SECEETARY'S REPORT 33 



discovered by Dr. Sergius H. Mamay, of the U.S. Geological Survey. 

 The material in this vicinity probably represents the last vestiges of 

 a drying pond or river waterhole, in which the amphibians were 

 trapped and preserved. It consists of about 2i/^ tons of siltstone 

 matrix containing perhaps 150 skulls and scattered postcranial re- 

 mains ; the bones range all the way from impressions to complete ele- 

 ments. Although preservation of some of the specimens leaves 

 somethmg to be desired, the collection as a whole is remarkable. For 

 obtaining much of this valuable material and shipping it to the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, credit must go to Dr. Walter W. Dalquest, of 

 Midwestern University. The fossil locality itself is in Haskell 

 County, about 150 miles from Wichita Falls. 



During the year staff members of the Museum of History and 

 Technology and the Office of Exhibits made many short and a few 

 extended field trips in order to examine collections of potential use- 

 fulness in developing the new exhibit halls of the Museiun. During 

 field work of this sort, the staff members carry out essential assign- 

 ments of appraising the potential of objects to the research programs 

 in history and technology, as well as their possible value to the ex- 

 hibits program. Wliile all such trips are of importance to the de- 

 velopment of the Museum, only a few visits to institutions outside the 

 United States are here discussed. 



In August Dr. Wilcomb E. Washburn, curator of political history, 

 visited numerous museums and historic buildings in and near Athens, 

 Vienna, Paris, and Rome, to familiarize himself with the latest museum 

 exhibition techniques and the extent of the collections in these areas. 

 He was pleased to note that some of the institutions visited have in- 

 spired a renaissance of temporary craftsmanship in their regions. 



In the summer of 1961 Miss Rodris C. Roth, associate curator of 

 cultural history, visited many museums and historic houses in Eng- 

 land, including some in Cambridge and Brighton, in addition to the 

 better-known institutions in and near London. She studied collec- 

 tions specifically in relation to research projects and problems, and 

 generally in relation to museum practices and attitudes. 



In September and October Dr. Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli, curator 

 of numismatics, and Mrs. Clain-Stefanelli, associate curator, visited 

 numismatic collections housed in museums in Portugal, Spain, Italy, 

 Austria, Germany, France, Sweden, and Denmark. They were much 

 impressed by the excellence of many of these collections. The in- 

 crease in interest in numismatics is noticeable all over the western 

 world, as evidenced by the new exhibits observed in various stages of 

 completion. The extensive series of numismatic exhibit halls in prep- 

 aration in Madrid is a good example. These will provide the world's 

 largest display of its kind and, together with the six planned exhibit 



