The Development of the Diorama in the Museums of the United States

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LD39C7 .23 Cypher, Irene Fletcher, 19051942 ” The development of the diorama in ,C9 the museums of the United States... New York, 1942. v,215 typewritten leaves, fold.tables, forms. 29cm. Thesis (rh.D.) - New York university, School of education, 1942. Bibliography: p.170-189. !

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A3 Iu/

Thesis acc
Table I, for a complete report based on the findings of this investigator*s research, investigations, and visits, and showing the museums which utilize the diorama today.

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The Diorama For Exhibit Purposes In Museum. Halls Although the general ways in which dioramas have been used by museums may be said to fall into the same general classifications, nevertheless each museum has made certain adaptations in installing di­ oramas in the exhibit halls. The San Diego Museum of Natural History The san Diego Museum of Natural History has a series of nat­ ural history dioramas which they call "round-back cases".

In this in­

stance the small case was utilized because of the item of cost. To make a showing in spite of a lack of funds, the San Diego Natural History Museum, upon its establishment a few years ago (1925), devised these round-backed cases.

This inexpensive way of exhibiting groups made it

possible for the museum to arrange displays that would attract visitors and cause favorable comments.

Clinton G. Abbott, Director of the mu­

seum explained to the investigator that the small cost of the cases and their portability also suggested the plan of temporarily lending both case and contents to the person or firm contributing funds for the par­ ticular unit? Each round-back case is a complete exhibit, air-tight, light, portable, and the individual cases can be displayed either as units or in series. This latter arrangement has been found particular­ ly effective where the cases form a continuous gallery of miniature habitat groups.

The credit for devising this particular form of cheap,

but effective, display belongs to William Gillette, preparator on the

8~.

Personal Interview, August 8, 1941•

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9

museum staff at that time*

These cases originally had no artificial

lighting. Abbott explained to the investigator that this was due to the fact that the entire museum had been so constructed and the large windows so placed, as to permit full vise of the brilliant California sunshine, and therefore no artificial lighting had been used. seum has lately installed railings in front of its groups.

The mu­

A slight

pressure of the hand on these railings causes concealed electric wires which are connected with the groups to illuminate them. This method of lighting is economical, as the lights are not connected continuously, but may be used as needed or when the observer wishes to see the group illuminated. The Los Angeles Museum of Natural History The Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art has an ex­ cellent series of dioramas executed and prepared under the direction of Arthur Woodward.

These are purely historical dioramas and deal with the

history and acquisition of California, and the life of the Indians of that section. Mr. Woodward emphasized the point that movement of any type was out of place in a diorama, and also stressed emphatically the fact that every costume, house, figure or other detail shown should have

10

been absolutely verified by careful research.

He also stated that he

would like at some future date to intersperse groups of modeled figures, about eighteen inches in height between the dioramas. In this way the

9l 10.

C. G. Abbott, Small Groups at Small Cost, American Association of Museums, Mew Series No. 3 (1927), P« 9. Personal interview, August 11, 1941.

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visitor would be able to get a better view of the type of people shown in smaller scale in the diorama itself.

It would also be possible to

make more detailed replicas of types of clothing, arms and armor, and other personal accessories.

The student using such a combination of

exhibits would have an excellent historical guide before him, and such exhibits have infinite teaching possibilities. The Southwest Museum The Southwest Museum in Los Angeles has exhibited its dior­ amas in a rather unique manner. The museum itself is located on arocky hilltop and the main approach to it is by means of a tunnel driven hor­ izontally into the rocky hill at street level and connected with a ver­ tical shaft equipped with an elevator for transporting visitors up to the museum.

The tunnel is two hundred and sixty feet long and the

shaft measures one hundred and eight feet vertically. About 1920,a series of dioramas illustrating American Indian life was installed in this tunnel. These dioramas are the work of Elizabeth Mason, L. A. Ramsey, Marguerite Tew and Adelaide Chamberlin.

In a new hall designed

especially to house the Louise Poole collection of Indian basketry,the museum is now in the process of installing a series of dioramas made by Elizabeth Mason to show the life and methods of work of the different basket making tribes.

The dioramas are interspersed between the wall

cases containing the collections of baskets, and are illuminatedwith fluorescent lights. When the design for the hall was laid out this ar­ rangement wqs deliberately planned, and we thus have an example of a modern museum hall designed and constructed so as to provide for diorama

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exhibits. The result is pleasing to the eye of the visitor, and is also helpful to the student, for the dioramas help reconstruct scenes showing how the various tribes lived and used the baskets shown in the museum collection.^ The Illinois State Museum The Illinois State Museum in Springfield, Illinois, has ac­ complished some fine results with dioramas. One particular series of six by Bartlett Frost is temporarily displayed in their main hall, and shows vital incidents connected with the history of the State of Illinois. Several of these present scenes of Indian and frontier life, and one rep­ resents the Lincoln-Douglas debate held at Quincy, Illinois, in 1858. The scale of these dioramas is one and one-half inches to the foot, but this museum has also worked with another smaller diorama which is des­ ignated the "window-sill diorama", and which will be discussed under loan collections. The New Bigland Museum of natural History The New Sigland Museum of Natural History in Boston has not only utilized habitat group and diorama, but has combined the two to form the "Dissolving Habitat Groups".

In this case two small habitat groups

or dioramas showing a group of weasels in summer and in winter, were pre­ pared for the museum by the James L. Clark Studios of New York. The Dual Display Company of Iyndhurst, New Jersey, then constructed a case which combined the two small groups in one large case described as follows: II.'

Personal interview with Dr. Frederick W. Hodge, Director, and Miss Frances E. Watkins, on August 12, 1941, supplied the above data.

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The dissolving effect is achieved by the use of a sheet of Belgian black glas§ 30 by 25 inches, mounted...at an angle of 45° to the front window. One group is placed right side up in a compartment directly behind this glass. It is lit from above and viewed directly through the black glass, which is flawlessly transparent under these lighting condi­ tions.... The second group is installed at an angle of 90° to the first one, and directly above the sheet of black glass. It is lit like the other unit by a battery of lights operating through a double-dissolving rheostat worked by a tiny, noisless, electric motor....There is then a 5 second dissolve. As the lights in the upper group fade on, the black glass becomes utterly opaque. It is thus transformed into a perfect mirror, showing the upper group in complete coincidence in every detail with the lower group which has just faded out. The visitor standing in front of the dissolving habitat group operates it by simply pressing a small lever on the railing in front of It, and the entire period of change lasts for about fifteen seconds. The idea for this type of group was suggested in 1939 by John Patterson, a preparator in the museum. The Museum of the City of New York The exhibits in the Museum of the City of New York when it opened the doors of its new building in 1931>were all brought together around the focal point of the development of and events connected with, the history of New York City. The historical diorama was found to be a dmirably

suited to this purpose. When the final plans were carried out

the first floor of the museum was so arranged that dioramas and collec­ tions of prints and historical documents were alternated. The miniature

12.

B. Washburn, The Dissolving Habitat Group (Pamphlet printed by New Bagland Museum of Natural History), unpaged.

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group forms the center of interest for the visitor. As he walks down the length of the gallery each group is discovered with fresh interest. It is the constant change from group to print, document, and relic which keeps his interest alive. Besides the groups made by Dwight Franklin for this museum, a number were made by Ned J. Burns, and it is interest­ ing to note the careful attention to detail and craftsmanship put into the work. The American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History in New York City, util­ ized some of the dioramas made for its department of anthropology to amplify specimens exhibited in the collections of Indian material. These groups deal with a number of subjects from the Sun Dance Group, made in 1924, by Ned J. Burns, to the Yuchi Indian method of skin dressing, made in April 1940, by Ushinomoto Narahara. The dioramas are not all the same size, several of the larger ones being displayed in cases of their own, and several of the small ones being set into large standing cases which also contain articles of clothing, household implements, and other artifacts.

This latter arrangement makes an excellent teaching unit, and

the dioramas depict such subjects as maple sugar making, aboriginal uses of birchbark, Indian methods of transportation, and Indian ceremonial dances. The Buffalo Museum of Science The Buffalo Museum of science first started to exhibit material by means of dioramas in 1927, and since that time has utilized this medium

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in a number of subject fields.

The Indian series depicting Iroquois

Indian life along the Niagara frontier is well executed, and is also an example of emphasizing subject matter of importance to the community or area in which a museum is situated. ?3hen the Spaulding Hall of Conservation was opened on January 10, 1939> two dioramas were included among the exhibits, to show the immediate and eventful aftermath of a careless picnic.

This should serve as a suggestion to other museums

interested in furthering projects devoted to conservation and the pres­ ervation of natural resources. The Philadelphia Commercial Museum The Philadelphia Commercial Museum has a number of well-made dioramas among its exhibits.

One of the most interesting to a student

of arts and crafts is a series of six showing the manufacture of pottery at the Lenox factory in Trenton, New Jersey. They were made by C. Isabel Campbell, and the figures are approximately four inches in height.

All

the stages from the handling of the rude clay to the production of fin­ ished chinaware are shown. Dioramas of this type illustrate the possib­ ilities of portraying contemporary life and crafts in such a way as to make a permanent record that will be of value to students of a future date. The Milwaukee Public Museum Anyone interested in the development of both the habitat group and the diorama can spend many an hour in the Milwaukee Public Museum, for practically every stage of development is to be seen there, and the

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many types of cases used from time to time. One can find Akeley's first muskrat group, as well as examples of the most modern dioramas illuminated by fluorescent lighting.

The director, Ira Edwards, has

commented on their policy as follows: I should say, therefore, that the first great foe of public interest in a public museum is monotony in its exhibits. Such monotony can be avoided by a policy which tends to break up the similarity of the cases and the types of ex­ hibits contained therein. Every effort must be made to vary the color of the rooms, the method of display, the type of labeling, and the size and variety of the specimens them­ selves. The addition of drawings, paintings, colored trans­ parencies, and groups or dioramas greatly assists in this explanation and in this attraction. It must always be re­ membered that the museum is interested primarily in selling a service and is just as truly engaged in merchandizing as any owner of a store.13 In a personal interview with the investigator on August 23, 1941, Mr. Edwards stressed the fact that every attempt was being made to make the museum material as effective and as useful to the public as possible; collections were being rearranged and fluorescent lighting was being in­ stalled in a number of rooms and cases. The dioramas in this museum cover a variety of subjects, one of the best being a set which reveals the story of the growth of that particular community.

Inasmuch as this

museum also contains some of the first life-size casts of figures used in museum groups, an opportunity is afforded to see the role filled by both life-size and miniature groups in museum methods of display.

It

would seem that this museum would perform a service to those interested

13.

