REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. on 
ber of exceedingly choice examples. While partly composed of 
loans, the majority of the specimens are the property of the Museum, 
the entire contents of one of the cases having, in fact, been received 
by the Government in 1841 as a gift from the Imam of Muscat, 
Arabia, together with many other beautiful and costly presents. A 
fine Cashmere shawl which belonged to Mrs. John E. McElroy, 
sister of President Arthur, is exhibited in the Hayes case. 
The remainder of the costume collection fills the six American 
cases and the sloping part of the long wall case below the windows 
with a very great variety of articles, in some respects no less inter- 
esting than those already reviewed. It comprises parts of costumes, 
accessories of apparel, and the myriad objects associated with the 
daily life of woman. These are mostly heirlooms, treasured for their 
associations, for their beauty and daintiness, or for their costly and 
exquisite craftsmanship. The arrangement, though mainly by fam- 
ily grouping, is artistic and tasteful, and the general effect is of ele- 
gance and refinement. Summarizing briefly, we find many lace and 
other articles pertaining to dress, including a beautiful piece of pifia 
work; handkerchiefs of lace and fine linen; gloves and mitts, with 
their embroidered containers; calashes and bonnets; hairpins and 
superb tortoise-shell combs; fans of exquisite make and embellish- 
ment; ornamented housewives and workbags, with sewing and knit- 
ting materials; pincushions, aprons, slippers, buckles, and toilet arti- 
cles; numerous small and dainty ornaments of the boudoir; calling 
card and snuff boxes, opera glasses, lorgnettes, umbrellas, parasols, 
etc. Most resplendent is the display of jewelry, from antique to mod- 
ern make, of endless variety, and including much of exceptional rich- 
ness in material and workmanship. In one of the American cases 
are dainty lots of exquisite needlework and other family relics, show- 
ing the great taste with which our ancestors provided articles for 
their personal use. In the long wall case is contained a collection of 
colonial costumes illustrating the type of clothing worn by men on 
ordinary and dress occasions from 1700 to 1800, formerly the prop- 
erty of the Smith family of the Colony of Maryland; relics of colo- 
nial and early nineteenth century times in Philadelphia; dresses and 
jewelry of an early period from Kingston, N. Y.; and laces and lace 
costumes, fans, China and India shawls, jewelry, etc., from several 
sources. 
Installed in the upright part of the western wall case and in three 
adjacent alcove cases is the historical collection of American china, 
assembled by the late Rear Admiral F. W. Dickins, United States 
Navy, and deposited by Mrs. Dickins, which was fully described in a 
previous report. It is especially notable for its relation to important 
periods and for the number of White House pieces which it contains. 
