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FIELD MUSEUM NEWS 



December, 193S 



3,200,000 ATTENDANCE BREAKS 

 RECORDS OF ALL MUSEUMS 



More than three million two hundred 

 thousand persons visited Field Museum 

 during 1933 from January 1 to November 12 

 (closing date of A Century of Progress), 

 making an attendance record which exceeds 

 any ever attained by any museum in the 

 United States, and probably exceeding the 

 highest figure ever reached by such an 

 institution in the world. The best available 

 comparative statistics indicate that the pre- 

 vious highest attendance for any similar 

 institution was something over two million 

 during an entire year, and not more than 

 two American museums have reached that 

 mark. 



The exact number of visitors received at 

 Field Museum during the period above 

 indicated was 3,208,414. This represents 

 an increase of 76 per cent over the attend- 

 ance for the entire twelve months of 1932, 

 which was 1,824,202, and with 49 more days 

 of 1933 still to be added, the record will 

 be even greater by the end of the year. 



While, naturally, much of the increase 

 resulted from the fact that the grounds of 

 A Century of Progress were adjacent to 

 the Museum, there was, nevertheless, a 

 large normal increase which must be attrib- 

 uted to the continuance of the steady 

 upward trend which has been noted year 

 after year rather than to the influence of 

 the exposition. This is shown by the fact 

 that from January 1 to May 26, 1933, 

 inclusive (the period prior to the opening 

 of the exposition) attendance at the Museum 

 totaled 707,245, as compared with the total 

 of 549,407 visitors received at the Museum 

 between the same dates in 1932. Thus even 

 during the pre-exposition period of 1933 the 

 increase over 1932 was 157,838 or more 

 than 28 per cent. The attendance during 

 the exposition (May 27 to November 12 

 inclusive) was 2,501,169. 



Of the 3,208,414 persons visiting the Mu- 

 seum up to November 12 this year, 209,624 

 or only about 6}/2 per cent paid the 25-cent 

 admission fee charged on Mondays, Tues- 

 days, Wednesdays and Fridays; all the rest, 

 numbering 2,998,790 or 933^2 per cent, either 

 came on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sun- 

 days when admission is free, or belonged 

 to classifications such as children, teachers, 

 students, and Museum Members and their 

 guests, who are admitted free on all days. 



These figures demonstrate the extent to 

 which the Museum has subordinated possi- 

 bilities of increa.sed revenue to the greater 

 objective of providing service to the public 

 on the widest possible scale. They show 

 that the Museum is fulfilling its mission 

 as a great educational institution, and that 

 Chicagoans and visitors to the city appre- 

 ciate and take full advantage of the institu- 

 tion's tremendous resources for the dissemi- 

 nation of scientific knowledge. 



Some high attendance records for in- 

 dividual days have also been made during 

 1933. There were two days upon each of 

 which attendance exceeded sixty-five thou- 

 sand persons, and seven days upon which 

 attendance exceeded fifty thousand persons. 



Acting Curator Appointed 



Henry W. Nichols has been appointed 

 Acting Curator of the Department of 

 Geology. Mr. Nichols' long association 

 with the late Dr. Oliver C. Farrington, 

 Curator, and his thorough acquaintance 

 with Dr. Farrington's methods, assure that 

 the work of the Department will continue 

 uninterruptedly along the same lines upon 



which it has been so successfully conducted 

 in the past. 



Mr. Nichols joined the Museum staff in 

 1894, and during the early years of the 

 institution served as Curator of Economic 

 Geology. Later, when the various divisions 

 were consolidated into a single Department 

 of Geology, Mr. Nichols remained as 

 Assistant Curator, and with the expansion 

 of the Department in more recent years 

 was made Associate Curator. He has 

 participated in a number of the Museum]s 

 expeditions, in some cases as leader. In his 

 most important field work he covered the 

 greater part of South America, collecting 

 geological material. He has specialized in 

 mineralogy and the economic aspects of 

 geology, but has a thorough background in 

 all divisions of this science. Previous to 

 1894 he taught geology at Massachusetts 

 Institute of 'Technology. 



GREEK, ROMAN BRONZE REPLICAS 

 OFFERED FOR SALE 



In the process of reorganizing Edward 

 E. and Emma B. Ayer Hall, devoted to 

 Mediterranean archaeology, it was found 

 that for lack of space a large portion of 

 reproductions of Greek and Roman bronzes 

 could not be used for exhibition. The Mu- 

 seum therefore desires to dispose of this 

 surplus material which may be of interest 

 especially to art departments of universities 

 and colleges for purposes of instruction. 

 These reproductions in copper or bronze, 

 very exactly made as to shape, design, and 

 patina, were executed in 1895 by the firm 

 Sabatino de Angelis and Son, after originals 

 in the National Museum of Naples, and 

 convey a very exact idea of the originals. 



The collection consists of more than 250 

 objects large and small, including a chest, 

 couches, tables and stands, stools and chairs, 

 lamps, candelabra, lamp-rests, lanterns, 

 braziers, water-heaters, stoves, amphoras, 

 pitchers, balances and steelyards. A com- 

 plete description of this collection, accom- 

 panied by 82 plates, was prepared by F. B. 

 Tarbell, professor of classical archaeology at 

 the University of Chicago, and was published 

 by Field Museum in 1909 (Publication 130). 

 A copy of this Catalogue of Bronzes will be 

 placed at the disposal of institutions which 

 may be interested in the purchase of the 

 reproductions, upon request to the Director 

 of Field Museum. 



A Gift from Homer E. Sargent 



A fine old Mexican serape and thirteen 

 rare textiles from Algeria were recently pre- 

 sented to the Museum by Homer E. Sargent, 

 an old and loyal friend of the institution, 

 which is indebted to him for many other 

 valuable gifts. 



