to the great surface phenomena of the earth, to the mountains,
the rivers, the glaciers, the snow peaks, the volcanoes, the valleys, the
canons and all the other wonderful features of the earth’s surface
which be may displayed through photographs and through models.

The beginning which has been made by the Museum in geography
in the projection of the Arctic and Antarctic regions has attracted so
much attention and such close study by visitors that it is clear that the
way is open for a complete geographic exhibit. Already, through an
arrangement with the American Geographical Society, under President
Huntington, a typical globe, embodying the very latest results of
geographical research, has been prepared, which will serve as the basis
on which can be recorded not only all the geographical and physical
features of the earth, but the distribution of plants and animals and
of the races of men. It is obvious that geography is the subject above
all others through which we may get into close touch with the work
of the public schools; that advanced museum methods of geography,
such as we shall adopt, will be a great aid both to teachers and to pupils
—in fact, it will put the whole science on a new basis in the City of
New York.

Oceanography is another of the new subjects which it is proposed
to develop, both on its physical side—the content of the sea and of the
geographical sea bottom—and on its living side—the marvelous and
peculiar forms of sea life. America has been one of the leaders in this
subject, through the voyages of the ‘‘Blake’’ and of the “‘Albatross,”’
under Alexander Agassiz and others. At the present time, the ‘‘Alba-
tross’”’ has been offered tothe Museum by the United States Depart-
ment of Fisheries for use in the Antarctic, which*will enable the
Museum to secure its first oceanographic collections and train its first
observers in this field.

The following conspectus of the present and future scope of the
exhibitions is the taking stock of what we have and of what we need
to carry out these plans.

[128]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

CONSPECTUS OF THE PRESENT CONDITION AND THE
FUTURE SCOPE OF EXHIBITIONS
Astronomy
Solar and planetary system............. Exhibitions begun.
Earth and the moon as planet and satellite Exhibitions begun.
Star system and evolution of the worlds.. No exhibitions ready.
Meteoriteserm- isp ss 4cnea seas 2. Oreditable collections.

HERUSUCOL SCIENCES een. 2 ae asca+. 7s. Practically no exhibi-

tions ready. —
Earth Sciences

Cearram preety eaten er aici es ve Preliminary exhibitions
begun.

Physical Georra phy. 5.654 .$.8 5.0 3 od ws. Preliminary exhibitions
begun.

Geology and Paleogeography............ Exhibitions and collec-
tions begun.

Mineralogy and Mines.................. Minerals extensive ; no

exhibitions of mines

ready.
The Sea Sciences

OceaITOPRaM hy sec. es Scie eae ee les Creditable beginning on

abyssal forms of life.
The Life Sciences

Woods and Forestry.................... Full exhibitions. Meth-
ods of Forestry to be
added.

Zoology and Paleontology
Invertebrates
Siellserreee eis acco e love Siukie 4 Extensive series.
Othermimvertebrates..... 6 ay... sees es Incomplete collections.
Vertebrates
ISHECQRea te ce Se ae ree ate rice) aiadyr See oles Very incomplete exhibi-

tions and collections.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Zodlogy and Paleontology— Continued

Amphibians......................... Very incomplete exhibi-
tions and collections.

Reptiles. 2... 0.66. eis. ee casts. cese) Very incomplete exiiia-
tions and collections.

BRINGS). 2.23 Aisin idoetdie b's Gis es oe 2d pie by EOS DS 2 een ee
Much to be done.

Mammals. ..6cccdce cscs sss seas cuss 6S eolleetiana: © igen
to be done.

Anthropology, Archeology, and Ethnology

America

North America
New York and Atlantic coast Indians. Fair collections.

Central States, Mound Builders..... . Abundant collections.
Indians: cf, the Plains... 2500s ee Growing collections.
Indians of the Southwest........... Growing collections.
California... 0.5.0.5... .9.8.%iec.> ‘Smell eotlections:
North Pacific Coast, British Columbia

and Alaska.................... Creditable collections.
Eskimos...............++0002+++-. , extensive Collections.

