BULLETIN 



OF 



THE CHARLESTON MUSEUM 



Vol. 10 CHARLESTON, S. C, JANUARY, 1914 No. 1 



REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM 

 FOR THE YEAR 1913 



The past year is the one hundred and fortieth in the history 

 of the Museum, and the tenth under the present administration. 

 It is undoubtedly the most successful in the long and honored 

 history of the institution and comes to its close with better pros- 

 pects for the future than ever before. 



Few persons aside from the Museum staff can appreciate the 

 difficulty of the reorganization which has been effected in the past 

 decade. In 1904 the Museum occupied about one half of the 

 main building of the College of Charleston, where it was an ad- 

 junct to the department of biology and geology, and dependent 

 for its care upon the spare time of the professor in that depart- 

 ment. The sole financial support was an appropriation of $250 

 from City Council. Under these adverse conditions, the col- 

 lections were necessarily deteriorating. The Museum was far 

 more extensive than the needs of the College required, and was 

 contributing nothing to the progress of science or to public edu- 

 cation. It was an incubus upon the College and an unprofit- 

 able investment for the City, yet it contained material of great 

 potential value for the instruction and recreation of the people, 

 and collections which are priceless data of science. 



Today, the Charleston Museum occupies one of the best public 

 buildings of the city, is maintained jointly by City Council and 

 the people of Charleston, is affiliated with the public schools and 

 colleges, maintains varied lines of scientific and educational work, 

 and is growing daily in the appreciation of the public. The key- 



