The times., 1901-05-19
VALUE OF GREAT MUSEUMS
Only the Special Student Appreci-
ates Their Real Advantages.
The Visitor Only Sees the SpectRcu-
lar. While the Man Searching for
Light Is Deeply Benefited-Investi-
cations nj Smithsonian Institution


| cations at Smithsonian Institution
! Enormous as are the COLLECTIONS Of ma
! teriaI on public exhibition at the Smith
sonian Institution and National Museum
| illustrating archaeology, or the distri-
| button of man in time, and ethnography
| or geographical distribution these form
/ but a part of the entire mass of mate
rial under charge of the curator. The
wealth of the Smithsonian Institution in
! this respect is known only to the special
/ student who seeks the museum for his
I researches. that which is not seen by
! the visitor is carefully preserved and
| freely placed before the special investi-
| gator.
! All great museums are treasure houses
! to the student, repositories of unworked
material, awaiting the advent of special
| lists The Smithsonian Institution thus
| draws visitors to the objects displayed
and students in special lines to the rich
/ collections stored in appropriate places.
! Much OF the material is unique and can
never be duplicated; and, so long as 1t
| lasts, will draw to this Mecca of anthro-
pologfsts both the sightseer and the in
Yestigator.
1t is by visiting the offices and private
rooms of the numerous professors at
tached to the institution that one gathers
an idea of the scope of the establish
ment.
Archaeology is, of course, only one fea-
ture of the work, but its Investigations
are both interesting and curious. one
professor of this science is at present en-
gagged in weighing a vast quantity of
what to the uninitiated, appears to be
cobblestones but which, in reality, are
I in
termine the specific gravity of each.
A reporter for The Times saw the
professor engaged in this occupation sew
eral weeks ago. and on yesterday found
him still at the same work as though he
had never stopped during the interval
between the two visits.
Possibly many of the quaint anthropolog-
ical specimens on view in the Smithsonian
Institution and National Museum are not
a little perplexing to the casual visitor,
and this fact, and the necessity for pop
ular forms of exhibit. are recognized by
some of the learned professors. Said one
of them recently:
Although there are many sides to the
discussion of the question of the influence
of the installations of the anthropological
material in the Smithsonian Institution
can mention but one or two points ger
scum collection is to attract and to teach
the public something. Every museum
strives to accomplish this object but the
means employed often vary. In certain
directions the work of the Smithsonian In
stitution In the installation of chronological
and archaeological material is unique.
THE value of models is recognized by
all curators, and these representations
have been used with great success in all
the foremost museums of the world. The
Smithsonian Institution had before it an
exceptional problem in developing this
side of it's anthropological exhibit Pecu-
liar conditions presented themselves TO
those in charge of the Illustration of
American ethnology and archaeology.
While models were considered indis-
pensabIe there were no models in exist
ence to illustrate aboriginal American
life. European worl1men, adopts in their
craft, were unfamiliar with our Indians,
and their attempts TO represent them were
often caricatures. American modelers had
not turned their attention TO this line OF
work when the Smithsonian Institution
adopted the method and carried it 10 a
high perfection. An Indian group max
ing pottery or basketry, a Navajo silver
smith, tells a story much more effectuaIly
than could be told in any other way. In
this method of installation the Smithso-
nian Institution is not only a pioneer as
far the American Indians are concern
ed. but pre-eminent among museums.
THE models of pueblOs and cliff-houses
in the museum are also unique. Their
duplication elsewhere shows that they are
appreciated as a popular exposition, and
yet It is not saying too much to declare
that the Smithsonian Institution was also
a pioneer in this kind of installation.
I'm this connection may be mentioned
an adaptation of photographs of ethno-
graphic material which has attracted
much attention among experts at home
and abroad. / refer to the use of trans
parencies in windows. These pictures of
American Indians, Of puebIOs and similar
objects have certainly not been carried
TO the same perfection elsewhere.
From the influences which | have at
tempted TO sketch, and others equally
potent, anthropology in the last half cen
tury has made enormous strides. In this
short time in the history of science many
great chronological merseums have been
born and grown to exert widespread in
huences. Trained anthropOlogists have
taken the places of amateurs, chronological
researches have become more exact pub
hcatiOns more special The mode of in
stallatlcn Of ethnOgraphic material has
improved; a science Of museums is be-
ginning TO be recognized. The history of
the influences which have brought about
all this growth interests everyone who
studies the glorious part which the
Smithsonian Institution has played in the
scientific development of the country and
the disse mination Of knowledge in a popu-
lar manner