Mexico and Central America
Mexico... 0.05 540042 sce ae sod oP COleeaame:
Yucatan
Honduras
Guatemala
Costa Rica

South America
Ecuador
Bolivia
Colombia }+...................... Little ethnology; more
Peru of archeology.
Chile
Eastern Coast of South America..... No collections.
[130]

Scanty collections.

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

Anthropology, Archeology, and Ethnology—Continued

Europe and Asia

SIDEMAN SRIDESH AS 4c weet holdcie ety be eke
Origin of civilized races...............

ERG Pee tata ols ch (olenet libs at

Asia

OUTTA
Vaipameryey etree aese dt XE tin face

Korea. .
Banpornee’,

Indo- Malayan Telannds
IS OUMCOMIR Teer aNE ee tere fo dcti dee te oss
SUM tag tut i Getane Aah!
PAUSCH eee Pe eas Aly beh Seats Yoke
INS LSE UG ree a

Tasmania. ..
Africa
Native races

MromuCentral-Atrica. 23.445 4eu se:

South Pacific Islands
await, 2: .

PONV MESIA ree nner a hint Sins ais eae a

Man and Nature
Anatomy. .

Physical Pani erlone ae ae

PhySiOlOly ek eid). ass

ii ne sidteaiitinee ed esse ye ln ok,

[131]

Extensive collections.

A fair beginning has
been made.

Scanty collections.

Fair general collections.
Practically nothing.
Little of note.
Creditable collections.

Practically nothing.
Practically nothing.
Practically nothing.
Initial collections.
Initial collections.

Creditable collections.

Practically nothing.
Fair collections.

A few exhibitions ready.

A beginning has been
made.

Exhibitions begun in
1904.

Exhibitions begun in
1904.

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

SEQUENCE AND ARRANGEMENT OF COLLECTIONS

The natural sequence of the exhibitions in each hall and in suc-
cessive halls is an educational principle of very first importance. It is
as important in natural history as it is in art. Visitors to the Berlin
Museum will recall the educational advantage of the arrangement
of the picture galleries according to the sequence of schools in various
countries. Exactly the same idea applies to a museum of natural
history. Yet with the exception of the Agassiz Museum in Cambridge,
no large museum, to our knowledge, has grasped the idea of the natural
grouping of halls or the natural sequence of subjects.

There are two principal ideas in sequence, namely:

Geographical Arrangement.—In this the visitor passes from country
to country, as he would in traveling. In American anthropology, for
example, he passes from East to West and studies the tribes of New
York, of the Central West, of the Plains region, of the Southwest, of
Mexico, and of Central America. Such lines of travel furnish a very
desirable arrangement for certain classes of exhibits, both in anthro-
pology and in zodlogy.

Evolutionary Sequence.—This is the sequence of development. The
visitor compares primitive races with more civilized races. He fol-
lows the progress of eolithic, palzeolithic, and neolithic man, or he traces
the first steps of nature, the lower into the higher forms of plant and
of animal life. He begins with the simple organisms of the water
and traces the evolution step by step into the higher organisms of the
earth and of the air.

Briefly, it may be said that both the geographical and evolutionary
arrangements, or kinds of sequence, are necessary in a great museum.
Sometimes the geographical arrangement is better; sometimes the
evolutionary, and sometimes both may be more or less combined.
One thing is absolutely essential: a well-ordered museum should present
a natural arrangement which the visitor can grasp and which will have
the same influence on the mind as travel or the direct observation of
evolutionary objects in the state of nature.

[132]

61°" Srreer

HEATING
ANDO
LIGHTING

HEATING
AND
LIGHTING

ANNAAY sNgwn70)D
CENTRAL FarK Wesr

@eww ooo

DISTRIBUTION
SYSTEM

77 ™ SrREET Jan. 19/0.

BasEMENT. Mecuanics, Painrers, AND CARPENTERS.

