246 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 
bath tubs were unknown (except the uncomfortable 
British dish-pan variety), and a hundred other things, 
had trained his native ability to a point where it had 
made him expert. He designed the format of publica- 
tions and printed documents of the Smithsonian, so that 
two of the octavos were of exactly the same area, laid 
flat, as one quarto; saving a vast deal of trouble in packing 
for transportation. His plan of having cases, drawers 
and trays multiples of the smaller units, with interchange- 
able parts, is now adopted by every well conducted 
museum, but was novel when he started it. The first 
National Museum building is built on a system of units 
coinciding with the standard half-unit case of the Museum, 
so that in any alcove, or between any pair of windows, 
one or more half cases will exactly fit. The economy of 
space thus gained is of serious importance. His person- 
ally designed pamphlet cases and file cases have never 
been bettered, and are to this day sold by a Philadelphia 
firm under their own name. 
In numberless ways conducing to efficiency and econ- 
omy this talent was exercised. In what is recognized as 
“artistic taste” he was less insistent. That an article 
should fulfil its purpose with efficiency and economy and 
without obtrusive characteristics, was enough for him. 
After all, is not this the basis of all true art? In a museum 
where the fixtures are for the purpose of preserving and 
exhibiting collections, the cases should not attract atten- 
tion from their contents, nor a frame from the picture 
it surrounds. 
Professor Henry was, by necessity, a stern economist 
in his administration of the Smithsonian funds, and 
Baird was well trained by him. In Baird’s pupil and 
successor in the post of Assistant Secretary, Professor 
