BEPQBT OF ASSISTANT SECRETAUY. 35 



port. Prof. Paul llanpt. Honorary Curator, has .secured from the 

 Royal Museum of Berlin aud tlie British Museum several valuable 

 casts of Assyrian and Egyptian objects. Labels have been prepared 

 for the Assyro- Babylonian seals, aud also for the Assyrian photographs 

 from the British Museum, the Bouhls photographs, and the Assyrian 

 aud Egyptian objects from the Royal Museum of Berlin. Dr. C. John- 

 son, jr., of the Johns Hopkins University, has made an examination of 

 an interesting Persian astrolabe, and has presented a paper entitled 

 " The Chaldean Astronomy." 



It may not be improper in this connection, to call attention to the 

 proposed edition of the "Life and Writings of Edward Hincks," by the 

 Semitic Seminary of the Johns Hopkins University. In July the Smith- 

 sonian Institution consented to make the Institution a depository for 

 papers aud manuscripts sent to this country to further the prosecution 

 of the work. Prof. F. Max Miiller, of the University of Oxford, under 

 date of September 27, forwarded manuscript letters of Dr. Hincks in 

 Ins possession; and under date of October 20 he kindly offered to per- 

 manently deposit these letters in the Smithsonian Institution. 



Section of Transportation and Engineering. — Work in this section has 

 been seriously interrupted by the necessar5" absence of the Curator, 

 Mr. J. E. Watkins, at the Cincinnati Exposition, where a collection of 

 objects was exhibited illustrating the development of the various 

 systems of transportation. The exhibit was arranged in seven series, 

 and is fully described in a special paper prepared by Mr. Watkins for 

 publication in a future report. 



- Among the important accessions during the year may be specially 

 noticed the following objects: A Japanese kago (or palanquin), ob- 

 tained through Mr. Hieromich Shugio, made of wood, beautifully lac- 

 quered and elaborately ornamented ; and a model of a Japanese jin- 

 rikisha. Several interesting relics have been received, as, for instance, 

 the bell of the locomotive " Bah way," cast in 1838, and a section of the 

 first heavy iron rail rolled in America, presented to the Museum by the 

 Baltimore ami Ohio Railway Company. A number of valuable draw- 

 ings, illustrating the development of marine steam engineering, have 

 been added to the collection. 



A rearrangement of the exhibition series has been commenced, and 

 is described in detail in the report of, the Curator. 



Section of Graphic Arts. — Mr. S. R. Koehler, Curator, states in his re- 

 port that his special aim is "to represent art as an industry." This may 

 perhaps be more intelligibly rendered by the statement that art pro- 

 ductions of all kinds, considered primarily from their technical side, are 

 included in the scope of this section. The Section of Graphic Arts was 

 organized in January, 1887, and, no report having yet been submitted 

 by the Curator, the one now published in Section n of this report relates 

 to the work accomplished since that date. The contributors of material 

 to this collection number one hundred and six, some of whom had been 



