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7 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Fishes: Annual Report, 1884
What did you want to be when you grew up? A firefighter? A pianist? An artist who specializes in sketching fish species? In the 1884 curators’ report from the Department of Fishes, curator Tarleton H. Bean charts the number of fish drawings, totaling 117 sketches for the year, made by staff each month. Bean congratulated the museum for hiring Miss Mary M. Smith, whom he credits for many of the illustrations. Assist us in transcribing the report to give researchers a better understanding of Smithsonian employees and their work.
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51 Total pages
16 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Fishes: Annual Report, 1885
Though there is plenty of information about collections care and new accessions in curators’ reports, information about specimens on exhibition is sometimes rare. In the 1885 report from the Department of Fishes, Tarleton H. Bean noted that there were 20,400 specimens on exhibition. He also mentions attaching descriptive labels to an exhibit in New Orleans. Aid the Archives in transcribing sources to reveal the changing ways Smithsonian curators did their work and how they organized their collections.
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58 Total pages
8 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Fishes: Annual Report, 1885 - 1886
Rather uncharacteristically, Department of Fishes curator Tarleton H. Bean had a big (fish) bone to pick with the Smithsonian administration. Simply put, the division needed more space. According to Bean, the office space was “so small that two persons can scarcely pass in the space between the desks and the book cases” and the exhibition space was “inadequate.” Transcribe this report to explore the work the department actually accomplished amid frustrating working conditions.
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67 Total pages
14 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Fishes: Annual Report, 1886 - 1887
From 1878 to 1905, researcher and curator Dr. Tarleton Hoffman Bean of Smithsonian’s Department of Fishes documented species of fish collected from around the world and the research performed with these collections. According to his review of reports in 1886, the United States government's deep-sea explorations to that date had yielded more new forms of fish than any other government. In 1887, he personally investigated the mackerel fishing industry's activities in the Atlantic Ocean, spending over a month at sea observing the fleet activity. The Boston Herald published three of his letters describing the experience that spring. Please help us transcribe Dr. Bean's account of the work done with the Smithsonian's Fishes collections and learn what else transpired in fiscal year 1887.
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84 Total pages
20 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Fishes: Annual Report, 1887 - 1888
Does anyone actually enjoy moving? Fortunately, today’s museum professionals have collections management systems, which allow them to keep track of locations, inventory, conditions of objects and so much more. In 1887, long before automated systems, Curator of Fishes Tarleton H. Bean was certainly not a fan of reorganizing when he was forced to move his collections as the Arts and Industries Building underwent fire proofing. He described how the process caused “much annoyance,” as labels were destroyed, alcohol spilled out of jars, and glasses were broken. And who has time for that? Assist your fellow volunpeers in transcribing all that the department accomplished that year, despite a few setbacks.
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129 Total pages
17 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Fishes: Principal Sources Report 1851 - 1886
This special curator’s list essentially describes a who’s who of fish collectors during the mid-to-late 19th century. As the Department of Fishes’ collections, then comprising of 100,000 specimens, continued to grow, Tarleton H. Bean recognized the need to record exactly from whom these fishes were from. Transcribe the dates and names to get a glimpse of the people, from military leaders and professors to professionals at major international museums, who Smithsonian employees worked closely with to build the ichthyology department’s collections.
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57 Total pages
13 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1885
What is it like to build a collection for a new museum? What is its role when targeted hunts are threatening populations of wolf and fox? This report filed by the Department of Mammals head curator just 8 years after the United States National Museum opened its doors explores these questions amidst more administrative details. Join other volunteers in transcribing this report and gain some insight into the state of animal affairs in the late 1880's.
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98 Total pages
18 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1885-1886
If you visit the National Museum of Natural History today, you might see a variety of taxidermied species on display. What creatures might you have encountered on a visit over 130 years ago? Learn what was on display at the United States National Museum with this annual curator’s report from the Department of Mammals, 1885-86. The report details the condition of the mammal collection, including what specimens were on view, and which had been added or replaced. Join other digital volunteers in transcribing this unique look into the history of the Smithsonian!
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41 Total pages
16 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1886 - 1887
What is a day like for the United States National Museum’s curator for the Department of Mammals? What happens behind-the-scenes to build a collection or a new exhibition? Learn more from F. W. True, the curator of the department, who gives a review of the 1886-87 activities, from new accessions to new floor cases. Then, help transcribe this pieces of Smithsonian history!
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33 Total pages
12 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1887-1888
In 1887, curator Frederick W. True and the Department of Mammals staff was busy preparing for the upcoming Cincinnati Centennial Exposition of the Ohio Valley and Central States. One hundred and thirty years later, this exhibition became the key in solving an archival mystery. Learn more about the exhibition (and how it connects to a previously unidentified bison painting in our collection) with this 1887-88 annual curator’s report. Then, help us transcribe—it could help solve future collections questions!
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24 Total pages
9 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1888-1889
In 1888, curator for the U.S. National Museum’s Department of Mammals Frederick W. True described the department as receiving “more important additions than, perhaps, during any other year.” What types of specimen were added to the museum’s collection? How did they come to the Smithsonian? Find out with this set of annual curator’s reports—and join in on transcribing!
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87 Total pages
15 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1889-1890
"The accessions of the year were of more than ordinary interest. Among the exotic mammals ..." So starts curator Frederick W. True's annual report from the Department of Mammals. What was an "exotic" mammal in the 1890's? This report includes species from Mt. Kilimanjaro and Angola, describes arrangements to trade collections with museums overseas and more. Still the year was not without its minor hurdles. Please join us in transcribing this to make the contents more accessible to today's researchers and historians.
