SECRETARY'S REPORT 45 
investigate their products and techniques, in connection with the use 
of plastics in exhibit construction at the Smithsonian Institution. 
EXHIBITIONS 
The progressive modernization of the exhibition halls of the Smith- 
sonian Institution was carried forward. The program has now com- 
pleted 5 years. Construction bids were received in May 1959 for the 
second North American Archeology Hall, and in June 1959 for the 
halls that will be devoted to the geological and fossil record of the 
age of mammals; medical and pharmaceutical history; and the his- 
tory of money or numismatics. 
The formal opening of the renovated Graphic Arts Hall in the 
connecting range of the Smithsonian Institution Building was held 
on the evening of July 10, 1958. Prentiss Taylor, president of the 
Society of Washington Printmakers, was the principal speaker. Hand 
processes employed to produce etchings, wood engravings, lithographs, 
and silk-screen prints are displayed in this hall. The history of 
printing from the invention of the alphabet to the commercial pro- 
duction of the printed book is illustrated by an original woodcut for 
a page of a very old Chinese block book, a reproduction of ancient 
Korean movable type, and a page from the Gutenberg Bible of about 
1454, 
The newly modernized Hall of Gems and Minerals in the Natural 
History Building was dedicated by Secretary Leonard Carmichael on 
the evening of July 31, 1958. Mrs. W. F. Foshag, wife of the late 
head curator of the department of geology, was invited to cut the 
ribbon at the formal opening. Exhibits in this hall include the most 
extensive collection of gems on display in this country, and a large 
and representative sampling of specimens from the national min- 
eral collection, which is regarded as the world’s finest. Nearly every 
variety of gem is represented. Included in this display are: A 316- 
carat star sapphire; an 18.3-carat canary-yellow diamond; a 66-carat 
alexandrite; and a 3810-carat peridot. Among the historic items 
shown is a set of pearls consisting of a necklace, choker, and earrings 
given by the Imam of Muscat to the U.S. Government; the original 
gold nugget responsible for the initiation of the California gold rush 
which was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 by James Marshall; 
and the world’s largest flawless quartz crystal ball, a sphere almost 
13 inches in diameter and weighing 10634 pounds. The Hope dia- 
mond, a gift of Harry Winston, world-famous gem merchant of New 
York, is spotlighted against a dark-red velvet in a centrally located, 
specially designed case. In the mineral section of this hall are shown 
examples of all the principal kinds of minerals, arranged in accord- 
