| OCR Text |
Show ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT XXXI of the year the preparation of illustrations was conducted under the able supervision of Mr DeLancey W. Gill, of the United States Geological Survey, through the courtesy of Honorable Charles D. Walcott, Director of that bureau. During the year about 75 negatives and 610 photographic prints were made for purposes of illustration and exchange. The preservation, and cataloguing of the Bureau's negatives have continued with the aid of Mr Henry Walther. PROPERTY The property of the Bureau of American Ethnology is, with the exception of two or three items, small in amount and value. By far the most important and valuable property in the custody of the Bureau is the collection of manuscript records, representing a considerable part of the work of the collaborators and the contributions of correspondents during the last twenty years, as well as the collection originally acquired from the Smithsonian Institution. The greater part of the manuscripts are linguistic, and these are not in condition for publication, though invaluable for purposes of study and comparison. The entire collection, embracing more than 2,000 titles, is catalogued and arranged in fireproof vaults in the offices of the Bureau. A strict custody is maintained, under the immediate supervision of the director. A related class of property comprises photographs of Indian subjects. So far as is practicable, these are represented by original negatives with a systematic series of prints. The collection comprises about 5,000 negatives, with about 3,000 prints, including 800 prints from negatives which are not in the possession of the Bureau. The collection is in constant use in connection with the preparation of illustrations for the reports; its custody is vested in the illustrator of the Bureau. Among the minor items the most important is the library, of 7,894 volumes and over 5,000 pamphlets, with plain wooden cases sufficient to accommodate them. The greater part of the library represents the product of exchange, and in addition there is a fair collection of books of reference and standard works on ethnologic subjects obtained by purchase. The library is in immediate charge of Mr F. W. Hodge |
