The First Smithsonian Guidebook
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Article discusses the first Visitor's Guide to the Smithsonian Institution. Authored by William J. Rhees, "An Account of the Smithsonian Institution, its Founder, Building, Operations, Etc.," was first published in 1857. The guide gave a biography of founder James Smithson, described Institution operations in the library, lecture hall, sculpture and picture galleries and laboratories, and led the reader on a "tour" of the building, complete with woodcut prints of various rooms. Collections were transferred and installed in the building within the next few years to create the National Museum. At the suggestion of the museum's first "keeper," John Varden, Rhees included a detailed guide to the new National Museum's exhibits in the 1859 edition.
Smithsonian Institution History Bibliography
Article includes a photograph of the Museum Hall in 1867.
Smithsonian Preservation Quarterly (Newsletter)
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Fall 1993
p. 2