24 KEPOKT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. 



INSTALLATION OF COLLECTIONS AND ASSIGNMENT OF SPACE. 



Several attractive additions to the exhibition series in tlie Museum 

 have been made during the past year, and the general ai)pearance of 

 the exhibition halls is now very satisfactory^ An interesting contri- 

 bution, consisting of a series of India proofs, from the Bureau of En- 

 graving and Printing, has been received. On these are exhibited the 

 backs and faces of all the current bonds and currency notes issued by 

 the United States, illustrating each denomination of Treasury notes, 

 gold and silver certificates, from $1 to 110,000, and coupon and regis- 

 tered bonds from $10 to .$50,000. To the collection of historical relics 

 has been added an object of rare interest. This is one of the thirteen 

 pamphlets signed by George Washington, John Adams, and colonial 

 delegates, entitled "Original Association of Congress, October 20, 1774". 

 By this association the delegates pledged the colonies not to import 

 British merchandise after December 1, 1774. The pamphlet consists of 

 nine printed pages, more than two of which are devoted to the auto- 

 graph signatures of the delegates. During the year the Smithsonian 

 Institution has placed in the Museum its collecti(m of portraits of scien- 

 tific and literary men and other prominent personages. This series in- 

 cludes nearly 2,500 photographs, and is exceedingly valuable as a nu- 

 cleus for a national gallery of portraits of representative men. The 

 entire collection of materia medica has during the year been removed 

 from the west north range of the Museum to the east-south range, and 

 this transfer has made necessary a rearrangement of the collection. 

 As mentioned in the report of Mr. True, curator of mammals, the idea 

 of representing the more important mammals of North America by 

 groups, accompanied by accessories indicative of the habits and natural 

 surroundings of the species, which had been for some time under con- 

 sideration, has been partly carried into execution, five groups having 

 been placed in the exhibition hall, one of which, a group of bison's, is 

 undoubtedly the finest work of its kind in the world. Work has been 

 continued in the installation of the ethnological collection in the east 

 and west halls. It has been impossible to make very rapid progress in 

 the systematic rearrangement of the exhibition series of birds, but a 

 satisfactory beginning in that direction has been made. The removal 

 of the collection of reptiles and fishes from the west end of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution has been necessitated, in order that that portion of 

 the building might be made fire-proof. This work having been com- 

 pleted, much time was spent in replacing these collections. An exhi- 

 bition series of fishes has been installed in the west hall of the Smith- 

 sonian building. The collection of reptiles is still without exhibition 

 space. The moUusk collection in the Museum is now in souie respects, 

 superior to any in the world. Important additions are constantly being 

 made to it, and the work of installing an exhibition series of specimens 

 is progressing steadily. The Department of Insects has placed on ex- 



