STUDIES ON MUSEUMS AND KINDKKD INSTITUTIONS. 4'^^) 



Since, as \vc said al)()VO, tho diineMsioiis of the cases iiave without 

 exception ])een proportioned to the dimensions of the entire l)uilding-. 

 and as I believe this to he the only correct view in buildings of this 

 kind, I shall dw(dl upon this point a little more explicitly. Generally 

 the architect plans a museum without considering,'' the consequences 

 that are connected with the breadth of the windows and the spaces 

 between, nor does he reo-ard the proper length iind depth of the 

 cas(>s. Very often the officers of the nuiseum do not suppoi-t him suf- 

 iiciently, since most of them do not care for these specialties; besides, 

 the architect o-enerally does not ask their advice at all. In this way 

 most museum structures are erected schematically, and then the dimen- 

 sions of the cases must be arranged according to the dimensions of 

 the building, instead of vice versa. In such cases it very often hap- 

 pens that the show cases are set up without consideration of the 

 existing distril)ution of light. Examples are odious, but it would 

 really be hard to mention a nuiseum at the erection of which the pro- 

 ceedings were as judicious as at the erection of the Academy of Sci- 

 ences in Chicago, although the dimensions were necessarily too small 

 on account of insufficient funds. 



After n)ature deliberation, the architect had decided for cases of 8^ 

 feet depth, and a mininuun free space between them of 6i feet. This 

 gave a result of 1() feet mininuun as the distance between the centers 

 of the piers, and a breadth of 5 feet for the windows. The free spaces 

 in the central portion and at the corners are more lilx^-al in size. In the 

 gallery the depth of the somewhat low cases is almost exactly equal to 

 the })readth of the walls betw^een the windows, as seen from tig. 41, 

 and, according to ui}" opinion, is the most suita})le proportion. 

 Although in this instance the intervals are very narrow, the typical 

 4ength of the cases, which was varied only now and then, w^as deter- 

 mined at 10 feet lO inches, with a breadth of ?> feet 6 inches, and a 

 height of 7 feet T inches, with one door 3 feet 2 inches in breadth and 

 6 feet in height, having one plate of glass for each of the three divi- 

 sions of the length. I do not want to criticise these dimensions, but 

 mention them only to . show how considerately the architects ])ro- 

 ceeded, and how much one dimension depends upon the other, if once 

 established. 



According to need, a partition and shelves are put into the cases, 

 and 1 only have to say that the shelf brackets are adjustable, so that 

 horizontal or slanting shelves may be used; there are also arrange- 

 ments mad(> to separate the case divisions from each other by parti- 

 tions, according to the doors. Therefore, all the cases, as well as 

 their interior ai langements, can easily be inttM-changed. All these 

 things seem N'cry simple and self evident, l)ut such a care foi- details 

 we find but randy, if ever, among our museum of architcu-ts. 



The length of the cases determined exactly the position of the iron 