I. Edwards, The New Public Museum From a Director* s Viewpoint, Museum News (September 1, 1940), p. 10.

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in exhibit technique if it could be prevailed upon to set up an exhibit showing the types of cases and methods used throughout the development of this phase of museum exhibition technique. Much of the current interest in community development and history which is so pronounced today, is reflected in the subject mat­ ter of these dioramas exhibited in the museums. As already mentioned, the Museum of the City of New York and the Milwaukee Public Museum have series devoted to the development of their particular communities. The Chicago Historical Society has a series dealing with typical episodes and changing appearances of that city. The Texas Memorial Museum at Austin, Texas, in their history exhibits, includes thirteen dioramas illustrating events in Texas' history. The Valentine Museum in Richmond, Virginia, installed a series which they called "Virginia in 1607", made by R. N. S. Whitelaw, representing "The English Exploring the James River", and "The English Arriving at Jamestown". The Diorama As Part Of Circulating Collections Sent Out By The Museums From the day when the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences first prepared travelling collections to send out as loans to the schools of that city in 1879, this phase of work has been of great importance to a number of museums in the United States in their educational programs.

It

is furthermore, the field in which the most extensive use has been made of the diorama in actual work with school classes. The size and portabil­ ity of the diorama have combined to make it a valuable feature in museum circulating collections. One also finds in this field the greatest

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variety of types of dioramas being used, with respect to material shown, size of cases used, and actual physical make-up of the dioramas them­ selves. At first these loan collections were merely small specimens and objects brought together in some sequence or plan designed to serve as aids to help a teacher in some particular subject field, such as geology, archaeology, or mineralogy.

The idea apparently was adopted

from ”a scheme of perambulating ’School Loan Collections' of objects of natural history”, found in some of the cities of Europe.*^ Gradually the museums began to add mounted specimens in cases to these collections, and then a flat painted background was added, making them miniature habi­ tat cases. The Buffalo Museum of Science first organized its circulating collections in 1879.

It was followed by the Milwaukee Public Museum in

1886, The Carnegie Museum in 1900, the American Museum of Natural History in 1904, the Philadelphia Commercial Museum in 1906, the Chicago Academy of sciences in 1909, the Field Museum in 1911 and the Charlestown Museum in 1912. Today, practically every museum in the country which has a definite program of educational work with schools, also circulates col­ lections of one type or another to the schools to assist the teacher in her actual classroom teaching situations. As mentioned above, these collections were at first mainly con­ fined in subject matter to natural history. The Charlestown, South

I4I

Milwaukee Public Museum, Fourth Annual Report, October 1, 1886.

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Carolina, Museum was among the first to include other subject matter in their collections (about 1924) as a result of the work of Laura M. Bragg. It has been said of her work, A new method of presentation was used in many of these exhibits. The wculture exhibits” dealing with life and activities in Holland, Egypt, or among the Cherokees, for instance, each de­ picted a scene from the everyday life of those people, the data being historically accurate and the whole presented in a stageset form by an artist of the museum staff. Painted cardboard figures were securely fastened into an accurate representation of the surroundings with a curved painted background, for in­ stance, Indian Fur Traders at a Hudson* s Bay Company Trading Post. In a small compartment below the scene were placed speci­ mens and objects such as small samples of different furs 1c. fastened to a removable base to permit handling by the chidrdlr. In these sets one sees a distinct resemblance to the juvenile or toy theaters mentioned in an earlier chapter. Both utilized cardboard figures, set in grooves, with painted backgrounds.

This type of diorama

is being made and used by a number of museums and schools today.

It has

the advantage of being light, the figures are easier to make than the wax or clay modeled figures, and it can be more quickly constructed than can the more elaborately designed dioramas. To this investigator however, the desired illusion of reality which is conveyed by the use of modeled^ rounded figures, is lacking when the flat cardboard figures are used.

They seem to retain many of

the characteristics of their toy theatrical heritage, particularly when the background against which they are set is flat, or box-shaped.

If

an evaluation of the teaching possibilities of the diorama were under-

13*

G. F* Ramsey, Educational Work In Museums of the United States, p. 169.

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taken, this investigator would exclude this type of group, for the afore­ mentioned reasons.

It has its place as an objective teaching aid, and

part of its value lies in the fact that pupils can more easily make this kind of group in their activity periods than the more elaborate group, in the final analysis however, the curved-backed diorama, with modeled figures is better able toconvey a real story and a more vivid picture.* Another type of

diorama includedin the circulating collections

of museums is that utilized by the Illinois State Museum, and mentioned earlier in this chapter.

It is called by workers there the "window-sill

diorama". As explained by Thorne Deuel, Chief of the Museum, they use the term"window-sill diorama”to distinguish it from the museum1s larger diorama series.

The chief distinction other than size is in the method

of lighting. The top of the window-sill diorama is hinged and may be raised so that daylight will pass into the scene from above and back, and so illuminate it. Of course artificial lights may be used in a similar manner. To use natural lighting the diorama is placed on the window sill and facing the room.

The scale of figures in the window-sill series is

five-eight inches equals one foot,whereas in the museum miniature scenes, the scale is one and one-half inches to the foot.^ The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts maintains an extensive circulating collection. The rearrangement of its collections

*

16.

Groups of this type undoubtedly have a place among the list of available teaching aids, and offer many possibilities for utilization. This investigator however, feels that it is a mis­ use of the term to call them dioramas, and would prefer to see some other designation devised to apply to them. Personal Letter, August 8, 1941.

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was started in 1931 by Laura Bragg, and is now being carried on by the present director, Stuart Henry. Dioramas in the collection cover nat­ ural history, historical and geographical subjects. Also included are some of a type which might be called "civic1* or "community study" groups. These consist of two dioramas in one portable case, and deal with such projects as community betterment, conservation and roadside improvement.

One case in particular which impressed this investigator

showed first a roadside cluttered with blatant sign-boards.

Next to

it was a group which showed the same roadside freed of the offending signboards. Any school group could well utilize dioramas of this type in a number of social studies or community teaching situations. The loan collections of this museum are delivered to the outlying schools of the district by the circulating-library trucks.

This seemed to

provide an efficient correlation of museum and library facilities to help the schools. The Field Museum, in Chicago, through its N. W. Harris Public School Extension department, has sent loan collections to the public schools of Chicago since 1911.

These facilities have been steadily ex­

panded since that date, but the subject matter of the cases has not. They deal mostly with natural history and the sciences, and no anthro­ pological or historical cases have so far been included. John S. 17 Millar, Curator of the Harris Extension department said that he did hope some day to have the cases in consecutive sets or related series.

171

Personal Interview, August 3, 1941.

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In view of the fact that the Field Museum has a splendid life-size series of groups in their Hall of the Stone Age of the Old World, and numerous good miniature groups such as that of the Menangbatau Village in the main exhibit halls, it is to be hoped that some day material of this na­ ture will be included in the circulating collections. The New Jersey State Museum at Trenton in addition to habitat groups, dioramas and models in the exhibit halls themselves, maintains a very extensive circulating collection of educational exhibit cases. These include bird groups, mammal groups and insect cases. The anthro­ pological material, which is excellent, is chiefly devoted to the method of living and ceremonies of the New Jersey Indians.

There is also a

case which is called the "semi-habitatgroup. Semi-habitat groups show 18 the specimens in their natural surroundings but they do not have paint­ ed backgrounds. The American Museum of Natural History started its circulating collections with wooden carrying cases about the size of a large suit case. These were followed by habitat cases of the same type used by the Field Museum - namelg mounted specimens of birds or mammals set against a flat painted background. These cases had explanatory labels inserted in hinged panels on either side of the case. About 1930 the collections were increased by the addition of anthropological and historical groups, and today at least half this collection is composed of such groups. The groups are true dioramas, for the painted background is curved; the fig-

181

Mrs. Kathryn Creywacz, Curator, New Jersey State Museum, Personal Letter, June 27, 1941.

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ures are modeled in wax and clay, and accessories are added; the whole is then set in proper perspective against the background. Artificial lighting is provided by means of electric bulbs installed in the cage itself. The teacher using the diorama is thus able to place it on her desk or table, and use the electric cord provided to plug in to the nearest outlet.

From the very beginning these groups have either been

made by or under the direction of John Orth of the Department of Educa­ tion. The Diorama As Used In Park Or Trailside Museums The diorama is more and more becoming a feature in the park and trailside museums.

From the time the first trailside museum was

opened in Yosemite National Park in 1920 to the present date, these out­ door nature museums and historic site buildings have- been popular with the public. Bumpus says that, Samall museums "trailside” and "shrines*1 located in the field, surrounded by, rather than containing the essential exhibit material, rustic places of study and reference, of record, of interpretation, and providing intelligible information about the phenomina of the immediate neighborhood, or the area as a whole, have already demonstrated their practicality and util­ ity....To provide information at a time and place where it will do the most good is the objective of national and state park museum workers.^-9 The work of the Cleveland Museum of Natural Science is out­ standing in this field. The City of Cleveland has a unique system of municipal parks spread over large areas in several different parts of the city. The nature trail program is part of a cooperative enterprise

19.

H. C. Bumpus, Objectives of Museum Work in National and State Parks, Museum News (June 15, 1937)> P* 7.

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of the Metropolitan Park Board and the Cleveland Museum of Natural Science, with Arthur wil liams of the Museum in charge. On July 4, 1931, the first trailside museum was opened in the North Chagrin Reservation, and since that time a second has been opened and a third is contemplated.

In these trailside museums the staff has

utilized the diorama method of showing the birds and small mammals of the area.

The cases are made to harmonize with the rustic architecture

of the trailside museum buildings, and the backgrounds are enlarged pho­ tographs which have been hand-painted.

The work of preparing the dioramas

was done by Arthur Fuller of the museum staff. The groups seem to be an integral part of the trailside museum, and in speaking of them Arthur Williams said that they had proved of interest to school and student na­ ture groups, and also to the hundreds of adults who utilize the many 20 opportunities available for nature study in their city parks. It is interesting to note Cleveland's use of photographic back­ grounds, in view of what has been said of the photographic backgrounds made by Frank M. Woodruff in 1914 for the Chicago Academy of Sciences; "The photographic background possesses certain advantages over the paint­ ed background. Chief among these is the preservation of local scenery which is disappearing before the advance of civilization...And then again but a Hnia.1l fraction of the amount of detail and perspective could be pro21 duced in a painting that is shown in a photograph".

20. 21.

A» C. Williams, Director, Cleveland Museum of Natural science, Personal interview, August 25, 1941. F. C. Baker, Use of Enlarged Photographs in Museum Groups, Proceedings, American Association Museums ^1914), P» 89*

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In the work with dioramas the Cleveland Museum has also util­ ized what Louis Powell of the Science Museum of the St. Paul Institute calls "interchangeable dioramas".

The Cleveland city schools have des­

ignated certain spaces for exhibit purposes, and the museum supplies the exhibits - in the form of dioramas. The diorama cases are all of stand­ ard sizes, which will fit into the space allotted to them.

The cases

are fitted into the opening or niche, and a beaver-board panel front is then set in place. uhe st. Paul Museum has used this type of set-up for the di­ oramas exhibited in the museum itself.

