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. For more information, check out the finding aid for the United States National Museum Accession Records, Record Unit 000158.