REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 23 



experienwe of others, publishes liis own experiences for tlie good of 

 other u'orkers iu the same tiehl.* 



MUSETM CASES. 



Of all the practical (luestions which confront the museum adminis- 

 trator those relating- to the form and construction of cases and the 

 methods of interior fitting are among tlie most perplexing and, so fai" 

 as the relationships of the nuiseum to the public are concerned, the most 

 important. Each well-arranged case with its display of specimens and 

 labels is a perpetual lecturer, and the thousands of such constantly on 

 duty in every large museum have their effect upon a much larger num- 

 ber of minds than the individual efforts of the scientific staff, no matter 

 how industrious with their pens or in the lecture room. 



Ever since the occupation of our new building very special attention 

 has been given to improving tlie cases, and a system, i)eculiar in the 

 beginning to the National ]\[useum, though since adopted by others, has 

 grown up — a sys'tem based upon a fixed and interchangeable unit of 

 construction ; so that, to a very large degree, it is possible to transfer 

 cases from one department to another. This fixed unit is the storage 

 drawer or " unit drawer," 24 by 30 inches in dimensions (PI. 1, fig. 1). 

 Modifications and extensions of this unit are very generally in use in 

 many forms of cases, both for exhibition and storage. (PI. 1, fig. 2.) 



Exhibition cases, — The various kinds of cases now in use are indi- 

 cated in a general way in the two accompanying plates. (Pis. 2 and 

 3.) Fuller descriptions of the cases and their manner of construction 

 will be reserved for a future report. It may be said, however, that the 

 tendency has been toward the use of the very best of glass in the largest 

 possible sizes, the woodwork being, as a rule, restricted to bases, corner 

 pieces, and cornices. The to}) of the case — no matter what its size — is 

 of glass. When possible, where two panes of glass are used in a single 

 case front, a narrow metal connecting strip is used instead of a wooden 

 bar. 



The theory which has led to the development of this form of case is 

 that collections should be so arranged that each surface of glass, or 

 each panel of a long case, stands by itself, its contents being grouped 

 with reference to a general descriptive label, either placed in their 

 midst or in the middle of the case-frame above. It is not considered 

 legitimate to arrange series of specimens on long shelves extending 

 from one end to the other in cases whose fronts are broken by i)anels 

 (u- doors; but, as has been said before, each i)anel or door stands for 

 itself, like the page of a book, the arrangement being without excep- 

 tion from left to right, as in a book. 



''Meyek, a. B. ZweiterBericht iibereinigenene Einrichtigungendes konigliclien 

 zoologisclieiiuu(laiitliro])ologis(li-ethiiographisclien Miisciinis in Dresden. Ahhandl. 

 und licrichte K. Zool. Anth.-Etlnwtj. Museums Dresden, 1892-'93; Dresden, 1894. No. 

 1, pp. 1-28, Pl.s. i-xx. 