As a result of experimenting

since about 1937 there has been developed a series of dioramas which can be installed behind standard panel units, which can be interchanged and moved with litte effort. The glass front is attached to the diorama it­ self. Powell says that, The diorama is thus a separate, portable, completely en­ closed unit, with wiring which needs to be merely plugged in­ to a wall outlet to light the case....two interlocking bevelled frames allow the diorama to be rapidly and accurately placed behind the masking front, there to be fastened rapidly by screws that pull the two frames tightly together...almost any plan of panel arrangement can be worked out and the museum curator (using many dioramas)at last can have almost the freedom of arrangement that is possessed by the stage designer together with the great advantages of built-in appearance to the displays.22 In the historic house museums and national park museums the di­ orama is extensively employed as a medium of portraying historical events in a dramatic manner, and of helping to explain the significance of the

07t

Xj- H- Powell, interchangeable Dioramas, Museum News (October 15, 1941), P. 12.

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phenomena in the particular park.

This work is conducted by the National

Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior and there are two large laboratories where the dioramas and other materials for the museums are prepared.

The Eastern Museum Laboratory is in Washington,

D. C., and the western one is in Berkeley, California. Ned J. Burns, who made many of the dioramas mentioned in the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of the City of New lori$ is now Chief of the Museum Division of this park Service and is responsible for many of the dioramas already installed. Of one of these dioramas a member of the division said, "A diorama of the mass in the Tumacacori National Monument Museum, is intended to recreate the atmosphere of religious worship as a basis for appreciating the features of this park area.

It does this so well

that it is common for Mexican visitors to kneel in prayer and even weep before it".2^ Perhaps part of the effectiveness of the diorama is en­ hanced by the fact that a phonograph plays selections of organ music which are transmitted by a concealed amplifier. Types Of Museum Programs In Which The Diorama Has Been Utilized To relate how dioramas have been used in museum programs would necessitate a recital of almost every program carried out by the various museums. As is the case in so many phases of museum work, once an ex­ hibit is accepted and incorporated into the sum total of material it is then used wherever and whenever possible. The diorama as installed in museum halls has been used much as has been the habitat case - as a means

23I

R. H. Lewis, Acting Chief, Museum Division, Personal Letter, July 14, 1941.

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"to convince the visitor that there is, or at least was, such an object; and that the one in the case is real or a reasonable facsimile thereof,

24

and finally that it has for him a very definite quality of interest...” Programs for Adult Groups

As far as concerns the adult visitor the diorama has suffered the fate of the majority of museum exhibits.

It is there in the hall -

properly installed and labeled; if the adult looks at it, well and good. Whatever he sees in the diorama, or reads into it himself, determines what it means to him. The most definite attempt to use the diorama with adult groups is found either in the teacher-training courses given at some museums, or in training courses for museum workers. Teacher - Training Courses Since 1937, the American Museum of Natural History has given a course for teachers in "Techniques for Miniature Dioramas", designed to give the teachers the elementary principles of construction work essen­ tial for the making of a diorama. This course is divided into six sessions and is given under the supervision of John Orth of the Depart­ ment of Education.

The recent emphasis on activity programs in the New

York City Schools has made this course very popular, for few teachers knew how to go about making even the crudest of dioramas. The course grew out of simple lessons on diorama-making given to classes of chil­ dren coming to the museum. When it was found impossible to handle all 24l

C. E* Cummings, East Is East and West Is West, p. 100.

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the children coming in classes it was decided to give the course for the teachers themselves so that they in turn would be able to work along these lines with their own classes. The University of Iowa has long been active in the field of training teachers and museum workers.

Homer R. Dill of the Museum of

Natural History at the University said, "The first essential is a com­ prehensive knowledge of the work.

In order to direct, one must know the

technical side. It is upon this principle that a training course should 25 be based”. Since 1909 this university museum has been offering courses for museum workers, in which they are taught modeling, casting, prepara­ tion of skins, background painting. Some of the specific course titles have been "Museum Technique”, "Museum Accessory Work”, ”Clay Modeling”, "Museum Laboratory Methods”, ”Advanced Anatomical Modeling". This same university has also given a laboratory course for science teachers who wished to learn museum methods of preparation of materials.

Thus it has taught students how to make dioramas, even

though the museum itself has not used dioramas in its exhibits. Many of the museums have offered courses to teachers in how to use the museum collections in their teaching of art, history, geography or the social studies. The main purpose behind these courses has been to train the teachers to act as their own docents.

The Metropolitan

Museum of Art, the Buffalo Museum of Science, the Worcester Museum of Art, the Chicago Art institute, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Washington State Museum in Seattle, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and

25T

Training Museum Workers, American Association of Museums, Proceedings (1917)» PP. 41 - 42.

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the Newark Museum, *" and others have all offered courses of this type. To the extent that dioramas are a part of the collections of the mu­ seums offering these courses, the teachers have used them when drawing upon museum facilities to enrich their classroom lessons. Individual groups or persons visiting museums have of course seen the dioramas which are installed in the exhibit halls.

Even great­

er numbers have been reached when the museums have sent out temporary ex­ hibits to libraries, clubs, scout groups, settlement houses and similar organizations. Almost every museum has sent out exhibits at more or less frequent intervals.

In many such instances the exhibit set up will

consist of a diorama surrounded by numerous articles such as clothing, baskets, and household implements, all of which amplify the scene por­ trayed in the diorama itself. Programs for School Groups One of the most usual methods of utilizing the dioramas ex­ hibited in museum halls has of course been with classes visiting the museum for instruction by museum docents and instructors. Work of this type has been made possible because of the fact that, Mthe museums of our country have in late years extended the scope of their work of dis­ seminating knowledge to a field where it is of inestimable value.

They

26

have opened their great storehouse of information to the public schools...” *

26.

The Newark Museum also offers an excellent training course for museum workers. One feature of this particular course is that the stu­ dents, or apprentices as they are called,make a tour of the museums in the New Ehgland States, New York and Pennsylvania, to observe practices and procedures in museum administrative and educational work. C. G. Rathman, Value and Importance of the School Museum, National Education Association, ^916, p. 7V,,

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Classes in cities all over the country are being brought to the mu­ seums for lessons which have been planned to amplify and enrich cur­ riculum subjects. Some of the museum teaching is done by means of story­ telling; some by means of “trails” or directed question sheets; some by combination of lecture and guided tour; some is with the formal class group which is accompanied by its teacher; some is with groups of school children who come to the museum after school hours or on Saturdays. Whatever the method, and whatever the nature of the group, when the diorama is part of the exhibits in a particular museums it usually becomes one of the objective aids used by the museum workers. The Value Of The Diorama As An Objective Teaching Aid In The Museums Neither the museums nor the educational staff workers in the museums have ever made a definite attempt to evaluate the diorama as an objective teaching aid.

This is due in part to the fact that the dior­

ama is still a relatively new objective aid, and also to the fact that there has been no common agreement among the museums as to the exact limitations or scope of the term diorama, or of the ways in which it may be used. *

The majority of large museums in the United States are situated in the city areas. Children of the rural areas do not have fre­ quent access to these museums save for occasional “excursions”. As yet, the museums have not made definite plans to service these areas, except as circulating collections or films and slides are sent out as part of traveling or loan collections. There is a decided increase however, in the number of small local historical museums, historic house museums, and national park and trailside museums, which may be taken as some indication that the future will witness an increase in the number of com­ munity and rural museums.

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Until some such agreement is reached it would be extremely difficult to set up an evaluative test, for the results of such a test would be valid only in the terms of the diorama utilized in each of the individual museums tested, In order to get some idea of the estimation of museum workers as to the value of the diorama, the present investigator asked all mu­ seum workers with whom she talked, or to whom she wrote for information, the following question, «what is your opinion as to the value of the diorama as an objective teaching aid?” Some museums had not as yet formed any definite opinion as to thevalue of the diorama; some museums were very enthusiastic as to the results to be achievedthrough the utilization of the diorama both in the museum exhibitions themselves and as part of the loan collections; other museums did not feel that the diorama was of sufficient value as com­ pared with actual objects in the study collections of the museum to war­ rant any great expenditure of time, money or efforts. These reactions to the diorama are all purely subjective, the result of using the dio­ ramas in the particular museum in question, and are not the result of actual testing programs of any type. They are of interest and value, however, in so far as they indicate the ability or failure of a museum to utilise and adapt the diorama in museum teaching situations. One point on which the majority of workers agreed was that in using the diorama in a teaching situation, the instructor must keep the question of size in mind. He must see to it that the group with which the diorama is being used clearly understands that the scene presented

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is a miniature reproduction. The majority of these workers felt that this was an easy problem to handle, for the average child with whom a diorama is used is quite accustomed to using or playing with miniature models; once the convention of size is explained or pointed out, he ac­ cepts that fact and proceeds to make the mental adjustment to it which enables him to see that the diorama is not reality, but a miniature representation of reality. The opinions cited in the following examples indicate that value placed upon the diorama by various museums contacted. The Children’s Museum at Hartford, Connecticut, has used some few dioramas in their work with children’s groups since 1933• Delia Griffen* Director of the Museum finds them very valuable, and said the only reason they did not have more was, "because we have not had assistants who could do much of the smaller work".27' The Children’s Museum in Boston also uses dioramas in its mu­ seum exhibits, but the workers felt that although the diorama played an important part in museum teaching work, there had been a tendency to over-emphasize its importance. They felt that material which could be 28 handled had more educational value. Somewhat this same sentiment was expressed by the St. Louis Educational Museum. This museum maintains an extensive and elaborate system of circulating collections which are circulated throughout the school system of St. Louis. Dioramas are not included in these materi­ als, however, and in reply to questioning the staff expressed the opinion 27T 28.

Personal Interview, October 13, 1941. Children’s Museum, Boston, Massachusetts, Reply to letter, July 16, 1941.

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that the diorama was very good and valuable if made by the pupils who are being taught, but that if made for them, they doubted the value as compared to cost in money and in effort. The Buffalo Museum of science in 1929 installed a number of dioramas in the Division of Junior Education in connection with exhibits of models of wild flowers. Workers there found that the exhibits as they had arranged them were not sufficiently attractive or useful to the visiting children.

Therefore they repainted the hall and cases, re­

arranged the models, and made provision for the children themselves to construct the dioramas. The director of this work said, ’'each year junior classes and clubs met weekly after school hours to study par­ ticular subjects and to carry on handiwork related to these subjects. It is planned that in the future each of such groups will plan the con29 struction and installation of a diorama”. This group of museum workers replied that they considered the diorama as excellent illustrative mate­ rial, perhaps one of the best visual aids. They stated that their Iroquois Indian dioramas had meant much to thefburth and fifth grade classes visiting the museum. Mildred Porter Cloud, of the Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut, said that dioramas were "useful whenever actual specimens in habitat cases are not available. Special emphasis must be put on the scale of the models and their relation to familiar n 30 objects.

29. 30.

