The Brothers Brimley 7 



blending of survey collections with those assembled by Commissioner 

 Polk. By 1900, according to Curator Brimley 's report for that year, the 

 museum had accumulated "more than 100,000 specimens illustrative of 

 North Carolina . . . ." Although many of the materials obviously provided 

 data on the natural history of the state, there were at that time no collec- 

 tions maintained for purely scientific purposes. In this same report, 

 however, H.H. provided a portent of things to come, saying, "The 

 Zoological Department will be extended until the collections embrace 

 specimens of all the animal life native to the State." And, "Attention will 

 also be given to the flora of the State, and collections begun in that line. 

 This feature is at present unrepresented in the Museum." From the time 

 of this committment the museum moved steadily forward in most areas of 

 natural history. The old "National Hotel" was demolished in 1922 to 

 make way for a modern agriculture building, and the enlarged museum 

 reopened there in 1925. 



H.H. Brimley continued to publish occasional zoological papers almost 

 until his death and received the singular honor in 1934 of being elected to 

 full membership in the American Ornithologists' Union, joining a select 

 assemblage of 150 of the nation's top students of birds. He was the only 

 North Carolinian to enjoy this privilege for quite a long time. 

 Nevertheless, his major talents were in areas other than technical 

 reporting. His reputation as a preparator of specimens and exhibits 

 climbed rapidly after he became curator of the State Museum. Among his 

 many accomplishments, assisted by various co-workers, were the model- 

 ing of a giant Ocean sunfish which weighed 1200 pounds and was seven 

 feet long and eight feet high; articulating and mounting the skeleton of a 

 54-foot Sperm whale estimated to weigh more than 50-tons in the flesh; 

 modeling a 17-foot Beaked whale and its fetus; modeling parts of a 35- 

 foot Whale shark, and whole modeling a 14-foot Basking shark and a 

 large Nurse shark; mounting and partially restoring the skeletal elements 

 of a mammoth; and mounting hundreds of other animals used in show- 

 case exhibits which he planned and prepared. He published a number of 

 papers on his methods and techniques and presented talks on the same 

 subjects at professional meetings. One such presentation, describing 

 methods of obtaining, preparing, and mounting whale skeletons, was 

 made at the 1929 meetings of the American Association of Museums and 

 published in The Museum Tears for November 1930. He was a lifelong 

 member of the AAS and seldom missed its annual meetings, often at- 

 tending at his own expense. He also belonged to the Museums' Associa- 

 tion of Great Britain. 



Throughout his life, even into old age, H.H. was an obsessive out- 

 doorsman whose favorite activities included hunting and fishing, to which 



