REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF ETHNOLOGY 

 IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1890. 



By Otis T. Mason, Curator. 



The first three months of the fiscal year were spent in studying 

 anthropological collections in Europe, and especially at the Paris 

 Exposition, during the sessions of the Tenth International Congress of 

 Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology. 



In the British Museum a large amount of new space has been added 

 to the Department of Ethnology by the removal of the Natural His- 

 tory Department to South Kensington. The method of installation 

 is ethnographic, or, more properly, topographic. It is not possible 

 here to enlarge upon the richness of this material. The method of 

 cataloguing is worthy of imitation. Each specimen is accompanied 

 by a large-sized catalogue card, which bears, in addition to ample de- 

 scription and identification, a good drawing. Mr. C. H. Reede, the 

 assistant keeper, is preparing a new edition of "Notes and Queries for 

 Anthropological Observers," to be published by the British Association 

 for the Advancement of Science. This little manual is put into the 

 hands of travelers, missionaries, and government officials who journey 

 in foreign parts. The first edition elicited much material and informa- 

 tion for the British museums. My stay at the College of Surgeons 

 was brief. The removal of Professor Flower to South Kensington 

 and the absence of Dr. Garson from the city deprived me here 

 of that intelligent guidance which reveals the genius of a museum. 

 At South Kensington, as is well known, the arrangement of material 

 is topical in its primary concept, the whole being officially connected 

 with the English system of technical instruction. As soon as an idea, 

 a series of objects belonging to a class or to a country, or to both, is 

 sufficiently worked out, the material is placed on exhibition in excellent 

 shape, and a hand-book catalogue is prepared. This system is worthy 

 of imitation, and many of its features already appear in the U. S. 

 National Museum. 



The unit system of interchangeable tablets, trays, boxes, sliding 

 drawers, and screens is the perfection of installation. In carrying out 

 its plan theKensingston Museum does not scruple to use copies and pic- 

 tures of type forms which are not procurable, and large series of elec- 



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