ORGANIZATION OF THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. 35 



to Lim, and accompanied by sucli papers as may belong tlierewitli. 

 Upon tbis card the Curator is expected to inscribe a concise description 

 of tbe accession lot, returning the card and accompanying jjapers as 

 soon as possible to the Registrar^ in order tbat tbe Accession Eecord 

 and tbe Historical File may be completed and tbe descriptive bst of 

 accessions prepared for tbe printer. Wben a better is sent to tbe sender 

 of a specimen, giving an account of tbe object, a coi)y of tbis sboubl be 

 made by manifold process (stylograpb) or upon a leaf of a letter-book, 

 and tbis copy sbould be sent to tbe Eegistrar. 



LXXXVI. 



Management of Historical File. — Tbe Historical File, in wbicb all papers 

 relating to tbe bistory of objects in tbe Museum are to be arranged, 

 sball be under tbe cbarge of tbe Registrar, in wbose room sball be kept 

 tbe part belonging to tbe current year, tbe main file being arranged in 

 tbe oiBce of tbe Assistant Director, or in tbe Archive Koom, as may 

 prove most convenient. 



In tbis file sbonld be preserved all letters (or copies of tbem) Trbicb 

 relate to objects preserved in tbe Museum, fif necessary, index slijis 

 referring to tbese may be prepared, to be arranged witb tbe files of tbe 

 Smithsonian Institution.] Applications for publications sbould becopied 

 on tbe proper blank form. 



Eacb accession sball, if accompanied by papers, bave assigned to it 

 an envelope, in wbicb all sncb papers sball be ultimately arranged. On 

 tbe outside of this envelope sball be entered tbe current number of the 

 accession, tbe name of the sender, and tbe date of the accession. 



These packets to be filed serially, in order of accession numbers, in 

 locked cases. An alphabetical catalogue to the same is supplied by tbe 

 card Catalogue of Accessions. 



An3^ packet or letter may be taken out for temporary use by pre- 

 sentation of an application slip on wbicb tbe name of the applicant is 

 signed. Tbis slip is to be filed in place of the removed packet. Packets 

 or letters may not be retained more than four weeks. If any paper is 

 needed for permanent retention, a copy of it will be furnished upon 

 application. 



Only Curators or Acting Curators may be permitted to withdraw 

 packets from tbe bistorical file. 



LXXXVII. 



Management of the Application and Proposal File. — The make-np of tbe 

 Application and Proposal File has already been defined (Rule LXXX). 

 This file, like the Record of Applications, to wbicb it serves as an al])ba- 

 betical index, shall be kept in tbe office of tbe Assistant Director. The 

 papers of tbis file are to be enveloped and docketed bke those in the 

 Historical File. 



