6 



BRITISH MUSEUM 



Loans of Lantern Slides. 



6,878 lantern slides were issued on loan (2,943 in 1933 and 2,834 in 

 1932), the remarkable increase being due to the demand for slides 

 illustrating lectures on the Codex Sinaiticus. 



Publications. 



The sales of the publications were : — 





1932 



1933 



1934 



Catalogues and major publications 



Guide Books 



Postcards, monochrome and 



6,100 

 16,000 



5,950 



18,068 



5,870 

 15,594 



coloured 



Reproductions 



469,600 

 20,250 



429,184 

 18.666 



426,731 

 17,296 



The chief works issued during the year were : — 



General Catalogue of Printed Books, Vol. VII (Asmu-Ausz) Vol. VIII 



(Aut-Baes) and Vol. IX (Baet-Banz). 

 British Museum Quarterly, four parts. 

 The Assyrian Sculptures. 



Facsimile of the Manuscript, Diwan I Zu'L-Fakar. 

 Catalogue of Fifteenth Century Woodcuts, Vols. I and II. 

 Hieratic Papyri, 3rd Series, the Chester Beatty Gift. 

 Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires, Vol. V. 

 Arabic Printed Books, Vol. Ill (Indexes). 



The proceeds of sales, including volumes of the new edition of the 

 General Catalogue, amounted to £9,556 (£8,566 in 1933). 



The reconstruction of the Northern Galleries has dislocated communi- 

 cations, and in particular has made the King Edward VII Galleries 

 difficult of access, although the construction of a passage from the N.E. 

 Staircase has provided a partial remedy. The long-awaited lift from 

 the Main Entrance Hall to the first floor was not opened until after 1934; 

 it affords sensible relief to visitors to the King Edward Galleries, but 

 until the North Door is again open to the public this portion of the 

 Museum will continue to be somewhat neglected. 



Reconstruction of the N.W. Quadrant of the Iron Library has begun, 

 a work entailing great preparation on the part of the staff in the orderly 

 removal of many thousands of books to new and rather distant quarters. 

 The new quadrant will have six floors instead of three as at present, and 

 all the racks will be fixed, the use of rolling racks being discontinued. 



Temporary Exhibitions. 



The Codex Sinaiticus took pride of place in the Recent Acquisitions 

 Room for the greater part of the year, making with the Codex Alexan- 

 drinus, the early Pentateuch and other Biblical treasures a temporary 

 exhibition of exceptional interest to many visitors. Exhibitions of 

 Oriental paintings and of Oriental colour-prints have been arranged as 



