"Attic of west wing," Jrom United States National 

 Museum Bulletin 80 (1913). The specimens on view 

 are sponges — specimens i)i alcohol to the left and dried 



went to the field the following summer, Wetmore had 

 the whole wardrobe removed from the premises. 



From time to time materials on display required re- 

 pairing, and the taxidermists, who were called on for 

 this, became fairly skilled at working outside their im- 

 mediate field. It was not until the early 1960s, when 

 the Afiican hall was being constructed, that the an- 

 thropologists faced up to the issue of conservation and 

 opened a laboratory for that purpose. It soon became 

 apparent that a number of specimens of all kinds were 

 in need of repair. 7 he pianos were just then leaving 

 the building for the Museinn of American History, and 

 they provided a glaring example of the need for con- 

 servation. The result of this new interest was that con- 

 servation became an important concern in both the 

 Museum of American History and the Museum of Nat- 

 ural History, and analytical laboratories were installed. 

 Conservation and restoration, well-established special- 

 ties in the art world, are now significant in the Museum 

 of Natural History as well. 



If collections cause such problems of storage and 

 arrangement and preservation, why do museums go to 

 the trouble they do? Part of the answer, especially from 

 the perspective of Washington, is legal responsibility. 



The Colleclwns 



specimens in three foot-high cases to the right. Evaporation 

 from the alcoholics must have been formidable in the attic. 



The Museum is the national repositorv for natural his- 

 tory objects. In presenting this point, the 1879 law clearly 

 established one fimdamental function or "mission" for 

 the Museum of Natural History: Specimens to which 

 the government has title are to be retained. Once a 

 specimen has been accessioned by the Museum into the 

 collection, it is a laborious formal procedure to have it 

 deaccessioned and discarded. I he national treasiues 

 are preserved, and will be preserved forever. 



When George Brown Goode spoke of a museum of 

 record, preserving government material was part of 

 what he meant. However, he meant a great deal more 

 that! that, for he recognized the importance of a rep- 

 resentative sample, no tnatter who obtained it. Records 

 are of all kinds and for all piu poses, and it is as im- 

 portant to record where elm trees once were as to find 

 out where they are now. Goode would have been pleased 

 with the uses to which old samples have been put. De- 

 termining mercury levels in old bird feathers and by 

 the thickness of old eggshells is a well known example 

 from the era of environmental awareness. No one can 

 say what novel use might next be made of old Museum 

 material. 



Although the Museum is legally the official keeper 



20 1 



