USNM Curators Annual Reports: Department of Mollusks, 1886-1887

Within the past year, the United States National Museum had received a large donation of Tertiary fossils from a survey conducted by the United States Geological Survey. The fossils were placed in the care of the Department of Mollusks led by naturalist and honorary curator William Healey Dall (1845-1927) and his staff of two. Illnesses still plagued the department, but assistance was "rendered from time to time" by the USGS in processing the fossils they had donated. Join other volunteers to transcribe this annual report and get a sense of the department's dedication to their collections while Dall fought for better working conditions.