July 28, 1921] 



NATURE 



689 



of State among the lay public, enlarged the ideas 

 of the British visitors almost beyond the limits of 

 receptivity. 



The inspiration and the actual knowledge of 

 material and methods thus acquired cannot fail to 

 benefit the museums and the municipalities which 

 were wise enough to send their representatives 

 across the Channel. On the other side of the 

 account our French friends were good enough to 

 admit some profit to themselves. The conservators 

 of provincial museums in the recently formed 

 French association were particularly pleased to 

 see so many councillors of important cities, like 

 Glasgow, Manchester, Hull, Carlisle, and Exeter, 

 taking a keen interest in the proceedings and 

 setting an example to their French brethren. Not 

 only did the French museum officials observe with 

 a pleased surprise that men of science and of art 

 could co-operate to their mutual advantage, but 

 the two camps in Paris were also (for the first 

 time, one gathered) brought into friendly personal 

 communication, so that the association may have 

 begun the building of a new bridge across the 

 Seine, from the Jardin des Plantes to the Louvre. 



Among museums of interest to readers of 

 Nature, special mention should be made of the 

 Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle, round the 

 various departments of which the visitors were 

 guided by Dr. Louis Mangin and members of his 

 staff. It was pleasing to see how large had been 

 the exchange of casts between this museum and 

 our own Natural History Museum, and to recog- 

 nise excellent specimens of British provenance. 

 At the Mus^e Cluny Mr. De Montremy explained 

 the difficulties of arranging collections in a medi- 

 eval mansion, and the curators noted how suc- 

 cessfully he had overcome them. x'\t the Louvre 

 the recently introduced system of guide-lecturers 

 attracted the attention of museum administrators. 

 Demonstrations are given in French, English, 

 Italian, and Spanish ; there are from twelve to 

 fourteen a week at the Louvre, and a few in the 

 other art museums of the State. To restrict num- 

 bers and defray expenses, admission is by ticket, 

 costing 3 francs each lecture. Some of the 

 members listened to an admirable exposition of 

 the work of David by Mr. Rey, who is the organ- 

 iser of the lectures. The wonderful collections 

 of prehistoric archaeology at St. Germain, excel- 

 lently displayed, and most kindly demonstrated 

 to the party by Dr. Salomon Reinach, were among 

 the greatest scientific treasures, and professional 

 curators also appreciated the visit to the work- 

 shops. 



To allow for the numerous outside attractions, 

 the proceedings in the conference room were 

 wisely limited. Dr. Hoyle's account of the 

 svstem of registration employed at the National 

 Museum of Wales provoked a lively discussion on 

 the contrasted merits of books, loose-leaf ledgers, 

 and card indexes. But here the chief feature was 

 undoubtedly Sir Frederic Kenyon's presidential 

 address, which, while dealing with the arrange- 

 ment of museums of art and archaeology from a 



NO. 2700, VOL. 107] 



general point of view, in reference to space and 

 design, sketched out the lines on which, in the 

 opinion of its director, the British Museum might 

 most advantageously be modified. The conges- 

 tion to which Sir Hercules Read has of late 

 directed public attention has to be met. Experi- 

 ence shows that the growth of the collections- 

 cannot be overtaken by the mere addition of build- 

 ings. Recourse must be had to the storage ia 

 accessible cases of a large part of the collections,, 

 after the example set by the departments of 

 natural history, of prints and drawings, of printed 

 books, of manuscripts, and of coins. For the 

 collection of Greek vases a division into three 

 parts will be adopted, after the plan suggested 

 by a former president of the association eighteea 

 years ago — namely, a public gallery instructively 

 and beautifully arranged ; a series for study by 

 amateurs ; and a stored collection accessible to- 

 specialists. This method will save much room in 

 many departments. More room, however, must 

 be given to ethnography, since each distinct 

 civilisation in time or space needs a distinct room 

 for its display. A. lecture room is required; the* 

 plans are prepared, and only await the funds to 

 carry them out. A gallery should also be devoted 

 to temporary exhibitions. The library ought to- 

 remain as the centre, with a ring of exhibition 

 galleries round it, and an outer rectangle of stor- 

 age and working rooms. Sir Frederic Kenyon 

 concluded by enumerating some ways in which 

 the British Museum could help local museums, and 

 intimated that other ways would gladly be entered 

 on if the curators of the local museums would 

 make their needs known. 



At the receptions in the Louvre and the Hotel 

 de Ville, as also at the association dinner, to 

 which manv of the French hosts were invited, Sir 

 Frederic Kenyon emphasised the international 

 importance of the gathering. The delegates from 

 the national and municipal museums of Great 

 Britain might, he said, be regarded as ambassa- 

 dors preaching the gospel of peaceful civilisation 

 and cementing the ties contracted by the tw& 

 allied nations in war. This meeting might prove 

 the first step towards an international association 

 of museums, such as had long be'en in the minds 

 of some members, and was again set up as an 

 ideal by Dr. Loir, secretary of the Association of 

 French Museums. 



It was the enthusiasm with which Dr. Loir 

 welcomed the suggestion of a Paris meeting, first 

 publicly made at the Havre congress of the Asso- 

 ciation Fran9aise pour TAvancement des Sciences 

 (1914), that enabled the idea to be realised at last. 

 It was the work of Prof. Roule and Drs. Bruy^re 

 and Lemoine, of the Musee d'Histoire Naturelle, 

 that facilitated the execution of the plan. But 

 the especial thanks of the association were ac- 

 corded to its secretary, Dr. Tattersall, and to Mrs. 

 Tattersall for their strenuous labours in seeing 

 that the most audacious and the most far-reach- 

 ing enterprise of the Museums Association was 

 carried through most happily to a successful end. . 



