Exist Dates
1922 - 1952
Biographical or Historical Note
- abstract
- Permanent exhibition. Opened approximately 1922-1923 and closed approximately 1950-1952. Located on Floor 4, Section 2a. Horse
Under Domestication (Hall) at the American Museum of Natural History explored the evolutionary modifications and adaptations
of horses due to domestication by man (1, 1922, p. 119). The curator was S.H. Chubb of the Department of Comparative Anatomy,
who also mounted many of the skeletons (2, 1925, p. 67).
Installed in the space formerly occupied by the Gem Hall, Horse Under Domestication exhibited skeletons of both wild and domestic
horses to illustrate changes brought about by domestication. Other exhibits showed the structure of the skull and teeth and
changes due to aging (1, 1922, p. 119; 1, 1926, p. 39). The hall featured mounts of a rearing horse and a man controlling
the horse in order to compare the similarities in the skeletal structure (1, 1923, p. 117). Other mounts included those of
famous horses such as Lee Axworthy, Sysonby, and Nimr. A bronze model of Lee Axworthy by Armory Simons was also on exhibit
and other animal skeletons served for comparison, such as the Russian wolfhound (2, 1924, p. 105-106; 1, 1923, p. 117; 1,
1934, p. 127).
Sources
(1) General Guide to the Exhibition Halls of the American Museum of Natural History. New York: American Museum of Natural
History, 1922-1934.
(2) American Museum of Natural History. Annual Reports. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1924-1925.
Information for the hall appears in the following Museum publications:
American Museum of Natural History Annual Reports for years 1924 (page 105); 1925 (page 67); 1939 (page
9)
American Museum of Natural History General Guides for years 1922 (page 118); 1923 (page 117); 1926 (page 39); 1927 (page 39);
1928 (Table of Contents, page 104); 1929 (page 122); 1930 (Table of Contents, page 104); 1931 (page 122); 1932 (page 122);
1933 (page 124); 1934 (Table of Contents, page 127); 1935 (Table of Contents, page 127); 1936 (Table of Contents, page 127);
1939 (page 48); 1943 (page 48); 1945 (page 48); 1947 (page 48); 1949 (page 48)
Terms
- place
- New York
AMNH: Floor 4, Section 2a.
Additional location information: Floor 4, Section WC. From 1922 the hall was located in the West Corridor on the fourth floor;
Floor 4, Section 2a. From 1939.