The Angmagsalik Eskimo. 423 



the contents would be easily visible. 3) Newly received contributions 

 are placed on view, as soon as the necessary registration, etc. has been 

 made. Immediately before the rearrangement above mentioned, and 

 during the course of same, a number of objects were necessarily removed 

 from their places and stored elsewhere : this took place, however, prior 

 to the period of Mr. Thalbitzer's ethnographical work 1 . 



The rearrangement included the procuring of much-needed space 

 through the fitting up of a gallery 24 metres long, consisting of five 

 deep divisions, the interjacent portions reaching nearly to the glass parti- 

 tion. The accompanying illustration shows the arrangement in the case 

 of a part of the Angmagsalik collection. The left side of the picture 

 gives one of the deep divisions, where small implements are seen 

 lying immediately behind the glass, while the background is occupied 

 by hunting dresses, larger implements, and sledges. The photograph, 

 taken on a cloudy day in October 1914 by the same photographer who 

 carried out the work for Mr. Thalbitzer, shows very clearly the dresses 

 on the wall at the back. The left half of the picture shows, on the right, 

 the side wall of the same division, occupied by a row of spears, and 

 in the centre one of the projecting portions, while to the left again, the 

 adjacent division, containing West Greenland objects, is partly seen. 

 The labels on the front edge of the shelves give descriptive notes as to 

 the exhibits there ; at the back of the deeper portion, however, numbers 

 only are placed, the descriptive labels corresponding being set up in a 

 frame outside the case. The strip of wood running down the centre 

 of the picture is the framepost against which the doors rest when closed, 

 screwed fast against a lining of soft leather, on account of the poisonous 

 chemicals used to preserve the numerous furs against moth. 



It is this arrangement to which Mr. Thalbitzer refers when he 

 tells us that "The Greenland objects are placed in unusually deep glass 

 cases, in which it is almost impossible for the visitor to see what is placed 

 at the back and in which most of the objects can only be got at with 

 great difficulty". As regards the first part of this statement, the reader 

 can himself judge, from the accompanying photograph, taken at a con- 

 siderably greater distance from the case than that at which the visitor 

 ordinarily would stand, how far it may be justified. As regards the latter 



Unreasonable as it would seem, it is nevertheless not improbable that the 

 Author's "are said" refers to this remote period, since, in a note on the 

 same page, he harks back to the last century in order to draw attention 

 to an alleged neglect on the part of the Museum authorities in connection 

 with a request made to them. My own connection with the Museum 

 Ethnographical Collections does not date back so far as include any per- 

 sonal knowledge of this ancient matter; I must therefore confine myself to 

 the suggestion that since the gentleman concerned — an eminent American 

 ethnographer, now long since deceased — did not think fit to carry the 

 matter farther after receiving the letter forwarded by the Museum authori- 

 ties under date 21. — 6. — 1897, then surely Mr. Thalbitzer also would have 

 done well to let it rest. 



