USNM CURATORS ANNUAL REPORTS - Department of Ethnology, Monthly Reports, 1884

What are the benefits to an organized museum collection--and by which methods should that collection be arranged? This was the question on the mind of the Smithsonian's Department of Ethnology Curator in 1884. With a growing collection, the Department of Ethnology sought to define its specimens and gather and display them using a more scientific method. Learn more about this process in the 1884 monthly curator's report and help transcribe this unique look at Smithsonian history!