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38 Total pages
11 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1890-1891
A good year in a growing museum can mean many different things: valuable new accessions, research discoveries, new exhibits, more visitors and so on. However, the tally at the end of the year does little to reveal the challenges experienced throughout the year, challenges that made the year-end results so significant. Curator Frederick W. True had the responsibility of summing up the accomplishments of the Department of Mammals in 1891 for the Director of the United States National Museum. Please help us transcribe his report.
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15 Total pages
9 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1893-1894
In 1894, information management was already a challenge for the Smithsonian's Assistant Secretary G. Brown Goode. The United States National Museum had been open to the public for 13 years and the growth in its collections and activities had not slackened. Keeping track of the curators' progress was hindered by the freeform styles of their respective reports. So a standard set of questions was set out as a template for the annual reports. Join us and other volunteers as we transcribe Frederick W. True's effort to use this template in his 1894 report.
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36 Total pages
11 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1894-1895
For the Department of Mammals, 1895 offered a special opportunity to bring its collections to a global audience at the Cotton States and International Exposition. Special buildings were erected for the different nations, yet exhibit space was still in short supply. How did the department choose specimens to exhibit? What other factors went into this temporary offsite exhibit? Please help us transcribe curator Frederick W. True's report of the planning and preparations for this event as well as the normal activity of his museum department.
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15 Total pages
13 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1895-1896
While the Curator was away in Atlanta focused on the Cotton States and International Exposition, he lost both his assistant and the curator in charge of exhibits. Help us transcribe Frederick W. True's annual report describing the activities of the year and the impact of this loss on the work of his department.
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12 Total pages
14 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Mammals, 1896-1897
Fifteen years after the United States National Museum opened to the public, the growth of the Department of Mammals collections was slowing noticeably. Still, specimens of newly discovered species were being obtained such as the Pygmy African Flying Squirrel, now known as the Pygmy Scaly-tailed Flying Squirrel (Idiurus zenkeri) from Cameroon. Please join us in transcribing this report to learn more about the valuable acquisitions and curator Frederick W. True's recommendations for rectifying the downward trend.
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251 Total pages
38 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Prehistoric Anthropology, 1885 - 1889
What is prehistoric anthropology? In the waning years of the nineteenth century, what was the focus of scientists and scholars engaged in this field of study? This second set of four annual reports describe the work of the curatorial staff in this department, their challenges and accomplishments and the strategic opportunities they thought the Smithsonian should pursue. Please help us to transcribe these reports and make them more easily accessible to researchers delving into the expansion of nineteenth century American Science and its part in worldwide scientific advancement.
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6 Total pages
9 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Prehistoric Anthropology: Annual Report, 1881
The Smithsonian’s Department of Prehistoric Anthropology entered 516 new specimens into its catalogue over a span of just three months, from October to December of 1881! Among those hundreds of new accessions, what were the curator’s stand-out pieces and what stories did these specimens tell? Find out more with the department’s annual curator’s report and help transcribe this piece of Smithsonian history!
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80 Total pages
23 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Prehistoric Anthropology: Annual Report, 1882
From its very beginnings, the Smithsonian has accepted donated specimens from scientists and the public. As its collections grew—with the US National Museum building officially opening in 1881—items in the display cases often had histories detailing how they came to Washington, D.C. Learn the stories behind some of these objects—sent from professors in England, from scientists in Costa Rica, and citizens across the United States—in the Smithsonian’s Department of Prehistoric Anthropology 1882 annual curator’s report.
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92 Total pages
29 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Prehistoric Anthropology: Annual Report, 1883
Did you know that some of the items in the Smithsonian’s Department of Prehistoric Anthropology collection in 1883 were casts of objects? When items were sent in that were currently on exhibition at another museum, casts were made of the originals by the U.S. National Museum staff. Learn more about this process in the department’s 1883 annual curator’s report and help other digital volunteers in transcribing!
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57 Total pages
16 Contributing members
USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Prehistoric Anthropology: Annual Report, 1884
The Smithsonian’s Department of Prehistoric Anthropology had a large and diverse collection in 1884—items ranging in location, era, material, and scope. How was such a distinct collection arranged and displayed for the public? Get a look at the process behind organizing this collection with the department’s annual curator’s report. Join in on transcribing a unique behind-the-scenes look at Smithsonian history!
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19 Total pages
11 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Reptiles: Annual Report, 1894-1895
It’s 1895 and you just received a small amount of fluid from the Smithsonian’s Department of Reptiles. Don’t panic. It’s probably just formalin, a liquid the department was experimenting with to preserve specimen as a substitute for alcohol. The department was so pleased with the results that they mailed small samples to their correspondents. Help us transcribe the report and transport back to 1895 to explore the new accessions and practices of the Department of Reptiles.
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14 Total pages
9 Contributing members
USNM Curators Annual Reports - Department of Reptiles: Annual Report, 1895 - 1896
What happens to a division when its curator leaves for a period of time to investigate an international crisis? This was the case during the 1896 fiscal year when Leonard Stejneger traveled to the Behring Sea to help investigate a dispute between the United States and Great Britain about seal fishery laws in the area. And the result was that a whole lot less work was done in Smithsonian’s Department of Reptiles. Assist researchers by transcribing a report about how such a time-consuming mission, outside of a curator’s typical duties, can stall a department’s progress.