[ 133 ]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Fortunately the original plan of the American Museum by Calvert
Vaux in 1873, of a great square with intersecting transepts, admirably
provides for such sequence—both geographical and evolutionary. In
fact, with all the advance which has been made in the construction
and design of museum buildings, within the last thirty years, nothing
superior to the ground plan of the American Museum has been devised.
This is a most fortunate circumstance. It was undoubtedly arrived
at accidentally—one of those happy accidents which relieves the Trus-
tees of a mass of difficulties and embarrassments from which other in-
stitutions have suffered.

BASEMENT.—The new Basement Entrance provides not only for
the central distribution of fuel, but also for a receiving and distributing
department of everything which enters and leaves the Museum, replac-
ing the present South Entrance. A level trolley and track system will
connect the receiving department with the entire basement area, and
thus with all the stairways and elevators which may be constructed.
In the basement all the work of mechanics, painters, carpenters, and
joiners is provided for, as well as comfortable rooms for the employees
between hours. Provision is made also for the reception and storage
of large collections, casts, etc., in a rough state, and certain rough
grades of preparation work. The heating and lighting plant will be
placed economically south of the West Transept.

FIRST FLOOR.—tThe first floor will be devoted on the east side
to certain physical and biological branches of science, and on the
west to American Anthropology especially of North America. It will
be appropriate to devote the FOYER, after the removal of the meteor-
ites and the planetary system, entirely to memorials of the Trustees,
of prominent members of the Scientific Staff, and of men distinguished
in the history of American science.

The scientific sequence of this floor will be understood by beginning
with ASTRONOMY in the Rotunda, in which, in a darkened hall,
photographs of the heavens will be displayed by transmitted light, as
explained above. The adjoining East Transept and East Entrance

[134]

BNNIAY sNEWwnT.ED

61°" Srreer

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'

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MITIYE ANDO PERIVED INDUSTRIES

’ '

H H

'

THE PR

=

4
ry
‘
’

PUIBLIC HEALTH

( , )
bp GEOLOGY
CALIFORNIA ASTRONOMY @ B PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY ANDO

AND oO

ANO wu MINERALOGY
CENTRAL FE

SOUTH PACIFIC Hi THE EARTH
coAstT s THE EARTH

lee HEAVENS :

CENTRAL Farw West

THE BEGINNINGS
OF THE WORLD

ANIMAL
AND
PLANT LIFE

DARWIN HALL
SYNOPTIC
oF
ANIMAL
KINGDOM

INDIANS
OF NEW YoRK
AND
EASTERN COAST

INDIANS
OF THE
PLAINS

woods
AND
FORESTRY

MEMORIAL

HALL

Tie STREET Jan. 19/0.

ANTHROPOLOGY Tur Heavens, Tue Earru, THE Sra,

or NortH AMERICA. Tue Forests, Lower Orpers or Lirr.
First Froor.

[135]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Pavilion may be devoted appropriately to the sciences of the earth, to
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, and MINERALOGY. This
floor and the space under the entrance steps leading to the second floor
entrance lends itself to the display of sections of mines and sections of
the interior of the earth. In the adjoining Southeast Wing the visitor
will pass into OCEANOGRAPHY — the geography and physical
constitution of the sea bottom and sea water —as an introduction to
the LIFE OF THE SEA, which, in turn, will lead into the Southeast
Pavilion devoted to a synopsis of the ANIMAL KINGDOM, especially
the lower forms of life, a hall which was dedicated to the memory of
Charles Darwin on the one hundredth anniversary of his birth. The
communicating South Hall will be devoted to WOODS AND FOR-
ESTRY, an extension of the already remarkable Jesup Collection, into
the domain of Applied Forestry. Passing through the MEMORIAL
HALL we enter the South Transept, which will be devoted entirely
to the North Pacific Tribes of Indians from British Columbia to Alaska
the Eskimo Exhibit to be removed to the floor above.

Passing from the Memorial Hall to the west we enter the South
Hall devoted to the INDIANS OF NEW YORK, of the eastern coast
of the United States, and the CENTRAL STATES, including the
Mound Builders. This isa natural geographic introduction to the
INDIANS OF THE PLAINS, which may occupy the Southwest
Pavilion and lead naturally into the Southwest Hall devoted to the
INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST, especially to the splendid col-
lections assembled by the Hyde Expeditions and the present Hunt-
ington Expeditions.

