American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

Moving a Museum: The Rothschild Bird Collection (Exhibition)
birth: 1985 May 24
death: 1985 August
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.