The Rarest of the Rare: Stories behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.THE RAREST OF THE RARE: Stories behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History The Harvard Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The museum comprises three parts:
Mark Sloan Most people are probably more familiar with the natural history collections in museums in Washington, D.C., and New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , but the Harvard Museum of Natural History holds some of the oldest U.S. specimens of animals, plants, and minerals* Pick profiles seventy-some items that make up a small but noteworthy segment of the massive Harvard collection. Some of these objects are normally shrouded shroud n. 1. A cloth used to wrap a body for burial; a winding sheet. 2. Something that conceals, protects, or screens: under a shroud of fog. 3. a. from public display. Pick's choices from the museum include the stuffed bird remaining from the Lewis and Clark expedition Lewis and Clark expedition, 1803–6, U.S. expedition that explored the territory of the Louisiana Purchase and the country beyond as far as the Pacific Ocean. , a sand dollar collected by Charles Darwin during his voyage on the Beagle, and a 35-million-year-old butterfly. Stunning color photos accompany a detailed explanation of what each item is and how it came to be in Harvard's possession. An eloquent introduction by biologist E.O. Wilson explores the importance of depositories such as this one and the shifting trends in natural history in general. HarpC, 2004, 178 p., color photos, hardcover, $22.95. |
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