File:Guide leaflet (1901) (14744228966).jpg

Identifier: scienceguide4660amer (find matches)
Title: Guide leaflet
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: American Museum of Natural History Natural history
Publisher: New York : The Museum
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: IMLS / LSTA / METRO

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c., are exhibited as ranging in their native wilds andforests; whilst exact Models, both in figure and colour, of tin1 rarestand most luxuriant plants from every clime, give all the appearance ofreality; the whole being assisted with a panoramic effect of distance andappropriate scenery, affording a beautiful illustration of the luxurianceof a torrid clime. Even before this Charles Willson Peale wrote, It is not customaryin Europe to paint skies and landscapes in their cases of birds and otheranimals and it may have a clean and neat appearance to line them onlywith white paper, but, on the other hand, it is not only pleasing to see asketch of alandscape, but by showing the nest, hollow cave, or a particularview of the country from which they came, some instances of the habitsmay be given. Museum authorities are somewhat conservative and as museums atfirst were mainly for the preservation of material for students, theireducational value to the public was not considered. The principal 3
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xr. % ■ — •J Z, C< M ft s P w ^ a - < T< H z: M H H - h-H a Q ■S ja if fc. t_ o •s* a. - P = O p tf o 9 — s _r o M THE STORY OF MCSECM GKOLlS object in mounting animals, especially mn.mma.la, was to preserve themand putthem in a condition to be studied and compared one withanother.! Groups were not even thought of and, as Dr. Cones wrote aslate as 1874: Spread eagle styles of mounting, artificial rocks andflowers, etc., are entirely out of place in a collection of any scientific pre-tentions, or designed for popular instruction. Besides, they take up toomuch room. Artistic grouping of an extensive collection is usually outof the question; and when this is unattainable, halfway efforts in thatdirection should he abandoned in favor of severe simplicity. Birds lookbest, on the whole, in uniform rows, assorted according to size1, as far as anatural classification allows. The only use of groups was for a few

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