A grand feature of the Museum will be the new West Entrance
Pavilion, devoted to MEXICAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN
ARCHAOLOGY, a _ two-story hall with gallery, suitable for the re-
ception of reproductions of portions of the great temples, altars, and
stele of the Aztec, Zapotecan, and Mayan cultures, in which the native
art and architecture of America reaches its high-water mark. It is
proposed to add to the Loubat Collection by fresh expeditions in
Mexico, and tosecure by exchange and purchase other collections now

[ 136 ]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

in this country, so that it is believed this grand hall will be completely
filled, and constitute one of the finest features of the Museum. Studies
are being made for the architectural and mural decoration of the hall
in keeping with its contents, so that it will be for all time the anthro-
pological gateway to the Museum and the main evening entrance.

Adjoining this hall will be two smaller auditoriums capable of
seating three hundred persons each, for the use of public school teachers
and pupils, the New York Academy of Sciences, and other affiliated
societies.

The West Transept may be devoted to the ARCHAXOLOGY AND
ETHNOLOGY OF CALIFORNIA and the South Pacific coast.

SECOND FLOOR.—The second, or main floor of the Museum
may be devoted on the east to the Geographic or Faunistic arrange-
ment of the Higher Animal Life of the World, and on the west to a
continuation of American Anthropology and Ethnology. The Rotunda
will be occupied by an elaboration of the PLANETARY SYSTEM
which is now placed in the Foyer. <A grand new East and West
Transept connecting the East Entrance Hall with the West Entrance
Hall will provide space for the permanent display of the relative
distances of the remote planets.

The entrance point of the second floor will be the grand new East
Entrance Hall, a two- or possibly three-story opening surrounded by
galleries. Facing the visitor will be the East Transept Hall devoted,
to the LIFE OF AFRICA, for which collections are now being made
in British East Africa, in the Uganda Protectorate, and in the Congo,
in addition to the already considerable collections in the Museum. It
is proposed here to give the visitor an impression of the entire life of
Africa, of its most distinctive mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes, as
well as types of man. Supplementing these exhibits will be photo-
graphs and transparencies of characteristic African scenery. Models
will display the principal geographic and physiographic characters.
In brief, a visit to the African Hall will resemble as nearly as is possible
in a museum a visit to Africa itself. This method of treatment is

[ 137 ]

ANNaAy snewnTED

ECONOMIC

GEOLOGY

a
i
| J|MEXIco lh

I} ANO
Hi] CENTRAL

i
|

AMERICAN AMERICAN
ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGY

77 ™ STREET

ANTHROPOLOGY
or NorrH AND Souru
AMERICA,

61°" Srreer

'
i

sITeE
or ~
CTVRE HAILL

ESKIMOS
ARCTIC

AND

ANTARCTIC)

NORTH
AMERICAN
Lire

PLANETARY
en E | }

ECONOMIC

ZOOLOGY

wap neces eee

GRAND
ENTRANCE

AUSTRALIAN AFRICAN

Ely os = LUrFeE

HALL

CENTRAL FarKw West

SOUTH
ASIATIC
LiFe

NORTHERN
ASIA

FOGRAPHIC DISTRIB

NORTH BOREAL

AMERICAN
§ Lire ure
Jan. 19/0.
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Mammats, Birps, Repries, AMPHIBIANS
AND FisHEs iN GroGRAPHIC ORDER.

Srconp Fioor (Mary).

[ 138] ~

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

entirely practicable. Through our expeditions and through the gifts
of the late King Leopold of Belgium we shall soon be able to give a
complete synthetic treatment of this remarkable country. At the end
of the hall may be an exhibit of the entirely unique LIFE OF AUS-
TRALIA, its vegetation, its peculiar mammals, birds, and fishes, and
its inferior human tribes. Unfortunately the Museum possesses few
materials for this exhibit at present.

