259 

 THE MUSEUMS' ASSOCIATION. 



Alderman JOHN BROWN. 



The Annual Conference of the Museums' Association was held 

 in Dublin, from July 8th to July 13th, at which the invitation 

 for the conference to be held in Hull in 1913 was unanimously 

 accepted. 



The Conference was well attended by the curators and 

 representatives of the Committees, etc., not only of all the 

 provincial museums, but also of the various English, Scottish 

 and Irish National Museums and Art Galleries. There were 

 also representatives from America. 



A strong local Reception Committee had been formed, and 

 took in hand the various local arrangements, which were 

 admirable. 



Count Plunkett, the Director of the Irish National Museum, 

 was the President, and the meetings were graced with the 

 presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (Lord Aberdeen) 

 and Lady Aberdeen, who also invited the members to their 

 residence, and at the annual dinner Lord Aberdeen made many 

 sympathetic references to the work of the Association ; in 

 fact, all through it was evident that the Irish people had done 

 all in their power to make the Conference a success. 



There were several papers bearing upon the work of Museums 

 iand Art Galleries, and from these many useful hints were 

 obtained. 



Opportunities were afforded for examining the art treasures 

 and the natural history and archaeological collections in the 

 National Museum, the National Gallery, Trinity College, and 

 many other institutions. Visits were also paid to the excellent 

 zoological gardens, botanic gardens, Phaenix Park and the 

 Vice-Regal Lodge, etc., The social side of the meeting was 

 well catered for by Lord and Lady Aberdeen's garden party 

 already referred to, a garden party at the beautiful residence 

 of Sir John and Lady Nutting at St. Helens, Co. Dublin, 

 a conversazione in the National Museum, and an excursion to 

 Glendalough, where many Irish antiquities were seen. 



Among the papers read and discussed were the Presidential 

 Address : ' The Influence of Museums on the Reform of 

 Classical Studies ' by Professor Henry Brown ; ' American 

 Museums and School Work,' by Dr. F. A. Lucas ; ' Old and 

 New Classifications of Stone Implements,' by R. Smith, F.S.A. ; 

 ' The Preservation and Storing of Bird Skins,' by Professor 

 C. J. Patten ; ' A New Method of Exhibiting Geological 

 Specimens in Wall Cases,' by Professor Seymour ; ' The Rating 

 of Museums and Art Galleries,' by Mr. H. V. Hodgson ; ' The 

 Relation of Schools of Art to Museums,' by Mr. J. Ward, 



1912 Aug-. I. 



