HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM 



Ward 

 Centennial 

 Collection, 

 $1,896. 



Beginning 

 of Study 

 Collections. 



First Bird 

 Groups and 

 Mammal 

 Groups. 



Elliot 



Collection of 



Humming 



Birds. 



Mearns 



Collection. 



Snowden 

 Howland 

 Collection. 



Bridgman 

 Collection. 



upon the organization of the new Museum, they were presented to the 

 Trustees by Mr. Cooper. The specimen was mounted in the Arsenal 

 and first exhibited in 1883. 



Before the mammals and birds were transferred from the Arsenal 

 to the new building early in 1878, there were many additions, principally 

 the mounted specimen of the extinct great auk, the gift of Mr. Robert 

 L. Stuart in 1870, a collection of birds' nests given by the Smithsonian 

 Institution in 1874, and 11,000 skins of North American birds presented 

 in 1875 by Dr. Daniel G. Elliot. 



After the new building (north wing) was opened, the collection of 

 mammals and birds was constantly enlarged by various gifts. 



Several mounted mammals, among them an elk, a moose, tapir, 

 camel, and an ostrich, which had been exhibited at the Centennial 

 Exhibition in Philadelphia, were purchased 03^ a number of the Trustees 

 and presented to the Museum in 1878. They were considered to be 

 the result of the finest taxidermy of the time, and formed one of the 

 chief attractions to the Museum in the early days. 



The first material for study collections was given by Dr. E. A. 

 Mearns in 1882, consisting of skins and eggs of North American and 

 European birds. 



The gift of Mrs. Robert L. Stuart made possible the series of 37 

 groups showing the nesting habits of our native birds, the first of 

 which were exhibited in 1887. The Museum is also indebted to Mrs. 

 Stuart for the series of groups of the smaller species of mammals found 

 within the vicinity of New York. 



A valuable collection of humming birds, numbering 2,000 speci- 

 mens and representing 400 species, was the gift of Dr. Daniel G. Elliot 

 in 1887. That same year Dr. E. A. Mearns presented 2,235 specimens 

 of birds collected in Arizona. 



The Snowden Howland Collection of eggs of North American 

 Birds, numbering 3,000, was the gift of Mr. Clarence King in 1889. 



Another collection received in 1889 was that of a number of mam- 

 mals and birds and a small collection of eggs and nests from South 

 Africa, collected by Dr. B. N. Bridgman and presented by Mr. D. 



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