Halls arranged on the same principle will extend in geographic
sequence around this entire floor. Thus the visitor passes, in the
Southeast Hall, into the SOUTH ASIATIC LIFE, materials for which
are already in the Museum and will be amplified in the course of the
next few years; this life is closely akin, in fact, it was only in recent
geologic time detached from, that of Africa. In the same hall we next
pass into the LIFE OF NORTHERN ASIA, which is closely akin to
that of the northerly region of America; and thus by az entirely natural
transition we enter the BOREAL LIFE OF ALASKA AND BRITISH
COLUMBIA, vast materials for which are already in the possession
of the Museum or on exhibition.

Passing around we enter the NORTH AMERICAN LIFE of the
South Hall, an extension of the collections already displayed there,
which may extend into the South Central Pavilion. This will lead
the visitor naturally into the Life of the Southern Portions of North
America, the so-called Sonoran Zone, which, in turn, will introduce us
naturally into the SOUTH AMERICAN LIFE, from the Andes to
the Pampas, Patagonia, and Terra del Fuego. Materials for the
exhibits are partly in the Museum, partly to be collected through our
proposed expeditions in South America. The remainder of this hall
may be devoted to the CIRCUMPOLAR LIFE, or LIFE OF THE
ARCTIC and ANTARCTIC regions, connecting with the LIFE OF
THE ESKIMO, which may be removed from the floor below. Superb
materials for the exhibits of Arctic life are already in hand through
the Peary expeditions. It is proposed to enter actively upon Antarctic
exploration to supplement our decidedly limited materials from this
region.

[1389]

HISTORY OF THE} MUSEUM

This circle completes the circuit of the world and will be equivalent
to a great journey around the globe and from pole to pole.

The anthropological section to the west may include two halls
devoted to AMERICAN ARCHASXOLOGY extending into the South-
west Pavilion, rich materials for which are already in the possession
of the Museum. From this we pass into the Southwest Hall, which
may be devoted to the Archeology and Ethnology of ECUADOR
AND COLOMBIA, in which our materials are at present very limited.
This naturally connects with the gallery floor of the MEXICAN AND
CENTRAL AMERICAN HALL, and leads into the PERUVIAN
HALL in the West Transept, in which our collections are particularly
rich through the gifts of Mr. Henry Villard and others.

THIRD FLOOR.—The third floor may be devoted on the east
to the Animal Kingdom, arranged by natural affinity or classification,
and on the west to the Anthropology of Europe, Asia, Indo-Malaya,
and Australia.

If the second floor is especially devoted to the needs of the general
student, the third floor may be arranged especially for the needs of
special students of zodlogy of high school, college, and university
grade, as well as for animal lovers. On this floor we enter the South
Transept with its beautiful HABITAT GROUPS OF BIRDS, im-
proved by the widening of the galleries. We pass into a SYSTEM-
ATIC COLLECTION OF BIRDS arranged according to affinity in
the Rotunda Gallery and also in the East Transept, and extending, if
necessary, into the galleries of the grand Entrance Hall. This leaves
four halls for the SYSTEMATIC COLLECTIONS OF MAMMALS.
One may be devoted appropriately to a SYNOPTIC COLLECTION,
or key to the classification of mammals, another to a COLLECTION
OF WHALES. The Central South Pavilion may be devoted perma-
nently to the Collection of MONKEYS AND APES, extended to
include the Transition to Primitive Man.

This hall will naturally connect with that devoted to the RACES
OF MEN on the west, a subject of the utmost importance which we

[ 140 ]

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[141]

CENTRAL Pare West

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

have hardly begun to treat. It is important to observe that this
floor will give us the History of the Origin of Civilization. We shall
have a passage from the anthropoid apes to the most primitive races
of men, and be able to trace the successive human cultures, as dis-
played only in Old World remains. Valuable collections are already
in the Museum illustrating these culture stages, but we need to sup-
plement them by others, and to give the entire collection arrangement
under the best scientific authorities. The subject is naturally one
where the American Museum for the first time touches the historian.
ASIATIC ANTHROPOLOGY and ARCHAOLOGY will naturally
lead out of the European. Here again our collections are very limited,
Similarly we have only made a beginning in the INDO-MALAYAN
ARCHIPELAGO and in AUSTRALIA, which will complete this
Anthropological Circuit.