E. V. Weirheiser, Youngsters Install Groups in Junior Museum, Hobbies (June 1940) p. 96. Reply to letter, July 10, 1941.

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The staff of the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior feel that, “The well executed diorama attracts attention so strongly, holds visitors so long, and leaves so vivid an impres­ sion that it can have great teaching value when properly utilized.

It

is a sufficiently versatile device to require careful integration with 31 associated material”. The three-dimensional properties of the diorama are its chief value to the Illinois State Museum.

In his reply to questioning Thome

Deuel, Director, stated that, "Because of its three dimensional scale, the diorama more effectively gives the illusion of reality than any picture or screen projection.

Its advantage over the mounted object or

model lies in the depicting of a complete scene".

32

The Director of the Fort Wayne Children’s Museum stated that the diorama was of exceptional value, and they preferred it above pic­ tures, movies and charts.-^ The Children’s Museum at Indianapolis felt that the diorama is "unquestionably the highest type of visual material 34 thus far suggested, for it serves for all grades, and adults as well". This museum staff also went on to state that they had found the dior­ ama quite advantageous in work with the blind. For work with the to­ tally blind they open the portable diorama cases and permit the children to feel the models.

This enables the delicate sense of touch to augment

verbal instruction.

31^ 32. 33* 34.

R.

h.

Lewis, Branch of Interpretation, Museum Division, Department of Interior, Personal letter, July 20, 1941. Personal letter, July 10, 1942. Reply to letter, July 11, 1941. A. B. Carr, Reply to letter, June 29, 1941.

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The Curator of the Junior Museum at the Baltimore Museum of Art agreed with the staff at the Illinois state Museum on the question of three-dimensional values.

She stated, "The three dimensional qual­

ity of a diorama is its greatest value.

Since our teaching is all from

the point of view of art, we have to be very cautious about maintain­ ing the esthetic content as well as giving an accurate reproduction of a work of art.

Unless this is well done, photographs and lantern

slides are preferable".

35

The Netherlands Pioneer and Historical Foundation in Holland, Michigan, is a relatively new museum and only started to use dioramas in 1940, yet in the program of work with the schools the workers there have come to very definite and clear conclusions regarding the diorama as an objective teaching aid, which the Secretary listed as follows: "(a) Catches and maintains students interest, classroom as an integral part of lesson,

(b) Can be presented in

(c) Due to 3 dimensions it

shows group relations,

(d) It is more easily transported than the ac­

tual objects, could be.

(e) Can be made to tell a story better than a

collection of objects which are not in complete sequence, (f) It 36 carries over well". He also went on to relate the following: Dioramas showing various types of cars making up a freight train are used successfully in the second grade with a sat­ isfactory pupil reaction. Supplementary material for the teachers stressed the type of goods transported in each type of car and how they aided in our daily life. Teachers spoke continued 35. 36,

Mildred McComas, Baltimore Museum of Art, Personal letter, July 6, 1941. Willard Wichers, Secy., Netherlands Pioneer and Historical Foundation, Holland, Michigan, Beply to letter, July 9, 1941.

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very highly of this series. Each had apparently far-reaching results, and this was somewhat of a surprise to us as we had expected actual observation of the cars themselves by the children would have familiarized them with the type of goods carried. This however, was not the case and the miniature cars filled this gap in the children‘s learning. A series showing the development of the locomotives which we used in higher grades was also very highly thought of. 37 The Director of the Visual Education Museum in Hamtramck, Michigan, thought the diorama fine from the point of view of; (1) in38 terest; (2) beauty; (3) facts; (4) truth; (5) art. J. Paul Hudson, Curator of the National Park Service Histor­ ical Museum in Morristown, New Jersey, considers the diorama "One of the best visual devices a museum can have. Museums pay thousands of dollars for a painting which, in most cases,appeals to only a few people (the average painting, of course). Why not spend a thousand or two on an A-l diorama which will appeal to practically everyone, chil39 dren and adults alike". An Assistant in Education at the Rochester, New York, Museum of Arts and Sciences had the following to say concerning the portable diorama* "The portable diorama arouses the child’s interest. He im­ mediately asks those four all-important questions, - What? where? when? why? It sets the scene for the objects included in other museum exhibits.

Being a miniature, it has a universal appeal for the adult as

well as the child". yT» 38. 39. 40.

Wichers-, Loc. cit. G. Lannin, Director, Reply to letter, July 16, 1941» Reply to letter, July 8, 1941. M. R. Peake, Assistant in Education, Personal letter, July 31,1941.

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The Director of the Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota wrote: Believe they would be satisfactory with children and persons capable of making the necessary adjustment as to size. We gave up making dioramas because we found that most grade child­ ren failed to make the necessary adjustment and so did not comprehend what they were looking at. Explicit explanation and indication of relative size only partially remedied the difficulty. The thing was simply a child’s playhouse. We have between 170 and 180 standard size portable groups con­ taining birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, flowers, etc., which are loaned to schools (grades mostly) and seem to have been satisfactory. ^1 The Curator at the Charlestown, South Carolina, Museum stated that, "Our dioramas have met with instant and continued success as teach­ ing aids. We are unable to supply the demands for additionsl subjects".^2 At the Philadelphia Commercial Museum, the Curator considers the diorama of very great importance indeed. He stated, "70,000 pupils visit this museum every year for lectures and lessons correlated with their class work.

We use the life size and miniature groups in this

work daily." The Assistant Director of the Franklin Institute seemes to 3um up many points concerning the diorama in their/evaluation of it: We are making greater and greater use of the miniature diorama in the enrichment of historic background in our lesson construc­ tions. As a technological museum we have the problem of over­ coming the community’s conception of our approach to subject matter apparently unrelated to their daily lives. The diorama is immediately their very own - sans detailed description, sans ballyhoo, sans prerequisites, sans most everything. They easily tell themselves a proper story in words of their own choosing.^

4.

T.D.Roberts, Director, Minnesota Museum of Natural History, Reply to letter, July 18, 1941. 42. E.B.Chamberlain, Curator, Vertebrate Zoology, Personal letter, July 8, 1941. 45. C.R.Toothaker, Curator, Personal letter, June 28, 1941. 44. J.H.Schall, Assistant Director Museum Education, Personal letter, June 50, 1941.

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- 116 Thus in varying form, and for one reason and another, the mu­ seums have incorporated the diorama into their method of presentation, exhibit technique, and educational work. In Addition to its use by the museums, the diorama has gradually been adopted by other groups.

Schools,

commercial firms, advertising concerns, and the series of fairs which have occurred in different parts of the country in recent years, have all made use of the

d i o r a m a .

fbe schools received the diorama originally as part

of the collections sent to them by the museums;

they have also made di­

oramas in connection with craft and activity projects. A survey of some of the ways in which schools have used the diorama will throw further light on its development.

45.

cf. pages 3=66 to 169(Chapter (Till), for a consideration of the objective cfianmon to an these agencies in the utilization of the diorama.

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CHAPTER VI HOW SCHOOLS HAVE UTILIZED THE DIORAMA Museum - school Relationships In order to consider school utilization of the diorama one must keep in mind also the question of museum^school relationships. The museums gave the diorama to the schools. How the schools have used the diorama has been a matter of school initiative on the one hand and museuat-school relationships on the other.

In the majority of instances

it would be hard to draw a dividing line between the two questions and to consider them separately. Some schools have built dioramas entirely without aid of any kind from a museum, but many schools have drawn upon museum resources and services when making their own dioramas or devis­ ing ways of using museum dioramas effectively in classroom teaching sit­ uations. One museum worker in commenting on museum-school educational programs said, The value of the museum as an efficient aid in educational work is fully realized by but few educators. Even in many of the large cities there is little real cooperation be­ tween the local museum and the educational system, and this is by no means entirely the fault of the museum administra­ tors. Visual education seems to center about pictures, lantern slides and moving pictures, and the aid that may be rendered by the museum exhibits is, in the main, unthought of. Perhaps many of our museums are to be held responsible for this condition, their exhibits being so often entirely useless to the teacher because of faulty installation, of continued

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value to the systematic student, but valueless to the general teachers* The cooperative association of school and museum in New york, Chicago, and Milwaukee, and some other cities, augurs -well for the museum in finding its true place in the educational system of the present age. 1 European School Museums and Technical Museums The idea of school-museum relationships and school museums seems to have played a greater part in the educational systems of some European countries at an earlier date than it did in the United States. The first school museum in the world was founded at Stuttgart, Germany, in 1851. The Musee Pedogogique was founded in Paris in 1879, as a state controlled institution, and the Copenhagen school Museum was founded in 2 1887. These museums contained collections of study materials and li­ braries and also served as bureaus of information for teachers.

Teachers

used the facilities and school pupils were trained to visit the museums frequently. One American, museum worker, writing of it in’1914, said, Everywhere I found that European educators had gotten away from the idea that all instruction must be given in the classroom....The school excursion plays a prominent part in the life of European schools....Many things, however, which cannot be reached in the home surroundings and with which the children should come into personal contact, are brought into.the schoolroom....In every schoolhouse in the cities I visited in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden, there is a small museum consisting of speci­ mens., .minerals., .charts, etc.3

1. 2. 3.

F. C. Baker, The Museum, The Original Exponent of. Visual Education, School Science and Mathematics (October 1922), p. 651. C. G» Eathman, The Museums and the schools in Europe,American Association of Museums, Proceedings, 1914, p. 107. Hathman, og. cit., pp. 107 - 108.

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Not only was the school-museum popular in Europe, but also the conception of a museum devoted to teaching or showing industrial processes. While one might logically expect this type of museum to have originated in the United States, the industrial museum, as a matter of fact, first found embodiment in Europe.

Four comprehensive industrial museumsexist in

Europe; the Deutsches Museum in Munich, the Technishes Museum in Vienna, the science Museum in London, and the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers in Paris.^ The Conservatoire des Arts at Mltiers was established first, in 1799, and the Deutsches Museum was opened on May 6, 1925 (although Dr. Oskar von Miller first proposed it in 1903, and gathered together many of its exhibits in the old building of the Bavarian National Museum from that time until the opening of the museum in its own building). School and Technical Museums in the United States Today the situation in the United States is materially changed. One has only to visit such museums as the Museum of Science and Industry in New York, The Franklin Institute and the Commercial Museum in Philadelphia, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago to see what has been accomplished along the lines of industrial exhibits. With regard to school-museum relationships, one has only to ex­ amine the annual reports of a number of museums to trace the increased use of exhibits by school groups of all types and ages. There is also ap­ parent an increased tendency to take the museum to the school or to help

4.

c. R. Richards, and C. Thompson, The Industrial Museum, p. 6.

