THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 53 



the Museum it was assigned to the department of ethnology, 

 where it appropriately belonged and where it has ever since 

 been installed in one of the large exhibition halls devoted to 

 the subject of North American Indians.** 



MISCELLANEOUS 



In his report for 1847, the assistant secretary of the Institu- 

 tion in charge of the library made the following suggestions : 



"Another subject contemplated in the programme of organi- 

 zation, and which should receive immediate attention, is the 

 procuring of copies of some of the most celebrated works of art. 

 It will probably be best to confine the purchases at first princi- 

 pally to plaster casts of some of the finest specimens of ancient 

 and modern statuary. These can be procured very cheap, and 

 convey, of course, a perfect representation of the original. I 

 have no doubt that for a public institution, and one under na- 

 tional auspices, we could, whenever we desire it, obtain per- 

 mission to take casts directly from the statues. 



"The expense of doing so would of course be somewhat 

 greater than that of purchasing such copies as might be found in 

 the market, but a small difference in expense is not to be 

 thought of in such a case. It would further be desirable to 

 commence the purchase of the models of antiquities, such as 

 models in cork of some of the houses, temples, theatres, baths, 

 &c., &c., in Pompeii and Herculaneum. These can be procured 

 at comparatively small prices. Models of every interesting part 

 of Pompeii which has been excavated, presenting in miniature 

 a perfect view of nearly the whole on the scale of i foot to 150, 

 might be procured for about $2,000. It might also be well to 

 procure a few Etruscan vases; also a few antique coins and 

 medals, sufficient to convey some illustration of numismatics, 

 as a subsidiary branch of history. The Regents should of 

 course decide what proportion of the appropriation for collec- 

 tions should each year be expended for these purposes. I will 

 merely remark that $1,000, or even $500 at the outset, pru- 

 dently expended, would procure a very interesting collection." 



a For a complete history and description of the collection, see The George 

 Catlin Indian Gallery, By Thomas Donaldson, pp. 939, with 144 plates. 

 Appendix to the Report of the United States National Museum for 1885. 