This material was placed on exhibition at 

 once. The serape has been added to the 

 Sargent-Ryerson collection of Mexican 

 serapes in Case 19 of Hall 8. The north 

 African fabrics are shown in a case placed 

 in the center of Hall E, and make a very 

 colorful exhibit. These come from the 

 Kabyles, the natives of Algeria, and were 

 collected by Mr. Sargent years ago during 

 a journey through the country. It would 

 be impossible to duplicate this collection at 

 present. It comprises woolen rugs such as 

 are used in mosques and family homes, 

 draperies hung on the walls of mosques on 

 festive occasions, and examples of the cape 

 worn by Kabyle women. The workmanship 

 is of the best, and this collection is the more 

 appreciated as heretofore there were no 

 specimens of north African weaving in the 

 Museum. 



DECEMBER GUIDE-LECTURE TOURS 



Conducted tours of exhibits, under the 

 guidance of staff lecturers, are made every 

 afternoon at 3 p.m., except Saturdays, 

 Sundays, and certain holidays. Following 

 is the schedule of subjects and dates for 

 December: 



Friday, December 1 — Eskimos. 



Week beginning December 4: Monday — Fish and 

 Reptiles; Tuesday — Primitive African Art; Wednes- 

 day — Egypt; Thursday — General Tour; Friday — Plant 

 Life of South America. 



Week beginning December 11: Monday — Chinese 

 Exhibits; Tuesday — Prehistoric Life; Wednesday — 

 Man Through the Ages; Thursday — General Tour; 

 Friday — Hall of Races of Mankind. 



Week beginning December 18: Monday — Jade and 

 Gems; Tuesday — Mexico, Past and Present; Wednes- 

 day — Marine Life; Thursday — General Tour; Friday 

 — Indian Art. 



Week beginning December 25: Monday — Christmas 

 holiday, no tour; Tuesday — African Animal Life; 

 Wednesday — Peat, Coal and Oil; Thursday — General 

 Tour; Friday — Men of the Stone Age. 



Persons wishing to participate should 

 apply at North Entrance. Tours are free 

 and no gratuities are to be proffered. A new 

 schedule will appear each month in Field 

 Museum News. Guide-lecturers' services 

 for special tours by parties of ten or more 

 are available free of charge by arrangement 

 with the Director a week in advance. 



Gifts to the Museum 



Following is a list of some of the principal 

 gifts received during the last month: 



From Miss Nejla Izzedin — a pottery lamp and 18 

 pieces of silver and other jewelry of Druze women, 

 Syria; from Henry Field — 22 pieces of Arabian house- 

 hold equipment, 25 painted pottery sherds, and a glass 

 vessel, Irak and Transjordania, and 21 chert projectile 

 points, Illinois and Indiana; from George H. Taber — 

 incense box of reticulated porcelain, China; from Mrs. 

 Wills B. Lane — embroidered costume of Quiche Indians, 

 Guatemala; from William J. Chalmers — 2 baskets of 

 Hopi and Apache, Arizona; from School of Forestry, 

 Yale University — 115 herbarium specimens, Colombia 

 and Ecuador; from Companhia Ford Industrial do 

 Brasil — 10 herbarium specimens and 8 wood specimens, 

 Brazil; from William A. Schipp — 68 herbarium speci- 

 mens. British Honduras; from The Polish Institute 

 for Collaboration with Foreign Countries — 40 speci- 

 mens of economic materials of botanical origin, and 

 62 specimens of ores and economic minerals, Poland; 

 from The Northwest Mining Association — 24 speci- 

 mens of ores, Washington; from Houston Museum of 

 Natural History — a specimen of pink calcite, Texas; 

 from Julius Friesser — a specimen of stigmaria, West 

 Virginia; from Leslie K. Quinn — partial skeleton of a 

 fossil rodent, Nebraska; from Vergil DeardorfT — lower 

 jaw of a fossil mammal. Colorado; from W. G. Sprang 

 — 2 prairie chickens, Michigan; from Warren Buck — a 

 monitor lizard, West Africa; from Norman E. Hickin — 

 125 butterflies and 56 moths. England; from Lincoln 

 Park Zoo — a Malayan tapir; from Emil Krauth — 23 

 butterflies. South Dakota and Montana; from John 

 Daily — 105 marine fishes, near Biloxi, Mississippi. 



NEW MEMBERS 



The following persons were elected to 

 membership in Field Museum during the 

 period from October 16 to November 15: 



Contributors 



Master Stanley Field Blaschke, Miss Malvina 

 Hoffman, Fred L. Mandel, Jr., Leon Mandel. 



Associate Members 



Dr. Clark W. Finnerud, Huntington B. Henry, 

 Lloyd C. Partridge, Franklin Raber, Mrs. Charles H. 

 Handle, Gerald A. Rolfes, E. W. Teaglc. 



Annual Members 



Dr. John M. Berger, Mrs. John S. Bums, Mrs. 

 Anna C. Deutsch, Gustav Egloff, R. W. Emerson, 

 Mrs. Frank Ferry, Harry Hall, J. B. Hamblen, H. M. 

 Henriksen, Mrs. Perry R. Johnson, Max M. Kann, 

 John Payne Kellogg, David S. Malkov, Henry C. 

 Murphy, Mrs. Fay E. Rickard, Mrs. Pina Rocca, 

 George L. Stilwell, Edgar E. Wheeler, Mrs. Belle Ziff. 



A specimen of the cacao or chocolate tree 

 of Central and South America, showing the 

 pods containing the seeds from which 

 chocolate is obtained, is a feature of the 

 Hall of Plant Life (Hall 29). 



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