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the school set up small museum units within the school building.5 The modern museum staff member today is generally aware of the need for closer school-museum cooperation, and Toothaker has said, All these tendencies are pointing to a time when educators will feel that every school may possess its own school mu­ seum for teaching purposes just as it possesses its own school library. These school museums will be of a general nature and will do no more in the end than stimulate the younger generation to a proper appreciation of museums in , general and their relation t. the life of every community. Probably the use by schools of what the museums had to offer came as a result of an increased number of activities on the part of mu­ seums for individual children and children*s groups. Under the direction of Anna Billings Gallup, the Children's Museum was organized in Brooklyn in 1899, as a branch of the Central Museum of the Brookly Institute of Arts and Sciences.

Today one finds children* s museums in many of the larger

cities, and the "junior museum" is a well-organized and recognized di­ vision of a number of large museums. Actual cooperation between school and museum for the purpose of enriching classroom instruction seems to have started in the Buffalo Mu­ seum of Science, in 1879* In that museum the board of directors adopted a resolution authorizing the preparation of traveling loan collections devoted to elementary science to be used in the schools of the city sys­ tem.

The program was planned to assist .the city public school in its

work of establishing science as a part of the elementary school curriculum.

5. 6.

The most recent development along these lines is described on pages and in the account of the war-time school program of the New York City museums® C. R. Toothaker, Museum Service to Education, p. 926.

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This early example of museum-school cooperation was one in which the museum planned its program in a definite attempt to help the school 7

board.1 Museum Visual Aids In The Schools The Field Museum of Chicago carries on a very extensive pro­ gram of work with classes visiting the museum and by means of circulat­ ing collections sent to the schools,although, no anthropological or historical dioramas are included in this material. However, in the series of lesson plans which have been worked out for schools utilizing museum materials, one is included on «We Make a Museum Arrangement” for the Fifth Grade. The class visits the museum to see how the exhibits are arranged and classified according to organic and inorganic catego­ ries.

Each class on its return to school then sets up a plan for its

own school-museum, drawing on facts learned at the museum to assist them in making the actual plans and arranging materials. The schools, in turning to the museums for assistance, were looking for ways and means whereby to enrich classroom teaching.

The

visit to the museum helped, but the museum could not be brought back, in toto, to the classroom. What the teachers wanted was material they could take back, and use themselves. The diorama answered this need in many ways. The factor of dynamic appeal combined with accurate represen­ tation would seem to be one of the reasons for the popularity of the

T.

H. R. Howland, Historical Sketch, Bulletin No. 6, Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, 1907.

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diorama in the schools. As has been stated before the initial step in school utilization of the diorama was taken by the museums when they included it in the circulating collections, described in Chapter V. Two main tendencies have been apparent in the museums1 educa­ tional programs and the preparation of teaching aids for the schools, as Toothaker has said: We find in the Museums of America two separate tendencies in elementary education. One is to correlate strictly with the courses of study in all subjects that the museums touch and in these lines to give all the help that can be given by the aid of specimens and with the knowledge of the specialists on the museum force. The other tendency is to enrich the interests that the children have in life and to help them in the knowledge of subjects which at that particular time are not a part of their own class w o r k . 8 A Chicago school superintendent of schools in 1922, said, "The value of museum material as a factor in reinforcing school instruction has, no doubt, been recognized generally enough, but the difficulty ly­ ing in the way of its wider utilization has been the failure to find the museum material so organized that it would appeal to the dynamic inter­ ests of the children and at the same time portray the life that it was collected to represent.9 That there has been a better comprehension of school-museum relationships developed since the remarks quoted in 1922, is evidenced by a more recent bulletin issuing from the Progressive Education Asso-

8. 9*

C. B. Toothaker, Museum Service to Education, National Education Association, Proceedings, 1930, p. 924. P. A. Mortenson, Contribution of Museums to Public School Education as quoted by F. C. Baker, The Museum, School Science and Mathematics, p. 652.

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elation,

in this bulletin we find the following:

The school recognizes as one of its important tasks that- of coordinating the many agencies which play important roles in the education of children. As the classroom becomes more and more a laboratory where children work on problems, which as individuals or groups they have decided are important, they expand their contacts with sources of information to include other than those housed in the school. The museum is one of the most important of these outside sources.••• The close working relationship of school and museum which is in evidence today is helping to fulfill one of educa­ tions's most vital goals, that of making every person a resourceful human being".10 School Use of Museum Dioramas A consideration of school use of museum dioramas focuses our attention first on the circulating collections sent to the schools by the museums.

The teacher in this instance takes the diorama which the

museum has prepared, and uses it to illustrate or amplify whatever subject she may be dealing with at the moment. As we have seen, these dioramas deal with a variety of subject matter, from the miniature natural history habitat cases to the detailed historical diorama. They have therefore, been used in as many different subject matter teaching situations - in nature study classes, history classes, geography classes, art classes, home economics classes.

Just how the dioramas are used and

adapted depends entirely upon the teacher using them. Once they have left the museum, it is up to the teacher to use them as she deems best during the period they are in her classroom.

lol

L. Hooper, School Museum Relationships, Progressive Education Association, Bulletin No. 2 (June “ July 1941).

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Some teachers make the diorama the nucleus around which to build a lesson, utilizing at the same time collections of study speci­ mens borrowed from the museum or articles of their own* In this way the diorama is used in combination with other objective aids. When the dioramas were being made in the museums, the museum preparators naturally put into them all their available skill, crafts­ manship and research in the matter of details shown. They could not however, know the specific problem or point that each teacher might want to emphasize.

This has led to some criticism on the part pf the teachers

that the groups were good pieces of workmanship, and helpful, but did not always emphasize the information the teacher wished highlighted. Some of this criticism stems from the fact that teachers often expect the diorama alone to do what only a combination of diorama and other objective teaching aids can do. As Knowlton says, The advocacy of many of our leaders in the visual field of certain forms of visual aids, such as the slide, or stereo­ graph or the motion picture, has given rise to the impres­ sion that there is a preferred form of visual material. The truth is that each is most effective when used in that relationship to which it is best suited from the stand­ point of content and form.ll The collections circulated to the schools by the museums are mainly

loan material, and are only available to the school for periods

which vary from one week to one term. The Philadelphia Commercial Mu­ seum, which includes dioramas in its museum exhibits, but not in its circulating collections, is of course an exception to this, for they now

11.'

D. C« Knowlton, The Factor of Selection In the Use of Visual Aids, Educational Screen (February 1941). p. 54.

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give to schools in Pennsylvania for their permanent property very exten­ sive collections of samples of commercial products.

(This started through

work done under an annual state appropriation, and was later continued as a museum service, aided by the University Museum in Philadelphia, and a Carnegie Foundation grant). The Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh cooperates with the Board of Education in sending the museum dioramas to the schools. About September 1st, the dioramas for city public schools are sent to a building of the Board of Education, from whence they are distributed to the schools. They are returned in June to the museum for repairs and the addition of any new materials. The Board of Education publishes in its catalogue a list of the dioramas, and makes an annual appropriation for this work. The museum has as yet made no specific investigation of the value of these dioramas to the schools, but heads of the school system recommend the diorama as a very useful medium because of its life-like quality and dramatic sig­ nificance in interpreting the phenomena of life in an impressive and in­ formative fashion.

The museum* s dioramas are very much in demand and the

museum’s only regret is that it cannot carry on this work on a more ex­ tensive scale.^2 The Diorama As Made In The Schools When and where the schools first began to make their own dio­ ramas is a question too shrouded by speculation to admit of definite es­ tablishment. We know that some of the museums had been giving courses to

12"

e. Mccalla, Secretary, Carnegie Museum, Personal letter, July 9,1941.

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teachers in museum methods and techniques (see Chapter V);

as has been

indicated in preceding pages, we know that the teachers were familiar with museum dioramas; we also know that miniature stage sets and card­ board models have been made by classes for a good many years (examina­ tion of courses of study and reports of projects carried out in the elementary schools of practically every state will include references to this type of material). Probably one can attribute the present fact that many schools are making dioramas for their own use to a number of factors, among the most important of which are: (1) emphasis today upon use of objective teaching aids; (2) emphasis upon "activity programs” in the schools; (3) aid given the schools by museums, through loan collec­ tions and teacher-training courses; (4) assistance rendered by W. P. A* workers in certain states on projects devoted to making objective teach­ ing aids for both schools and museums. Influence of the Industrial Arts. The making of a diorama involves the use of manual skills. Some would claim that we are justified in considering the making of a diorama as allied to the industrial arts program in the schools. One might then say that the start of work with dioramas in schools might be traced to the industrial arts program as initiated in the Speyer School at Teachers* College in 1910. At the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, one ex­ hibition which attracted much attention dealt with the Russian system of teaching manual training. A feature of this system was the making

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of models as a definite part of the training of the students.1^ One might in fact look to the whole industrial arts movement and claim that in it lay the basis for work with dioramas in the schools. By 1920, manual or industrial arts were an accepted part of most school 14 curricula. Children in the elementary schools were making models of rooms, houses, farm groups and other similar groups in connection with their regular classroom studies. We find the 1923 edition of a text­ book devoted to the industrial arts advocating the following: "A small lumber camp can be made in the sand-pile from the ideas gained through the pictures. 11 15In the chapter devoted to "Suggestions for the Study of Shelter", this same textbook suggests the making of many group models to illustrate different types of homes throughout the world.

The

word diorama does not, however, occur in descriptions of this type of work. This investigator has found no evidence that would warrant the assumption that there was a definite connection between the industrial arts programs and the making of dioramas in the schools. When the schools began to use the museums* circulating materials, they also ap­ parently accepted museum terminology and accepted the term diorama, and the diorama itself as sent to them in the museum circulating collections. Influence of the Activity Program In New York City, a tentative program of work in the elementary schools was adopted in February 1935. This program has been called "The I3I 14. 15.

f. g. Bonser and L. C. Mossman, Industrial Arts for Elementary Schools- p. 467. Ibid., p. 4S3. Ibid., p. 227.

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Activity program", and has been studied experimentally over the period of the last six years in certain schools In that city.

It has nor been

approved and recommended for incorporation in other schools throughout the same system."^ One feature of this program has been the emphasis placed on the project method. In fact, to the majority of persons, the 'activity program is almost synonymous wiMi the making of three-dimen­ sional projects.

There are many other things than this to the activity

program. It cannot be denied, however, that the present utilization of the diorama by schools is due in great part to the emphasis placed upon this type of work by the leaders of the activity program. Every grade from kindergarten to high school adopting this method has devoted some period of time to the construction of dioramas as we have come to under­ stand the term in this study. Similar programs have been carried out in Chicago, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Winnetka and other cities. One might say that the years from 1930 or 1932 were the formative, pioneer years of the activity movement throughout the country.

Probably we shall never know what teacher in

which school first started to use or make dioramas.

Certainly the years

from 1935 to the present date have seen many of them used.

"American

public schools are organizing from coast to coast in terms of the activity program....Their battle is fundamentally won. The schools are already committed. The deed is done. From the Los Angeles schools in the West to the New York public schools in the East, the struggle for the re-

l£I

Changing Concepts and Practices in Elementary Education, Bulletin, New York City Board of Education, 1941.

