54o 



NATURE 



[July 24, 191, 



hold a recognised position in the scheme of national 

 education from its base to its summit, and each 

 museum, whether its teaching be general or specific, 

 should do more than merely provide object-lessons. 

 It should focus attention upon the progress of human 

 knowledge and achievement. This cannot be done by 

 punishing the visitor with endless series of specimens 

 of interest only to the specialist. It must be accom- 

 plished by selecting a strictly limited number of 

 objects, and so displaying them as to endow them 

 with an intensely human interest. The gathering 

 together of objects of local significance should be the 

 primary duty of the curator, and their effective display 

 his greatest achievement. 



In a paper entitled " Methods of Collecting," Mr. 

 T. Sheppard gave a brief account of the 

 growth of the Hull museums. As evidence 

 of continued development it may be mentioned 

 that at the association dinner it was an- 

 nounced that Colonel G. H. Clarke had determined 

 to purchase and present to Hull the Mortimer collec- 

 tion of prehistoric antiquities, geological specimens, 

 and other relics, at present housed in the museum 

 at Driffield. The announcement was received with 

 the greatest enthusiasm, for the collection is re- 

 nowned as one of the best series of Yorkshire pre- 

 historic antiquities in existence, and its value is en- 

 hanced by the careful and scrupulous records kept by 

 Mr. Mortimer. 



The most novel paper of the conference was prob- 

 ablv that given by Mr. J. A. Charlton Deas, of Sunder- 

 land, " How to Show our Museums and Art Galleries 

 to the Blind." In essence this was a report of ex- 

 periments made by Mr. Deas at the Sunderland 

 Museum and Art Gallery, where demonstrations have 

 lately been given to parties of blind people, both 

 adults and children. Blind visitors in the museum 

 were taken in hand by guides. They handled certain 

 specimens, and each feature was explained at the 

 moment of touch. Attached to each specimen was 

 a carefully drawn-out descriptive label, which was 

 read by the guide, and great care was taken in leading 

 the hands or fingers of the blind to the important 

 features. Mr. Deas emphasised the need for con- 

 scientious guiding of the blind person's hands, and 

 said that where possible there should be a guide for 

 each Mind visitor. The blind children of the council 

 school were also taken in this way through the 

 museum and art gallery. Some remarkable models 

 were made, after the examination of the specimens, 

 bv children between eight and fifteen years of age, 

 none of whom had any special knowledge of model- 

 ling. In fact, in some cases they were a first attempt. 

 The models, though rough, showed in many cases 

 remarkable spirit. 



Prof. Roberts Beaumont, of Leeds University, read 

 a paper upon the organisation of a textile museum, 

 in which he said that the subject, though a large one, 

 had not received that full attention which those con- 

 nected with the textile arts considered it should have. 

 He insisted upon the importance of illustrative models 

 being technically correct, and effective for the demon- 

 -ir.it ii hi of the purpose and function for which the 

 machines were originally invented. Nor is it enough 

 to furnish the student with specimens illustrating the 

 history of textile ornament. Such analyses should 

 accompany the specimens as would make them in- 

 1 reasingly suggestive to those who viewed them and 

 increasingly inspirine;. A textile museum should set 

 forth the history of manufacture and the process and 

 sequence of invention, typifying the nature, scope, 

 and function of each department of the industry, 

 exemplifying each phase of woven art, stimulating 

 research, and proving a veritable storehouse of classi- 

 fied knowledge. 



NO. 2282, VOL. 91] 



Mr. J. W. Baggalev described a simple and efficient 

 gelatine and glycerine cement by means of which he 

 had been able to mount zoological specimens in spirit. 

 The association was honoured by the presence of 

 Prof. F. Rathgen, chemist to the Royal Museum at 

 Berlin, whose experiments and writings on the treat- 

 ment and preservation of antiquities are so well- 

 known to all curators. He gave a paper on the 

 decay and preservation of antiquities, which aimed 

 at giving an outline of the various causes underlying 

 the disintegration of antiquities after excavation, due 

 to the changes which have taken place during vary- 

 ing periods and conditions of interment. 



Mr. Cecil VV. C. Hallett and Mr. J. H. Leonard, 

 official guides at the British Museum, Bloomsbury, 

 and the British Museum (Natural History), South 

 Kensington, gave accounts of their personal experi- 

 ence in conducting parties of visitors around these 

 great national institutions. Arising out of this ex- 

 perience they were able to give many valuable hints 

 as to the precautions to be taken to ensure successful 

 and enjoyable demonstrations. Some of the difficul- 

 ties which present themselves — such as noise, inter- 

 ruption from visitors not belonging to the party, 8u . 

 were admittedly difficult to remedy, but, as public 

 appreciation and the powerful advocacy of such friends 

 of museum work as Lord Sudeley seem destined to 

 bring this mode of spreading knowledge of our poten- 

 tialities into vogue, it is essential that they should 

 be overcome. 



Mr. Reginald A. Smith, of the British Museum, 

 gave a paper on curators and the Stone age. He 

 directed attention to the fact that Britain was rapidly 

 showing itself to be a much richer field for discovery 

 in this direction than we have hitherto believed, and 

 that the subject has now attained such public pro- 

 minence as to call for close attention on the part of the 

 curator. Stone-age archaeology may now be described 

 as being in the melting-pot, and it is our duty to see 

 that we assimilate the new and far-reaching ideas 

 which emanate therefrom. 



The paper part of the meeting concluded with some 

 interesting remarks by Dr. F. A. Bather, F.R.S., on 

 fittings and preparations noted during a recent visit 

 to the museum of the Institut Oc^nographique at 

 Monaco, and a message from the Rev. Prof. Henry 

 Browne emphasising the need for assistance from 

 museums in the furtherance of classical studies. 



The business meeting had several matters of special 

 interest to consider, foremost amongst which was the 

 question of grants by the Board of Education in aid 

 of the purchase of scientific specimens for provincial 

 museums. These grants have been in abeyance for 

 several years, but the advisory council for the science 

 museum has now taken up the matter, and a sub- 

 committee recently received a deputation from the 

 association in a most understanding and sympathetic 

 spirit. The outcome is that the Museums Association 

 has been asked to submit its views as to the direction 

 in which grants would be helpful and appropriate, 

 and as to the conditions which should accompany 

 them. 



The following resolutions were passed : — 



"That this association desires to direct the atten- 

 tion of the Board of Education to the great value to 

 provincial museums of the collections sent out by 

 the Victoria and Albert Museum, and trusts that, now 

 that the circulation department has been made a self- 

 contained section of the museum, with no power to 

 circulate any of the specimens in the general museum, 

 the collections available for circulation will be aug- 

 mented to meet the requirements of the provincial 

 museums, which steadily increase in number, and are 

 undoubtedly attaining a higher level of artistic excel- 

 lence." 



