110 REPORT OF NATIOlSrAL. MUSEUM, 1925 



Pershing and Marshal Ferdinand Foch by Victor Perard, of New 

 York City, donated by the artist; and an oil painting by John 

 Innes showing President Harding delivering an address at Stanley 

 Park, Vancouver, B. C, July 26, 1923, presented to the Museum 

 by the National Press Club, Washington, D. C. 



The philatelic collections were increased by 5,608 specimens, all, 

 with a single exception, received through the Post Office Depart- 

 ment. Of these, 5,505 specimens were issued by foreign govern- 

 ments and forwarded to the Post Office Department by the Universal 

 Postal Union, Berne, Switzerland. Both the foreign and the do- 

 mestic issues of stamps during the fiscal year have been remarkable 

 for the number of commemorative issues. In 1925 the Universal 

 Postal Union celebrated the fiftieth year of its existence, and this 

 event was the occasion for special issues of stamps by the govern- 

 ments of Germany, Salvador, Sweden, and Switzerland. Various 

 other events were commemorated by special issues of stamps by 

 the governments of Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, 

 Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hun- 

 gary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Sal- 

 vador, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, and Venezuela. 

 The United States issued stamps commemorating the sesquicen- 

 tennial of the battle of Lexington and the Norse American cen- 

 tennial anniversary. Examples of all these issues have been added 

 to the Musemn collection. An accession of special importance was 

 the gift from the Indiana State Museum, through the Post Office 

 Department, of 78 handstamped letters sent through the United 

 States mail during the period from 1836 to 1850, prior to the 

 general use of adhesive stamps. All of these are of the folded- 

 sheet type and show postal markings of a distinctive and interest- 

 ing character, among which names of towns and numerals in various 

 colored inks predominate. Another unique addition to the collec- 

 tion was a postal card forwarded by the first air mail from Germany 

 to the United States, October 12-15, 1924, on the ZR 3, later the 

 Los Angeles, contributed by Dr. Charles D. Walcott, Secretary of 

 the Smithsonian Institution, 



PRESERVATION, INSTALLATION AND PRESENT CONDITION OF «^OLLECTIONS 



An examination of the exhibition halls and the storage and office 

 facilities in the Arts and Industries Building convinces one of the 

 crowded conditions under which the art, industrial and historical 

 collections are being maintained. The point has been reached in 

 considering the acquisition of specimens when it is necessary to de- 

 termine first of all the space required, regardless of value, and often 

 the Museum must be content with photographic reproductions of 