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training of teachers is on, and the fulfillment of this dream is only a 17 matter of time”. ' In the schools, as in the museums, the development of the di­ orama and ways of utilizing it in teaching situations, has been of rapid and rather breath-taking growth. Once the diorama appeared in one mu­ seum, it seemed to appear in other museums almost over night.

The same

might also be said of the diorama in the schools. The industrial arts movement, the activity program, the pro­ ject method of teaching, all paved the way and set the scene for the utilization of aids such as the diorama. We are probably justified in saying that the museums provided the diorama for the schools to use, and the schools promptly incorporated it in the battery of objective teach­ ing aids. Like the museums, the schools have never stopped to give a clear-cut definition of a diorama, nor has there to date been made an evaluative study of what can be achieved through the use of a diorama, perhaps the time span has been too short for the accomplishment of these things; perhaps they will be the next steps taken.

It may be good that

the years from 1935 to the present have been pioneer years, unfettered by tests and measuring sticks, for these might have tested something that was not really a diorama. The current popularity of objective aids combined with the work of activity programs is of course a stimulating factor which has more or less motivated the making of many things in the classrooms of the nation.

17.

Some of the dioramas which have been made in the classrooms

A. G. Melvin, The Activity Program, p. 256.

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follow the type made in the museums - rounded, painted background; fore­ ground sloping to meet background, and modeled figures. Such dioramas have been made by both pupil and teacher, working together.

In many in­

stances, the teacher in guiding the work of her pupils is putting into practical use instructions she received in museum teacher-training courses described in Chapter V. The dioramas so made are used in what­ ever lesson or unit the class may be studying. Besides use in the classroom these dioramas are also frequently installed as part of tem­ porary exhibits in cases in the main corridors or in the school library. Influence of the Cardboard Cut-Out There has been a very decided tendency for the school to make dioramas of the cardboard cut-out type. This is probably due in great part to the fact that this type is easy to make (from, kindergarten through high school the pupil has been accustomed to using a pair of scissors); it is less expensive to make; it can be made more quickly than the modeled type. Because of the fact that it is less expensive to make the card­ board cut-out type of diorama, many teachers have felt justified in mak­ ing numbers of them whenever it has been felt necessary to use illustra­ tive material. In these groups the relationship to the toy or juvenile theatre at once becomes apparent. Usually the background is box-like, rather than

rounded, (although many teachers have finally come to realize that

the rounded background gives a much more realistic effect).

The figures

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are flat,

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cut from cardboard and either inserted in grooves in the fore­

ground or provided with strip or flap braces to make them stand erect. The average teacher does not appear to have given serious consideration to the great difference between these flat figures and the modeled fig­ ures of the true diorama. A description of how to make these cardboard dioramas,

as

given in a recent school art magazine, indicates just how closely the diorama is allied to theatrical effects in the minds of many of the school people: The diorama is becoming a popular method of portraying events or any picture subject. ... The popular "peep-show" scenes of the nineties have grown into the "dioramas" I It is possible asoa schoolroom aid project in either the primary or advanced grades, integrating almost all subjects. Dioramas combine mural painting with stage craft in miniature manner, and pro­ duce excellent results for training toward advanced stage planning and decoration. 18 It orama, and a

would seem apparent to anyone who has seen both a

true di­

cardboard variation , that it is virtually impossible fora

flat, cardboard figure to he made realistic as a rounded, modeled fig­ ure.

The very nature of the medium selected to work with defines and

limits the results which can be achieved. Even though the true diorama is made on a miniature scale, its whole purpose is aimed towards giving that illusion of reality so often referred to previously. staffs claim facts.

18.

The

that they must utilize things which help them to

schodl teach

The museum staffs are just as eager to teach facts also, but

Cardboard Dioramas,

School Arts (September 1941), p.19.

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to them the museum uses facts to explain objects. The museum puts the object first, bringing the student into direct and enthusiastic contact with real material.^ Undoubtedly the cardboard cut-out cases have both a value and a place in the list of available teaching aids, but it seems unfortunate that the majority of teachers who use them regard them as dioramas and therefore expect to achieve the same results through their use as through the use of dioramas. Levels At Which The Diorama Has Been Used By The Schools As we have seen it is only within the last ten years that the schools have really made use of the diorama, and even at that the last five years has been the period of most extensive utilization Elementary School Today one finds that the elementary school classroom teach®? utilizes the diorama: (1) to amplify textbook treatment of lessons in nature study, geography, history, science, civics, art; (2) to vitalize or give reality to. flat.pictorial illustrative material in the afore­ mentioned subjects; (3) to motivate interest in a subject unit through the research and collection of material necessary for the making of a diorama; (4) to provide a medium through which to draw upon crafts and skills developed in the art or workshop courses; (5) to provide a means whereby to tie in or integrate things learned in a number of different classes in one piece of creative work. 19.

E. Whitman, Museum Methods in Academic Teaching, Museum Work (May - June 1924), P- H *

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Secondary school At the secondary school level the diorama is used in much the same -way as at the elementary level. However, secondary school teachers to date seem to have Hade less use of objective teaching aids (aside from slides and films), than have elementary level teachers.

This may be due

either to the fact that they must devote more time to the study of textual material in order to meet cirriculum aims, or to the fact that secondary school teachers feel less need to utilize objective aids.* The secondary schools do utilize the dioramas included in the circulating collections sent out by the museums for exhibit purposes. In the corridors and entrance foyers, or libraries of many of the newer high school buildings, and in older type buildings also, specific space is alloted to temporary exhibits of timely interest. Quite frequently a museum diorama is exhibited in these cases with other material, the whole exhibit being designed to call attention to the culture of a people, the arts and crafts of some particular tribe, or to some other subject of interest. As mentioned before, the cases in the school build­ ing in Cleveland are all being made a standard size. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History then makes its natural history dioramas all this same size, and they can thus be sent from school to school and eas­ ily installed in the cases prepared for them.

#

Secondary school teachers to whom the present investigator has spok­ en ail agreed that the diorama was an excellent teaching aid. The majority of those who did not use it, gave as their chief reason for not doing so, the fact that they did not have as much time to give to the use of objective aids as did elementary teachers.

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University and College At the university and college level the use of objective teach­ ing aids is entirely up to the individual instructors. cities and states^ university and

In some few

museum are closely allied. In Michigan,

the University Museum at Ann Arbor is a graduate department of the Uni­ versity of Michigan, concerned with meeting the museum, needs of students on the campus, and is primarily for research.

In Minneapolis, the Museum

of Natural History is a separate college of the University of Minnesota, and is supported in part from the university general fund and in part by contributions from public-spirited citizens.

The University of Illinois,

the University of Iowa, the university of Pennsylvania, the University of California, Harvard, and Yale, all have excellent museums directly con­ nected with them. The university museum, of course, appeals to a more specialized group of persons than does the general city museum.

Exhibits are delib­

erately arranged to meet the need of 3tudentsand are thought of as teach­ ing units. The museum units at the University of in innis have many well arranged types of exhibits from ornithological groups to restorations of primitive man (including some dioramas).

In speaking of university

use of museum exhibits Frank Baker has said, Exhibits in a university museum need not be confined to those of the natural sciences. History, both modern and ancient, American and exotic, may be greatly aided by museum exhibits ... .American history teaching might be greatly stimulated and aided by the establishment of museums of history, and if the great events of our country’s short life could be portrayed continued

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in miniature, as is being done on a large scale in the Milwaukee Museum, the effect on the undergraduate would be surprising. Every university should acquire material illustrating the culture of the states and colonies during the earlier years of the country* s existence, so that the student may visualize time and conditions, which he cannot do simply from reading textbooks...* We are particularly fortunate at Illinois in having a staff of instruction that has seen the possibilities of the museum in strengthening the regular courses. Without this willingness to use the exhibits and the friendly cooperation in the preparation of the same, the use of the museum for the purpose indicated would be impossible. I suspect that in some universities and colleges the faculty will themselves have to be educated to realize the value of museum exhibits.20 Dioramas Made By W. P. A. Projects Since about 1935 considerable assistance has been rendered both museums and schools by W. P. A. projects. Some of the workers on the various projects have been artists by profession and have worked as in­ dependent units; others have worked completely under the direction and supervision of museum officials. The following museums indicated to the investigator that W. P. A. assistance had been utilized in the making of dioramas for both museum and school use; Washington State Museum, Seattle, Washington; Valentine Museum, Richmond, Virginia; Reading, Pennsylvania; Staten Island Museum of Arts and Science, New York; American Museum of Natural History, New York City; Museum of the City of New York; New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey; Children's Museum, Detroit, Michigan; Visual Education Museum, Hamtramck, Michigan; Municipal Museum, Baltimore, Maryland; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland; Milwaukee, Wiscon­ sin, Public Museum; Wichita, Kansas, Public Museum; Kansas State Historical 20.

F. C. Baker, The place of the Museum in University Instruction, Museum Work (September - October 1924), pp. 86 - 87.

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Society, Topeka; J. B. Speed Memorial Museum, Louisville, Kentucky; Illinois

state Museum, Springfield, Illinois; Visual Aid Center, New

Haven, Connecticut. Some of the projects were state projects; some were city projects; some were museum extension projects; others worked as in­ dependent art projects. The Westchester Museum Association, in cooperation with the New Xork state W. P. A. Museum Project, undertook in 1939 to provide a series of circulating exhibitions to a number of schools who partici­ pated in the activity. The material for these exhibits was borrowed from large museums in the vicinity, and was exhibited in the schools in cases constructed either by the school or by the W. P* A® This same New Xork State W. P. A. Museum Project made and in­ stalled the exhibits for the Long Island Children^ Museum at Adelphi College, Garden City, Long Island, which opened on November 17, 1941. The exhibits included dioramas of Indians of the Long Island section. The project is also starting the preparation of a teacher-loan collec­ tion of visual-aid material relating to Long Island. This collection will include dioramas. The Board of Education of the City of New Xork sponsored a W. P. A. Objective Teaching Materials and Techniques Program (started in 1938). The project prepared a number of objective teaching aids for the use of classroom teachers. One feature of their service was the con­ struction of a number of dioramas and the giving of an In-Service Train­ ing Course for Teachers on Diorama Construction. All the materials made by this project were for the use of teachers in the New Xork City school

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system. At first all of the dioramas made by this project utilized the flat cardboard figure, arid the backgrounds were of the box-like type. Later the rounded background was utilized and some molded figures were used in a few of the groups. This project contemplated making an evalu­ ative study to determine the relative merits of several kinds of objec­ tive teaching materials.

