MUSEUM BULLETIN 



OF THE 



Staten Usland Essoctafson of Hrts and Sciences 



EDITED FOR THE PUBLICATION COMMITTEE 

 BY CHARLES LOUIS POLLARD, CU R ATOR- 1 N-CH I EF 



Mo. 42. Published Monthly at New Brighton, N. Y. JANUARY 1912. 



THE NEXT MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION 



Will be held in the assembly hall of the museum, 154 Stuyvesant Place,"; 

 St. George, on Saturday evening', January 20, 1912, at 8:15 o'clock. Mr. George - 

 L. Mitchill, M. E. will give an illustrated lecture on "Tramp currents and their 

 peculiar effects," 



J. Q. ADAMS. 



Acting Secretary 



Within the present month the museum has been greatly enriched by the gift 

 of a notable art collection from Mr. Wallace MaeDonald as a memorial to his 

 mother, the late Mrs. Francis MaeDonald of Stapleton. The collection consists 

 chiefly of Grecian, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian antiquities, with some 

 modern pottery and some miscellaneous objects, including among other articles 

 of interest an early parchment containing a holograph transcription of the Book 

 of Esther; an ancient Hebrew marriage certificate; and two excellent examples 

 of early Italian majolica plaques. The largest and most valuable part of the 

 collection, however, is the pottery, metal ware and glassware of ancient Greece 

 and Rome, embracing an extensive series of vases, bowls, lamps, figurines, etc., 

 representing various periods from the eighth century B. C. to the Roman em- 

 pire. Many of these come from Pompeii. 



The value of the collection has been greatly enhanced for museum purposes 

 by the fact that Dr. Edward Robinson director of the Metropolitan museum of 

 Art, very courteously accepted an invitation of the curator-in-chief to visit our 

 museum, and spent an afternoon examining the articles. For this kindly 

 service we are greatly indebted to Dr. Robinson, who is one of the foremost 

 authorities on Greco- Roman antiquities. His identification of the period and 

 locality to which each piece belongs has made it possible to arrange the collection, 

 for exhibition earlier than was anticipated, although naturally a number of 

 specimens will have to be taken to the Metropolitan Museum for comparison 

 before the full data can be given. The larger part will be ready for exhibition 

 in the archeology room on and after January 15. 



Mr. MaeDonald has also donated a fine series of European corals, shells, 

 paleozoic fossils and minerals, many of which will ultimately be placed in the 

 exhibition series. 



Through the generosity of Mr. William G. Willcox, the assembly hall and 

 trustees' room have been equipped with a suitable linoleum covering for the 

 floors, and all the staircases have been refinished with the natural wood treat- 

 ment 



The January course of children's lectures, which is being given on Friday 

 afternoons by Miss M. D. Lee, of the Children's Museum in Brooklyn, is well 

 attended, and the talks are evidently greatly appreciated. Mr. Cleaves gives 

 the exchange lectures in Brooklyn at 2:30 p. m. on Saturdays. 



Accessions to the museum and library during December were received from 

 the following: Messrs. Benjamin A- Smith, W. E. Snyder, W. T. Davis, J. R. 

 de la Torre Bueno, Charles L. Pollard, C. E. Olsen, J. W. Angell, and Leland 

 Wincapaw. 



Entered as second-class matter in the Postoffice at New Brighton, N. Y., under Act of Congress of July 16, 1894 



