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66 Total pages
20 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Birds: Annual Report 1887 - 1888
In 1888 the Department of Birds at The U.S. National Museum was busy at work preparing for the Centennial Exposition, find out what it took to ready over 500 pieces of the collection for travel. Additionally, uncover the hundreds of specimens the Department accessed that year described in this annual report for 1887-1888. Included are the intricate details of what it took to operate a department with such a rapidly growing collection. Lastly, you can read a touching tribute to one of the Department’s own, who passed away shortly before this report’s release. With World Migratory Bird Day right around the corner, you won’t want to miss out on this annual report, so join fellow #Volunpeers and start transcribing today!
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38 Total pages
13 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Birds: Annual Report 1895 - 1896
Since its earliest days, the curators of the United States National Museum were asked by other people to examine and hopefully identify specimens in their personal collections. Some of these requests could get very complicated, and one in particular weighed on Birds Curator Robert Ridgway in the spring of 1896. He even added a memorandum to his Curator's Annual Report about it. Join other volunteers on this transcription project and learn more about his ideas to improve how the Museum handled such requests.
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23 Total pages
10 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Birds: Annual Report 1896 - 1897
Missing from this Department of Birds annual report is curator Robert Ridgway's customary cover letter. The report begins immediately with the first question and the tone seems less personal than his reports from previous years. Still, buried in the midst of Ridgway's report are mentions that a collection was "radically rearranged" and another portion is "practically inaccessible." Help us transcribe this brief report to make it easier to get at the details that curator Ridgway was bringing to the attention of the United States National Museum director.
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125 Total pages
29 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Birds: Monthly Reports 1887 - 1888
What was the Department of Birds at the Smithsonian’s U.S. National Museum adding to its collection between 1887 and 1888? In May alone, it was 162 different items and you can learn what each and every one of them were. While building its collection, the department was also loaning specimens to institutions throughout the world, and you can check out where these birds traveled (FYI: they didn’t fly there). All of this while a dedicated team of taxidermists were hard at work, creating samples, that are still on view to the public today at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. With International Migratory Bird Day right around the corner, you won’t want to miss out on these detailed monthly departmental reports, so start transcribing today!
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191 Total pages
25 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Birds: Reports 1886 - 1887
Would you be able to recognize a Kakapo, or owl parrot, in New Zealand or a Blakiston’s fish owl in Japan? Curator Robert Ridgway recorded the findings of new species of birds that were added to the Department of Birds collections at the United States Natural Museum as part of his report for 1886-1887. Please join us in transcribing Ridgway’s report and learn more about the new species that were added to an impressive collection of birds from around the world.
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121 Total pages
40 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Birds: Reports 1888 - 1889
“The most interesting and valuable collection ever acquired by the museum,” is what Curator Robert Ridgway of the Smithsonian U.S. National Museum’s Department of Birds called it. Just what is he referring to, and why so much hype? Between 1888 and 1889, the department acquired thousands of specimens, they came from as close as Washington, D.C., and as far as Korea. In this annual report each and every accession is fully detailed and waiting to be uncovered by you. Don’t forget to say hello to your fellow #Volunpeers while you are at it!
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20 Total pages
10 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Ethnology, Monthly Reports, 1881
The United States National Museum building officially opened to the public in October of 1881. What was it like in the months before, with various departments preparing the new exhibits for display? Get a glimpse into the preparation behind a museum opening, 135 years ago, with this set of curator's reports from the Smithsonian's Department of Ethnology. Coyly referred to as the "events transpiring outside which need not be specified," the soon-to-be-open U.S. National Museum building featured an ethnology exhibit, among others on geology, zoology, architecture, and history. Get a look into the early development of the Smithsonian and help transcribe this fascinating report!
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18 Total pages
12 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Ethnology, Monthly Reports, 1882
Throughout the late 1870s and early 1880s, ethnologist and naturalist Edward William Nelson was stationed in then-uncharted Alaska--under the recommendation of Second Smithsonian Secretary Spencer Fullerton Baird--to study the native flora, fauna and peoples. After Nelson's data was collected, what happened to it back at the Smithsonian? Find out with the Department of Ethnology's 1882 monthly reports! A key goal of the department that year was processing Nelson's collections from his 1877-1881 expedition. Discover more about Nelson's collection and the work of the Department of Ethnology and help transcribe this fascinating report.
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28 Total pages
12 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Ethnology, Monthly Reports, 1883
When an object came to the Smithsonian in 1883, how did it become part of the then-U.S. National Museum's collection? How was it divided among departments and catalogued? See how the Department of Antiquities 5,339 new specimens in 1883 were stored, distributed and accessioned in this annual Curator's Report. Help us transcribe this inside-look into the process of building the Smithsonian's historic collection!
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69 Total pages
16 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Ethnology, Monthly Reports, 1884
What are the benefits to an organized museum collection--and by which methods should that collection be arranged? This was the question on the mind of the Smithsonian's Department of Ethnology Curator in 1884. With a growing collection, the Department of Ethnology sought to define its specimens and gather and display them using a more scientific method. Learn more about this process in the 1884 monthly curator's report and help transcribe this unique look at Smithsonian history!
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35 Total pages
9 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Ethnology, Semi-Annual and Monthly Reports, 1885
The land that makes up Alaska was officially acquired by the United States in 1867, bringing U.S. research expeditions and settlers alike to the region extensively throughout the late 1800s. What types of discoveries and specimens would those explorers send back to the Smithsonian? Find out with this set of curator's reports from the Smithsonian's Department of Ethnology in 1885. Hundreds of specimens that year came to the U.S. National Museum from Alaska and became part of the Smithsonian's collections. Learn more about that process and help transcribe this set of curator's reports!
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55 Total pages
14 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Ethnology, Semi-Annual and Monthly Reports, 1885-1886
The 1884 World's Fair, held in New Orleans, covered over 200 acres worth of land and featured a U.S. Government and State Exhibits Hall. What role did the Smithsonian's Department of Ethnology play in this event? Read more on the Smithsonian's contributions to the World's Fair in this set of 1886 curator's reports, and join other digital volunteers in transcribing it!
