USNM - Curators Annual Reports - Department of Fishes: Annual Report, 1890-1891

The 1890-91 Department of Fishes curator’s report is pretty typical, but with an added bonus. Included in this file is a letter addressed to Smithsonian Assistant Secretary G. Brown Goode from Barton A. Bean, assistant curator and brother of honorary curator Tarleton H. Bean, about his collecting trip to the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. Perhaps the most amusing parts of this letter are B.A. Bean's descriptions of all of the local nicknames of fish in the area, including the “silver johnny,” “fair-maid,” “fool-fish,” and more. Dive in with a group of volunpeers to learn about why this trip went so swimmingly. For more information about these reports, scroll through the United States National Museum's Curators Annual Reports finding aid.