What does a new museum do with the thousands of specimens and artifacts it collects? The United States National Museum was only ten years old when curator Robert Ridgway of the Birds Division submitted these reports to the museum director. The collections and exhibits were located in one building, what is now the Arts and Industries Building. The taxidermists were hard at work, but how fast could they prepare the newly acquired bird specimens for the museum? Help us transcribe these reports that show us what this division head thought was important for the Smithsonian senior leadership to understand.
What does a new museum do with the thousands of specimens and artifacts it collects? The United States National Museum was only ten years old when curator Robert Ridgway of the Birds Division submitted these reports to the museum director. The collections and exhibits were located in one building, what is now the Arts and Industries Building. The taxidermists were hard at work, but how fast could they prepare the newly acquired bird specimens for the museum? Help us transcribe these reports that show us what this division head thought was important for the Smithsonian senior leadership to understand.
Learn more about the collection of curators annual reports and browse the collection finding aid here.