Moving a Museum: The Rothschild Bird Collection (Exhibition)

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Exist Dates

1985 May 24 - 1985 August

Biographical or Historical Note

abstract
Exhibition. Opened May 24, 1985 and closed August 1985. Located in Section 12, Floor 2 in the New York State Roosevelt Memorial (Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda) at the American Museum of Natural History. Moving a Museum: The Rothschild Bird Collection, an Arthur Ross Exhibit of the Month, featured selected specimens from the Rothschild Bird Collection, sold by Lord Walter Rothschild to the American Museum of Natural History in the 1930s, and explained the details of moving the collection from London to New York without mishap.

Summary

Lord Walter Rothschild (1863-1937) began collecting birds at age seven. When he turned 21 his father presented him with a building for the collection on the edge of the family estate in a facility later known as the Tring Museum. He sold his collection of 280,000 bird specimens to the American Museum of Natural History in the 1930s (1).

Moving a Museum: The Rothschild Bird Collection, an Arthur Ross Exhibit of the Month by the Museum's Department of Exhibition and Graphics, featured selected specimens from the Rothschild Bird Collection and explained the details of moving the collection from London to New York without mishap. The exhibition included several rare birds of paradise from New Guinea, birds named after Rothschild, photographs, and copies of books written by Rothschild, including Extinct Birds. The exhibition was in conjunction with the recent publication of the book Dear Lord Rothschild: Birds, Butterflies and History written by Lord Rothschild's niece Miriam Rothschild (1). The remainder of Rothchild's collection was donated to the Tring Museum, now known as the Natural History Museum at Tring.

This is a condensed summary of the exhibition. For additional information, see Sources and/or Related Resources.

Sources

    (1) American Museum of Natural History. Press Release. "Rothschild Bird Collection Highlighted in Special Exhibit." May 8, 1985. Departmental Records, DR 101. American Museum of Natural History Library.

Terms

localDescription
temporary exhibition
localDescription
basic
place
New YorkExternal link
AMNH: Section 12, Floor 2

Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

American Museum of Natural History. Department of Exhibition.
Arthur Ross Exhibit of the Month program was under the purview of the Museum's Department of Exhibition and Graphics
New York State Roosevelt Memorial.
Location of exhibition (Rotunda) 1985 May 24 – 1985 August (1)
Rothschild, Lionel Walter Rothschild
Sold his collection of 280,000 birds specimens to the Museum (1)

Related Resources

American Museum of Natural History. Annual Report. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1984-1985: 4, 52.
American Museum of Natural History Special Collections photographic drawers
Repository: AMNH Special Collections [Color contact sheets of exhibition on view]
American Museum of Natural History press releases, 1933-1990s.
"Rothschild Bird Collection Highlighted in Special Exhibit." May 8, 1985.; "Museum Programs & Exhibitions, July 1985." May 30, 1985.; "Museum Programs & Exhibitions, Six Month Calendar July-December 1985." June 28, 1985.
American Museum of Natural History Special Collections vertical files
Repository: AMNH Special Collections [News articles]
Dear Lord Rothschild : birds, butterflies and history / Miriam Rothschild.
Date of resource: 1983
subjectOf
Moving a Museum: The Rothschild Bird Collection exhibition photographic slides, 1985. American Museum of Natural History Library Special Collections.

Written by: Clare O'Dowd
Last modified: 2018 October 12


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