If such a study is carried through it is to

be hoped that an evaluation of the diorama is not based solely on the cardboard cut-out diorama, but includes the diorama with modeled fig­ ures as well. In Kansas, the w. P. A. worked in conjunction with the State Department of Public Instruction. Workshops were established through­ out the state and a number of types of visual aids were made for use in the schools and other tax-supported institutions of that state. Members of the staff of the State Historical society cooperated in gathering data for the preparation of the dioramas. The dioramas now completed and placed in the schools and county museums give an accurate, dramatic picture of the history of the state. A newspaper account described them as showing prehistoric animals; various Indian dances and hunting expedi­ tions; cow-punchers driving longhorns up cattle trails to Abilene; covered wagons rolling over the Santa Fe trail; the Union pacific railway under construction; John Brown with runaway slaves; Jonathan Meeker setting up the first printing press in Kansas, and Coronado with his conquistadores.21

2ll

M. Whittemore, Figurines, Models, Dioramas to Illustrate Studies, Christian Science Monitor (January 4, 1941)•

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138

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One of the most varied and extensive W* P. A. museum projects was carried out at Milwaukee, under the direct supervision of Ira Edwards, the Director of the Milwaukee Public Museum. The project wa« composed of several hundred workers, and their construction activities were carried on in a building entirely separate from the museum itself.

In addition

to their work in connection with rearranging exhibits in the museum halls, they made accessories for the habitat groups and built a number of small dioramas showing native plant forms of the state. At the Denver, Colorado, State Museum, as in Kansas, the State Historical Society assisted the y/. P- A. in the making of a number of dioramas dealing with the early life of the state, and Indian affairs. In Pennsylvania the State-Wide Museum Extension Project of the W. P. A. produced and distributed to the schools a great variety of visual aids, including dioramas.

In San Jose, California, the local W. P. A. unit

made a series of open-sided dioramas specifically for use in the elem­ entary schools of San Jose and showing the early history of California. An especially fine series of historical dioramas made by the W« P» A. Museum Extension Project of Illinois has recently been placed on exhibit in the Chicago Historical Society.

This series deals with

the life of Abraham Lincoln from the time of his early days in Kentucky to the time of the Ford theater tragedy.

One of the best of the series

shows Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg address. Dioramas such as these should prove of inestimable value to teachers and students of history, and can be utilized in innumerable teaching situations on all levels.

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The piorania. in school-Museum Relationships The number of ways in which schools and educators are utilizing dioramas is increasing steadily.

The Illinois State Museum sends its

circulating collections only to schools in rural areas.

In the larger

towns, dioramas are sent to the libraries where they may be utilized by all schools in the community.

They are also loaned to such organizations

as teachers* institutes, the teacher-training groups at Carbondale, 22 Illinois, having made extensive use of the museum’s window-sill dioramas. At the University Museum in Philadelphia, eleven and twelve year old children made their own dioramas as a result of experience gained in a Museum Studio Group arranged for them. These dioramas were used con­ stantly by the museum staff in teaching lessons on Indian and Eskimo life to organized school groups. The portable dioramas of the Historical Museum at Morristown, New jersey, are taken to a school by a museum historian, who explains them to the students and gives a lesson developed about the scenes shewn in the dioramas.

The dioramas are not left at the school but are brought 23

back to the museum.

School Museum Units Probably one of the most unique school museums is that of the Westtown School, a co-educational, country boarding school maintained

22, 23.

T. Deuel, Chief, Illinois State Museum, Personal letter, August 8, 1941. J. Hudson, Curator, Morristown Historical Museum, Personal letter, July 15, 1941.

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by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends, at Westtown, Pennsylvania, Jin alumnus of the school happened to see the miniature working models of the habitat groups of the JUceley African Hall at the American Museum of Natural History.

He was deeply impressed by them, and as a result had a

duplicate series made by the museum preparators and installed in a spe­ cially constructed museum unit at the Westtown School. The miniature groups are arranged exactly as are the large groups at the museum, and are lighted by fluorescent lighting.

This unit, called Akeley African

Hail (in miniature), was completed and opened in 1941.

It is located in

the basement of the Girls Wing and provides air-conditioned rooms for current exhibits as well as space for the permanent African exhibits and an extensive bird collection which the school already had. No organized program has yet been built around this school museum, although this will probably be done in the future. At present the students are free to use the museum whenever they feel that it will be of help. Students of the biology class have utilized the groups for study purposes, as have stu­ dents in the art classes. Both teachers and students feel that the school museum is so much a part of the school equipment that they use it as it happens to fit in with their program, without making a conscious effort to lay out a program of museum work.^ Better school utilization of dioramas and museum services in general seems to have come about in every instance where there has been effective school-museum cooperation and understanding. A museum worker

24I

J. B. Walker, Principal, Westtown School, Personal Interview, June 14, 1941.

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has said, "If the children in the schools learn to use and to value the museum materials, the pupils, when they have become men and women, will become interested and intelligent museum visitors and in these institu­ tions will acquire such additional education as the libraries give and as the museum can and should give. A proper cooperation of the schools 25 and the museums will be of great advantage to both**. In some cities board of education teachers have been assigned in the museums to do the teaching. In other cities cooperation between schools and museums is the result of^the use of objective teaching aids supplied by the museums.

In Cleveland, "the school museum program is

an activity of the Cleveland Board of Education and the Cleveland museums, established in the belief that contact with things in museums gives to children new interests and new experiences which vitalize the meaning of 2A

life".

Not only does cooperation such as this apply to the museum

itself and the exhibits in museum halls, but also to loan exhibits of dioramas and other materials sent to the schools. Laura 0‘Day has pointed out that, "the educational value of mu­ seum loan exhibits for the public schools is dependent upon.two chief factors; the selection of materials for the exhibit, and guidance in the use of the materials.

The service performed by each exhibit is, of

course, affected by such factors as the length of the loan period,, the 27 method of distributing materials, and the system of collecting them". 25^ 26. 27.

C. G. Rathman, School Museum Relations, p. 61. The Cleveland School-Museum Program, unpaged pamphlet issued by the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. L. 0*Day, Educational Value of Loan Exhibits for Public Schools, Museum New3 (November 1, 1930), p. 7.

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That school-museum cooperation can be effective has recently been shown in New York City.

Upon the entrance of the United States in­

to the war, the school board deemed it wise to stop all school excur­ sions to museums'and other places of interest throughout the city for the time being. At the suggestion of Charles Russell, Curator of Educa­ tion of the American Museum of Natural History, representatives from museums of New York City, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Children's Museum, met and made immediate plans for the preparation and sending of circulating museum units to the schools. These units are to remain in a school for three weeks at a time, and will then be changed.

It is hoped that they will prove an in­

centive to the schools to gather material of their own to form museum rooms in the schools, and thus amplify material contained in the museum units. Each unit consists of a three sectional, folding case made by the museums and delivered to the schools by museum messenger delivery service. The schools to receive the school museum units were designated by the New York City Board of Education.

The museums would have been

willing to service many schools, but the present difficulties involved in securing materials made it necessary to limit the number of units to be made to one hundred. In the center panel of each unit is an aperture for a diorama. This is surrounded by maps and other pictorial materials; on each of the

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two side panels,specimens and articles from the museums* collections are so fastened that they can be removed and used and examined by the pupils. Each unit is also accompanied by a mimeographed pamphlet giving a de­ tailed description of the subject matter of the unit, a list of suggested pupil activities and a bibliography.

The subjects covered by the various

units include North American Indian Life, Food from Land and Sea, Man and His Tools, Arts and Crafts, interdependence of Life.

It is possible that

through utilization of this type of museum collection for school use, many entirely new avenues for school-museum cooperation will be discovered. It is a step in the direction of museum assistance to the schools in the setting up of school museums in the school buildings. The next step is up to the schools. Not only does one find the diorama in museums and schools to­ day, but also in the commercial and business world. Whether the business world took the diorama from the museums, as did the schools, or whether this is another and independent phase in the development of the diorama, is a question which requires consideration and some deliberation.

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CHAPTER V I I

AGENCIES OTHER THAN MUSEUMS T/HICH HAVE MADE AND UTILIZED THE DIORAMA The Commercial Diorama. Tllhen one turns to the world outside the museum and the school to discover where and how the diorama has been utilized, one fact is ap­ parent immediately - the relationship of the diorama to exhibition tech­ nique in fairs and in advertising. To say that the museums gave the di­ orama to the commercial world would be denied by the artisans and crafts­ men who today make dioramas as a profession for commercial purposes.

To

say that the museums adopted the diorama from models supplies first by commercial firms would also be denied by the museums. Yet the diorama as we have defined it in this study is very definitely employed as a visual or display medium in many commercial situations today, one finds however, that it is in the commercial utili­ zation of the diorama that we see the greatest variation as to size, sub­ ject matter and materials, and general composition.

If the museums are

slightly vague as to exactly what a diorama is, the commercial world is very definite as to what- constitutes a diorama. To the commercial world a diorama is wa representation in three dimensions, employing modeling, painting, lighting, action, and blended by perspective into a lifelike scene. The presentation of the miniature

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subject carries the observer into the spirit of the actual subject in a

1 manner so convincing that he feels as Gulliver must have felt in Lilliput”. Sources Of The Commercial Diorama In tracing the source of the diorama the commercial maker of dioramas apparently looks to the large exhibition or fair and to the stage. One well known artist and stage designer says, From the time of the early Egyptians, down through the Greeks, all through the Renaissance in miracle plays and tableaux, the diorama was in use in some form. Even the invention of print­ ing from movable type did not destroy its function as a medium of expressing a concrete idea to the masses. The Gettysburg diorama, familiar to those of the passing generation was one of the most pretentious. The most spectacular use of the di­ orama, perhaps, was that made by Potemkin when he had resplend­ ent false cities built along the road that Catherine of Russia was to travel.2 The president of one of the foremost firms making dioramas to­ day says that, “introduced from Europe for the Century of Progress ex­ position in Chicago, the use of the diorama has increased and the size of the products themselves has expanded until today America has brought this art into full blossom”.^ Other workers in this field of visual display usually unite in placing the diorama in the same family with the cyclorama and the panor­ ama.

In this we find that they are agreeing with the museum worker who

looked to the panorama for inspiration when painting the background for XI

2. 3.

E. H. Burdick, Modern Showmanship in 3 Dimensions, Phoenix Flame, (December 1936), unpaged. N. Bel Geddes, Futurama, Almanac, United Scenic Artists of America, 194Q - 1941, p. 3. E. H. Burdick, I/iniput Outgrows Gulliver. Diorama Corporation of America publication, unpaged.

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the museum habitat group and diorama. No one can prove exactly when a commercial firm or agency first used a diorama as a medium for display purposes. As stated in Chapter V (p. 76), one of Dwight Franklin's groups, made for the Liberty Loan campaign in New York City in 1917, was accidentally sold. This started him making these miniature groups for use in homes.

Today he is making

many such groups for people who wish to use them as ornamental or deco­ rative furnishings in their homes, or in libraries. We have also cited (pp. 87 - 88), the instance of the Museum of Natural History in San Diego, California, in 1925, and the making of their round-backed cases.