FOURTH FLOOR.—The Fourth Floor is the finest in proportions
of any of the floors and best lends itself to the display of objects of
large size requiring considerable vertical space. It is therefore pecu-
liarly suited to the display of the PAST HISTORY OF THE EARTH,
on the east side, and of the anthropological collections of Africa,
Polynesia, the Philippines, China and Japan, and the Siberian tribes,
on the west side. Again, the circular arrangement of the halls in the
completed south plan enables us to present a perfect evolutionary
sequence on the east, and a natural geographic sequence on the
west.

The Past History of the Earth, as told by fossils, begins with the
PALASOZOIC, or AGE OF MOLLUSKS, provided for by the great James
Hall Collection and additions which have been made to it, in its present
location, namely, the South Transept Hall. The collections await re-
arrangement, the elimination of certain parts which more properly
belong elsewhere, and the addition of paleogeographic maps showing
the past history of the American continent, based upon the researches of
Professor Schuchert of Yale University and others. The student at
this point begins with the first stages of life in the Cambrian and pre-

[142]

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[143 ]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

Cambrian, estimated at 40,000,000 years ago. He passes into the
gallery surrounding the Rotunda and is introduced to the AGE OF
FISHES by a collection of living fishes, which, in turn, will lead him
into the East Transept devoted to later Paleozoic times, or close of the
Age of Fishes. Here the Museum is rich in the Newberry Collection,
deposited by Columbia University, and, through the Dodge Fund,
is in a position to acquire and arrange most instructive exhibits of the
life of this great period of time.

The East Entrance Hall may be partly devoted to exhibits of the
larger fishes of modern times and to the Carboniferous and Permian
periods, when the AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES first make their
appearance on the earth. This is the Age of the Coal Formations, and
mural decorations, illustrating the Carboniferous or Coal Period and
its rich flora, will be appropriate. Following this is the Permian in
which we have unsurpassed collections. The next hall in the Southeast
Wing leads us into Jurassic times and may be known as the FIRST
HALL OF DINOSAURS, for which imposing materials have already
been assembled, namely, the great Brontosaurus and other giant reptiles
of this period. Splendid specimens of these animals, as yet unmounted,
from the Museum’s expeditions and from the Cope Collection pre-
sented by Mr. Jesup, await the space which a new hall will afford. In
the south end of the same hall one may pass into that long period of
time known as the Middle Cretaceous, when the Rocky Mountain
region was beneath a series of shallow seas which swarmed with
MARINE REPTILES, over which hovered various types of flying
reptiles and primitive birds. Again, the collections now in the Museum,
those unprepared and those being brought together by our western
expeditions, are ready to fill a considerable space. The visitor now
passes into the Southwest Pavilion, which will be known as the
SECOND HALL OF DINOSAURS, and which will portray the second
and final great period of dinosaur life in North America. Here we are
now ready to make a most imposing display of Iguanodons, giant carniv-
orous reptiles, or Tyrannosaurus, great horned dinosaurs, and the small
forms of life;from£this remarkable period. The flora of this period is

[144]

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

also known and may be splendidly shown both in transparencies
and in large mural restorations.

At this time the first small mammals were discovered and gave
transition to the Czenozoic life of the South Hall, which will be devoted
to the TERTIARY MAMMALS. This hall, which represents the
results of twenty years of exploration and purchase, is now overcrowded,
and it is proposed to move the Quaternary mammals into the Pavilion
Hall beyond, the ample proportions of which lend themselves admirably
to the crowning forms of LIFE OF PLEISTOCENE times, the great
elephants and mastodons of North America, as well as the ponderous
forms of South America, assembled in our Pampean Collection.

This will complete the circuit of the Past History of Life in a
manner which will be unrivaled in any museum in the world, and it is
peculiarly appropriate to present in mural paintings on the walls here
the Pleistocene man as a hunter of these great mammals in Europe and
North America and as the artist who depicted forms with rare fidelity
on the walls of caves in Europe. This PLEISTOCENE Hall, there-
fore, like that below it, connects perfectly the zodlogical with the
anthropological section to the west, and gives us a perfect sequence.

