Cabinet or museum in Burgess Hall

Description:	This black and white photograph shows Butler Universitys cabinet or museum when it was located on the third floor of Burgess Hall. The collection was relocated from the Main Building in 1894. These items moved around campus as the collection grew and as new spaces were made available. The academic bulletin for 1893-1894 mentions the museums collection contained materials for use in the study of mineralogy, geology, and zoology, including additions provided by science professor Henry L. Bruner. In regards to this room, the bulletin states Provision has been made for moving the museum from the main building to Burgess Hall. A large room on the third floor has been prepared for it, and a number of new cases have been built. These will furnish better accommodations for present collections and room for the new materials. It is hoped that friends will assist in enlarging the collections of the University. During the eighteenth century in the United States, people became interested in studying natural history and they began collecting specimens such as shells, butterflies, flowers, animal skins, fossils, and other natural objects. Individuals often displayed their collections in drawers or on shelves that were referred to as cabinets. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, college faculty started to bring their collections to the schools where they worked and some faculty even began using pieces of these collections in the classroom. Additionally, alumni began sending items to their alma maters, increasing the sizes of school collections. Around this time, the terms cabinet, collection, and museum began to be used interchangeably. During the nineteenth century, there was an increased desire to learn natural history in the United States and both schools and individuals worked to further increase their collections and some of the school collections developed into museums that still exist today. An early mention of Butler Universitys cabinet is in the academic bulletin for 1856-1857. The only materials included were gifts from the late Dr. Van Tuyl of Dayton, Ohio. By the time the 1875-1876 academic bulletin was published, the size and variety of the Universitys cabinet had increased exponentially as items were both donated to and purchased by the University. The bulletin noted that many of these items were obtained and collected by the schools Professor of Natural History, David Starr Jordan, who taught at the University from 1875 until 1879. At this time, the cabinet included shells, minerals, fossils, fish preserved in alcohol, marine animals, reptiles, bird and mammal skins, insects, beetles, butterflies, moths, and a small herbarium. The academic bulletin for 1878-1879 even mentions a collecting expedition led by Jordan that was taken during the summer of 1878. Consisting of 16 people, including three women, this group walked over 400 miles through several states, including Kentucky, Georgia, and North Carolina, while collecting items. The Universitys collections were not limited to natural objects as alumni and missionaries donated materials obtained during their work and travels. For example, Butlers academic bulletin for 1893-1894 mentions the addition of clothing, animal skins, and material objects from Japan, which were donated by the missionary C. E. Garst.
Source:	http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BldgsGrnds/id/305
Collection:	Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Copyright:	In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Geography:	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 39.765451, -86.080442 39.765451 -86.080442
Subjects:	Butler University--Museums College museums Natural history museums Birds--Collection and preservation Fossils--Collection and preservation Geological specimens--Collection and preservation Biological specimens--Collection and preservation Zoological specimens--Collection and preservation Fishes--Collection and preservation Butler University--Buildings Butler College--Buildings College buildings Jordan, David Starr, 1851-1931 North Western Christian University (Indianapolis, Ind.)--History Butler College--History Butler University--History Irvington (Indianapolis, Ind.)--History Bruner, Henry Lane, 1861-1945 Cabinets Burgess Hall Science Hall Irvington campus

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