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The Museum also wishes to sell a number of small pieces of Victorian and Edwardian jewelry, given with the option of sale. These pieces are not museum objects and are valuable mostly for the stones and metals they contain.

The Museum has further proposed to sell approximately 75 duplicate prints.

These proposed sales are consistent with the traditional practice of the Museum, which antedates its affiliation with the Smithsonian. Its financial reports have for years included an item called "Objects Sold Fund." A resolution of the Board of Regents dated May 20, 1970, requires advance approval by the Regents of the sale of any object from the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery and the National Collection of Fine Arts valued at more than $50,000.

The approval of the Board of Regents was therefore requested for these proposed sales by the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. The following motion was offered and it was

VOTED that the Board of Regents approves the sales proposed by the Director and Board of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum as outlined above.

Directorship of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)

Mr. Ripley announced that Dr. Whipple who has been Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory since 1955 and a professor at Harvard for many years reaches the retirement age of 66 years under the Harvard procedure in November 1972. Dr. Whipple has been asked by Harvard to continue for an additional year.

The Secretary therefore has discussed with Dr. Whipple the possibility of his stepping down as Director of the SAO as of July 1, 1973.