November, 1910.] 



458 



Miscellaneous. 



Mayors Stuart and Warwick, and the 

 City Councils, appreciating the value 

 to the city of a Commercial Museum, 

 entered heartily into the development 

 of the institution, which was organised 

 under the presidency of Dr. William Pep- 

 per, who earnestly supported the under- 

 taking from its very inception until his 

 untimely death. Many foreign govern- 

 ments became actively interested, and 

 have amplified their collections as oppor- 

 tunity offered. Much of the material 

 was sent from the Paris Exhibition in 

 1901, and the Louisiana Purchase Exposi- 

 tion in 1904. Prom exhibitions in 

 Central America, as well as from far 

 away Tongking, other collections were 

 obtained. 



As a matter of course the Museum's 

 exhibits, located in the main buildings, 

 command the most interest through the 

 information they convey in a direct 

 manner. Covering the commercial mater- 

 ials of the world, the imports and ex- 

 ports and the manners and customs of 

 many countries, the main purpose of the 

 exhibit is to portray in vivid fashion the 

 products and people of foreign lands. 

 The installation and arrangements of 

 the exhibits have been done with an eye 

 singly to the best results from the stand- 

 point of the observer. Many of the 

 groups can find their counterpart no- 

 where else. In the case of the semi-civil- 

 ised peoples, no small degree of artistic 

 taste has entered into the scheme of dis- 

 play. The daily life of the people, their 

 peculiar habits, their dress, cooking, 

 agricultural and manufacturing imple- 

 ments, are arranged in classified array 

 and are most attractive to the visitor, 

 apart from what he can learn touching 

 economics. 



That the Philippine exhibit is one 

 of special interest and completeness 

 is due largely to the fact that Dr. Wilson, 

 as Chairman of the Philippine Govern- 

 ment Board which made the Philippine 

 Exhibition to the St. Louis Exposition, 

 was enabled to bring these valuable 

 collections to the Commercial Museum 

 at the end of the exhibition. 



This great exhibition includes a full 

 series of all grades of Manila hemp, the 

 most important commercial product 

 of the Islands, shown in hanks and in 

 commercial bales. Rice, sugar, piha, 

 tobacco, bamboo, rubber, tropical cabinet 

 woods, ores, coal, and other natural 

 products are shown in great variety 

 as well as life-sized figures of civilised 

 and savage people, clothing tools, weap- 

 ons, musical instruments, pottery, 

 baskets, houses and a variety of other 

 exhibits which illustrate the people of 

 the Philippines. 



The Chinese and Japanese depart- 

 ments reveal a mass of material de- 

 picting modes of living in the Orient, 

 Here is shown the life-sized figure 

 of a Chinese scholar seated in his 

 study ; in another case a woman of the 

 same nationality is engaged at the silk 

 reel. Numerous huts and odd-appearing 

 dwelling houses have been produced in 

 either natural size or miniature where 

 the purpose, perhaps, has been to show 

 an entire settlement, such as the Siberian 

 display, for instance. 



The collections from China, Japan and 

 Formosa are among the largest and most 

 comprehensive permanent installations 

 to be found from those countries, and 

 comprise the full range of their natural 

 produces which enter so largely into the 

 commerce and daily consumption of the 

 world. Some of the leading industries 

 of those countries, particularly the tea, 

 silk, and rice industries, are fully dis- 

 played in serial exhibits, and the most 

 characteristic arts are represented by 

 typical examples ; such as fine porcelain, 

 metal work, lacquer, and cloieonne. 



No such collection of African materials 

 exists in any other museum in the world. 

 Separate sections are devoted to Egypt, 

 Algeria, Tunis, Morocco, Somaliland, the 

 French West African Colonies (Senegal, 

 Soudan, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Dahomey, 

 and French Congo), Liberia, Congo, 

 German East Africa and the English 

 Colonies of South Africa. 



These collections are rich in samples 

 of rubber, palm oil, palm nuts, peanuts, 

 Senegal gum, coffee, cottons, wools, and 

 other raw products. Scores of cases are 

 filled with a most interesting showing of 

 articles which make plain the life of the 

 native peoples. Idols, musical instru- 

 ments, mats, pottery, weapons, tools, 

 and all sorts of native utensils, show the 

 condition of life on the Dark Continent, 

 Of particular interest is a collection of 

 fetiches once the property of the King 

 of Dahomey, affording to the student a 

 startling view of the crystalisation in 

 modern Africa of belief and ritual 

 handed down from the civilisation of the 

 ancient world. Typical important trade 

 goods from Europe indicate the taste of 

 the people and show American exporters 

 what is saleable in a great market com- 

 prising millions of human beings who at 

 present know no American goods but 

 coarse muslin. 



The cotton textiles made by the natives 

 themselves are often interesting and 

 attractive in design and excellent in 

 quality, Accompanying village series of 

 these is a showing of goods made in 

 England and Germany in imitation of 



