54 THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 



In the same year an offer by the trustees of the Philadelphia 

 Bank of the United States to sell 208 portraits of Revolutionary 

 worthies and other distinguished men was declined by the 

 Board of Regents, since it was not in their power, consistently 

 "with the existing arrangements and obligations to apply their 

 funds to such an acquisition." 



1849 



MARSH COLLECTION OP PRINTS 



In 1849 the Institution made its first purchase for the art 

 department, obtaining from the Hon. George Perkins Marsh, 

 of Vermont, his entire "collection of theoretical, historical, 

 descriptive and critical works on the fine arts, of galleries and 

 illustrated works (where the text is published for the sake of 

 the illustrations of fine or decorative art), and of engravings 

 and etchings." It comprised several hundred portfolios and 

 bound volumes, besides some separate pieces. The amount 

 paid was $3,000, but during the six decades which have since 

 elapsed the value of the collection has increased many fold. 

 The following general account of the collection is from the 

 report of Mr. C. C. Jewett, assistant secretary in charge of the 

 library, for 1850: 



"The collection of engravings and works upon the history 

 of art, has attracted much interest; not from undiscriminating 

 idlers, but from men of taste, and particularly from artists. 

 This collection, though not the largest in the country, is be- 

 lieved to be the choicest. It was made by an American gentle- 

 man, distinguished as a scholar no less than as a statesman, 

 with the special design of illustrating the progress and resources 

 of the art of engraving in all its branches, from its early masters 

 to the present time. It was the work of many years to gather 

 specimens, so rare and beautiful. It required an educated eye, 

 a cultivated taste, an earnest study of the history of art, much 

 diligent search, and the aid of many friends and correspondents, 

 to bring together so many of the most valuable prints which 

 have ever been executed. The acquisition of this collection 

 has saved to the Institution all expenditure, either of time or 

 money, for skill and labor thus bestowed. The saving of 



