242 Field Museum or Natural History — Reports, Vol. V. 



material required for this purpose were discussed at meetings with 

 the staff, and the suggestions brought out during these discussions 

 proved most helpful. This Department has adopted the principle of 

 packing, wherever feasible, in the cases and disturbing the material as 

 little as possible. Following is a stimmary of the material packed dtir- 

 ing 19 18 in the Department of Anthropology: 150 exhibition cases, 

 209 crates, 131 boxes, i burlap, and 1,194 carton-boxes. For the 

 packing of pottery and bronze the exhibition-case is regarded as 

 the safest receptacle: the method followed is to use two boards 

 of the dimensions of a shelf and to place one along the front and 

 the other along the back of a case against the glass and above the 

 floor, whereby a box-like container is insvired. The objects are then 

 removed from the shelves, wrapped with corrugated paper, and tightly 

 placed on the bottom of the case; the boards prevent them from coming 

 in contact with the glass. Delicate pottery pieces or fragile clay figures 

 are first packed in carton-boxes stuffed with paper shavings. Halls 

 50, 51 and 56 of the East Annex were closed during the summer, and 

 the material displayed in the exhibition cases and a great amount of 

 storage material were made ready for transportation. In June orders 

 were somewhat modified, and instruction was given to spare exhibition- 

 cases and to proceed with the packing of storage-material. Efforts then 

 turned toward clearing up the West Annex which for a nimiber of years 

 has been the repository of several ten thousands of objects not yet pre- 

 pared for exhibition. These were brought to light, assembled, sorted, 

 and classified to be finally boxed or crated. This material embraces 

 collections from the Philippines, Java, India, Turkey, Egypt, New 

 Guinea, Mexico, and South America. Throughout this work has been 

 done intelligently: exchange and study collections are grouped and 

 packed separately, while all exhibition material is selected and so cut 

 out and arranged that it is in readiness for installation in the new build- 

 ing without delay. Exact records were kept of all cases packed and all 

 crates, boxes, and other packages made. As far as possible, labeling 

 was also continued, the labels being placed with the material to which 

 they belong. In the autumn the embargo on closing exhibition-halls 

 was raised, and accordingly Hall 17, sheltering the Hopi altars and the 

 Hopi home-scene, was broken up. Fifteen large cases were dismantled 

 and their contents packed in nine crates, nine boxes, and four standard 

 cases, while seven altar cases were packed in situ. The Eskimo Hall is 

 now undergoing the same operation, but simultaneously it is planned to 

 raise this interesting collection to a higher standard of exhibition. First 

 installed some twenty years ago, it has long since outgrown its present 

 system of arrangement. Collections have been secured from new 



\ 



I 



