RETORT OX A VISIT TO SOME EUROPEAN NATURAL 

 HISTORY MUSEUMS 



BY F. C. PAULMIEK 



During the spring of 1902 the writer spent his vacation time in 

 Europe in visiting some of the larger natural history museums. 



At the request of the chairman of the State Museum committee 

 and of the director of the Museum, the following report was pre- 

 pared. It is not intended as representing a study of museums, 

 but merely points out some of the exhibits and methods of dis- 

 play which it would be worth while to copy in the State Museum, 

 and it is also confined more particularly to observations on 

 methods of exhibiting the invertebrates in which the writer is 

 most interested. It is to be regretted that lack of time pre- 

 vented him from visiting some of the smaller local museums. 

 The limited period of his vacation, however, prevented him from 

 doing so, and only the larger museums in Vienna, Prague, Dres- 

 den, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Paris and London were visited. 

 The writer wishes to express his thanks for the courtesies ex- 

 tended to him by the directors and other officers of these 

 museums. They extended to him every facility he desired, and 

 to them much of the success of the trip is due. 



The landing was made at Naples, and there considerable time 

 was spent in examining the famous aquarium at the Stazione 

 Zoologica. 



Vienna. After a trip through the larger cities of Italy, the 

 museum at Vienna was visited. Here, among many interesting 

 exhibits in the magnificent new building, the thing that im- 

 pressed the writer most was the very effective use of back- 

 grounds of various shades in showing off the specimens to 

 the best advantage. Thus, for instance, the majority of the 

 birds are displayed in rooms with maroon walls, and the backs 

 of the cases are of the same color; dried echinoderms are shown 

 on an olive ground, as are the alcoholic invertebrates, which are 

 cemented to black or white glass in square jars. 



Disarticulated skeletons are mounted on black. The general 

 effect is very good; but the halls must be exceptionally well 



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