The Hall of AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGY, to the west, is rapidly
being prepared for the munificent gifts of the late King of the Belgians,
through a number of important purchases, through photographs
donated to us by several explorers, and through our own expeditions
in various parts of Africa. It is one of the halls in which a splendid
arrangement and exhibition is already in sight. The visitor then
passes into the Southwest Pavilion displaying the anthropology of
the PACIFIC ISLANDS, of POLYNESIA, of HAWAII, where our
collections are still in the initial stage.

In the adjoining hall of the Southwest Wing, however, we enter the
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, where our collections are really very rich
and promise to be nearly complete in the course of a few more years.
The next section west of the Entrance Pavilion brings us naturally
to CHINA AND JAPAN, from which we have already secured, through
the East Asiatic Committee, gifts from Mr.-J. H. Schiff, Mr. Edward D.

[ 145 ]

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[146 ]

CENTRAL Park West

FUTURE SCOPE AND ARRANGEMENT OF EXHIBITIONS

Adams, and others of very rich materials from the earliest stages of
culture in these countries, and some ethnological and archzological
material of note. From here we pass into the West Transept Hall,
which will be devoted to the SIBERIAN TRIBES. It may be said
that the collections from these tribes are superb, again through the
generosity of the East Asiatic Committee.

FIFTH FLOOR.—tThe Top, or Fifth Floor, of the Museum will be
devoted to administration, to preparation and research rooms of the
Scientific Staff, to storage rooms and to the great MUSEUM LIBRARY
AND READING ROOM, which it is now proposed to place in the
center of the Rotunda. The Library has already attained the rank of
one of the first scientific libraries of the country, through the co-
operation of the New York Academy of Sciences, as already set forth.
It should be made both a working library for all departments of
the Museum, and a reference library in most of the branches of science
- embraced in the future Museum. Certain subjects, however, like
astronomy, physics, and physiology will naturally be left to the New
York Public Library and to Columbia University, as it is proposed
only to develop the educational and exhibitional sides of the subjects
rather than the theoretical.

SUMMARY

The above proposed plan of arrangement is an exposition of what
may be done rather than a deliberate and thoroughly considered
plan of what shall be done, and it is subject to careful discussion by
the Trustees, by the members of the Scientific Staff, also to advice
which we shall welcome from experts at home and abroad in the
various subjects involved. It has the advantage of definitely present-
ing a plan which can be understood, criticised and doubtless improved
through prolonged study and consideration.

[147]

HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM

MUSEUM EXTENSION

The Museum has already entered upon a method of Museum
Extension which reaches the entire school system of the City through
the circulation of small traveling museums. Within its walls there
has been established a CHILDREN’S ROOM, which promises to
become a more important feature as time goes on. Children’s Rooms
have been successfully established in the Brooklyn Museum of Arts
and Sciences, and the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. The
American Museum has also made a beginning in reaching the blind
through a MUSEUM FOR THE BLIND, the first of its kind to
our knowledge.

The final recommendation of this volume is that the Trustees and
Members should be willing to consider the advisability of establishing
an

EAST SIDE BRANCH MUSEUM

placed in the most congested district of the City, in the center of a
population eager for education and keenly appreciative both of the
Branch Library and of the Free Lecture Systems. The attendance at
the Aquarium, which is within easy reach of the congested East Side
district, amounting to more than three millions a year, gives some idea
of the number of people, both old and young, who could be reached
and educated through a branch. Such an institution should be the
gift of some special benefactor and philanthropist. It should be amply
endowed, so as not to be a tax on the parent institution. It should
enjoy a maintenance fund from the City which would provide merely
for its upkeep and administration, but not for its collections. The
parent Museum could contribute to such a branch, without sacrifice,
many admirable educational exhibits. Such a branch would be a great
force in the public education of the newcomers of all lands who are
crowding into the East Side of the City. Similar undertakings in
London have met with extraordinary success and popular approval.
[148 ]

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