Images of various artifacts and specimens in the United States National Museum's collections, including George Washington's uniform and camp chest; the Franklin Press; Samuel P. Langley, third Secretary of the Smithsonian, supervising the installation of the Easter Island stone figures; zoological, ornithological, entomological, and botanical specimens; exhibits relating to animals and Native Americans; the Daguerre Monument sculpted by J. Scott Hartley; and a model of the National Zoological Park modeled under Langley.
The United States National Museum building (later renamed Arts and Industries) opened to the public in 1881. It held displays of anthropology, art, geology, history, and natural history, while a few of the exhibits (birds, invertebrates and art) remained in the original Smithsonian "Castle." In 1911, the Smithsonian opened a new building (now the National Museum of Natural History Building), which held anthropology, art and natural history collections.
Nitrate negatives are in cold storage and require advanced notice for viewing.
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Photo Lot 99-41, Photographs of United States National Museum collections, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Items depicted in this collection held in the National Museum of Natural History and National Museum of American History collections.
Additional photographs of US National Museum collections held in the Smithsonian Institution Archives and the National Anthropological Archives (Photo Lot 4).