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. To learn more about this collection, check out the finding aid.