Some of these cases were sold to stores for display

and advertising purposes. Others were loaned to stores for temporary dis­ play in connection with special sales.^ Exhibitions and Fairs Many of the great exhibitions and fairs in Europe during the nineteenth century had featured miniature models and groups of sorts. Our own Centennial Fair in Philadelphia, in 1876, had a number of groups among its exhibits, as did the Columbian Exposition of 1898. The public appeal of these great fairs and their exhibits "started an era of popular displays of art, science and industry that is still gathering force".^

~ 5.

C. J. Abbott, Small Groups At Small Cost, American Association of Museums, New Series No. 1927, p. 9. T. R. Adams, The Museum and Popular Culture, p. 13.

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Display Technique in Modern Merchandising In addition to the work of the fairs one finds that there had been a carry over of this same type of exhibit technique from the dis­ plays in the large stores. Business men and advertising experts tell us that, "The greatest advances in the art of display in the last decade have been made by business, witness the development of the modern store­ front, the show window, the counter display, and the emphasis upon at­ tractiveness and visibility throughout all modem merchandising".^ In all probability we would be justified in saying that the commercial field was prepared and ready to accept a new medium for the presentation and sale of merchandise, just as the museums were ready to use the diorama as a medium of exhibition technique. The Diorama At "The Century Of Progress" In Chicago The Chicago "Century of Progress" Fair provided the necessary impetus for the use of this new medium. We find the diorama adopted by fair officials and commercial exhibitors alike. In 1925 a search of almanacs, catalogs and directories would have revealed no such thing as a diorama-making company or similar commercial establishments.

In 1935>

looking back over the work accomplished over a period of four years, we find the president of the Diorama Corporation of America (located first in Chicago, Illinois, but now in Long Island City, New York) stating: Although throughout the United States there have in the past been a scattered few examples of dioramas in their experimen­ tal stage (mostly in museums in the form of habitat scenes), continued 5.

E.

b. Ford, The New Public Museum From the Standpoint of a Trustee, Museum News (September 1, 1940), p. 9*

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the credit for first acquainting the American showman with the unbounded possibilities of this new and interesting type of display is justly given to the officials of "A Century of Progress”, but recently closed in Chicago (1932)«* These officials, when the plans for this great world's Fair were still in their infancy, realised that the public that would visit this exposition would insist upon a newer and more in­ teresting type of exhibit than had been shown in the past. The gigantic strides in public acceptance or rejection of products and methods of display, prompted World's Fair of­ ficials to make a special trip aboard and to the leading centers of the United States in an endeavor to find a medium of display which they could use as a basis fcr exhibits. As a consequence of this extended trip the diorama was decided upon as a medium of display that would entirely fit the title of "A Century of Progress" and would serve as a basic display medium that they could conscientiously recommend as a basis of display for their exhibitors. Experts were brought from Europe to educate the American artists and craftsmen in the construction of these interesting three-dimensional dis­ plays that have met such instantaneous and overwhelming suc­ cess in England, France and Germany in their various exhibi­ tions, trade shows, museums, window displays, and as a com­ prehensive and successful sales kit for the salesmen of their outstanding corporations. Many leading companies and exhibi­ tors at "A Century of Progress" realized immediately the un­ limited possibilities of this type of exhibit and as a con­ sequence, the more than forty million visitors at this World's Fair became intensely interested in this type of showmanship and were, in return for their interest, added to the prospec­ tive customers of these exhibiting companies.6 The dioramas exhibited at the Chicago fair dealt with a great variety of subjects.

if

The Armour and Company clothing exhibit consisted

of a series of four small two-foot displays to show types of clothing

*■

6.

It is interesting to note that the commercial artist and craftsman is apparently unaware of the many advances made in museum tech­ niques and displays. Museum craftsmen for their part have often tended to ignore such criticisms of their work as have been made by commercial artists. Both could well profit from an unbiased and impartial examination of their mutual products and an inter­ change of criticisms and suggestions. E. H« Burdick, America’s New Display Medium, Display World (February 1935); P» 9.

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and material worn in the different seasons. Sears Roebuck and Company showed ”The History of Merchandise” by means of a series of twelve dio­ ramas which were seven feet, six inches in size.

(This series was later

acquired by the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and is one instance in which a museum utilized the dioramas of the commercial world).

The National Cash Register Company showed a reproduction of

their plant by means of a ten foot diorama. Development Of The Commercial Diorama One aspect of the development of the diorama which has been the same in both the museums and in the commercial world is the fact that once the diorama was accepted in one place as a medium of display tech­ nique it almost immediately seemed to appear in dozens of other places. In the museums one can probably attribute this rapid spread to the fact that the total number of museums in the United States is small enough for all to be aware of what is being done throughout the entire field of museum activity.

The American Association of Museums has also

served as a sort of clearing house for the exchange of ideas, and its publication Museum News has served to publicize outstanding events and happenings in the museum world.

Just how much these channels contributed

to the spread of the diorama is, of course, purely a matter of conjec­ ture. Museum workers have served in several museums, and carried with them the techniques learned in the different places; workers from small museums have been sent to some of the larger museums for the specific purpose of learning techniques; there has been a general adoption of com­ mon techniques by all museum workers.

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In the commercial world, of course, one has come to expect ideas to spread rapidly. Modern advertising and mass production has made it possib3.e for products to appear simultaneously in New York and in S^n Francisco, so perhaps we should not marvel at the almost light­ ning-like speed with which dioramas appeared in many places. There are of course, other factors to be considered which also contributed to this movement: Thousands of persons from all parts of the country saw the di­ oramas at the Chicago Fair; the general size and make-up of the diorama appealed to that universal love of miniature models and figures referred to before in this study; the unlimited scope of subject-matter permitted in a diorama made it practical for many types of firms to utilize it as a medium for publicizing their wares; the relatively low cost of making a diorama made it a practical medium for advertising; the skill and art represented in the -diorama put it into a class with fine art presenta­ tions; the illusion of depth and reality achieved through the use of three-dimensions gave it the appeal of actual objects. Commercial Utilization Of The Diorama ft~ll of the factors mentioned served, when combined, to give the diorama an appeal and a value which advertising and commerce were quick to appreciate and to utilize. Types Made for Business Firms The diorama seemed to appear almost overnight in business houses and stores and office buildings. The Monsanto Chemical Company installed a series of ten dioramas in the lobby of the St. Louis offices

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to show the plants and the type of work carried out by the firm. The Bell Telephone Company has a series of dioramas showing the history of that company, and has exhibited these in a number of city headquarters throughout the country.

The Sunkist Orange Company sponsored the con­

struction of dioramas showing a typical company orange grove and pack­ ing plant in California, and these have been exhibited in hundreds of store windows.

The India Tea Company has a similar type of advertisirg

campaign, and uses a diorama showing one of their tea plantations. Use of Motion One finds that the factor of motion is of prime importance to the diorama made for commercial purposes, and also for the fairs.

The

creators and designers of commercial dioramas apparently agree that mechanical animation and electric lighting are the prime forces contri­ buting to a successful diorama. This acceptance of motion in a diorama can probably be at­ tributed to the fact that advertising is designed to attract - and motion attracts.

The commercial display is primarily designed for the

purpose of attracting the attention of prospective buyers.

The general

consensus of the opinions of these commercial diorama makers has been voiced by Tony Sarg, artist, designer, maker of marionettes and also of dioramas: The primary purpose of a window display is to arrest the atten­ tion of the passer-by. Within the last few years this art has developed in leaps and bounds and incredibly large sums of money are spent for this purpose.today. Creators of Dioramas are perhaps the most important contributors to this art and those which are combined with mechanical animation are by far the most successful. Electric lighting is of course another important factor. continued

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R. H. Macy recently used window displays which made full use of the magic transparent mirror device.- The audience looks at a mirror tilted slightly backwards to prevent a person looking at the mirror from being reflected in it. Instead this mirror picks up a display which is hidden in the ceil­ ing of the store window and reflects it out to the audience in such a manner that they feel they are looking at a genuine window display- Presently the lighting that lit up the dis­ play, hidden in the ceiling, fades out and a light appears behind the mirror revealing a totally different display.... The simplest form of animation will always create attention ....Whether the window display is a three dimensional or a flat display, I recommend with much enthusiasm the use of animation....7 One has only to walk along the main shopping streets of our large cities today to see countless examples of the use of motion in dioramas used for exhibits in window displays. Extensive use of this display medium is particularly to be seen at Christmas time.

In these

exhibits one sees clearly the influence of the toy theater and the min­ iature stage sets. The use of animation and mechanical motion at the present moment is the main point of difference between the diorama of the mu­ seums and the diorama of the commercial world. This investigator feels that animation is out of place in a museum diorama and distracts rather than adds to its effectiveness. Moreover, the museum diorama does not have to exert the same effort to attract as does the commercial product. The museum visitor has already been sufficiently attracted by the nature of its exhibits to enter the museum building.

* 7.

The function of the dior­

A con?)arisen of this type of exhibit with the dissolving habitat group described on pages 90 to 91 will reveal a surprising degree of similarity between the two types of exhibits. T. Sarg, Window Displays, Almanac, United Scenic Artists of America, 1940 - 1941* p. 22.

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ama should then be to present museum materials and information in such a way that the visitor will study them and go away with certain impres­ sions, but will return at a later date for further inspection and study. Use of the Diorama at the New York Fair When the New York World's Fair, "The World of Tomorrow" was held in 1939 and again in 1940, there was no question as to the use of dioramas.

The United States Government, in the Federal Exhibit, showed

many phases of government work and various government housing, recreation­ al and conservation projects by dioramas.

The Consolidated Edison Company

showed the lighting system of New York City by means of a diorama in which every building and object was miniature, but the entire group itself as a unit was nearly a city block long and three stories high. One of the most popular was that known as "The Futurama", the Exhibit of the General Motors Corporation. In this the visitors sat in moving armchairs and looked down upona miniature replica of the cities of tomorrow.

Here the

model remained static, and the observer revolved around it. Other diorama exhibits showed model steel mills, primitive CroMagnon man, "Tiny Town" or a modern model town, model service stations, a model of ancient Palestine, power and flood control projects. Use of the Diorama In Motion Pictures Motion

pictures have also utilized the diorama. Many a set has

been made in miniature, photographed and then enlarged. When the final picture is shown no one would know that a life-size badkground had not

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been used. Here of course the diorama is once more allied to its theat­ rical prototypes, and the connection seems quite natural. The motion picture "Romance of Coffee” was entirely enacted by marionettes moving in miniature or dioramic settings.

"Symphony in F”,

which showed the work of the Ford Motor Company, was also filmed from miniature models.

It is probable that the future will see even greater

utilization of dioramas by the motion pictures. Use of the Diorama By Religious and Philanthropic Groups The March 14, 1937 issue of the New York "Herald Tribune” car­ ried a full page illustration of a utilization of a modern diorama in a manner which vividly recalls the early religious derivations of this type of display.

The diorama represented Christ in the garden at Gethsemane,

and it was displayed daily during Lent until Good Friday, in the nave of Trinity Church, New York City. The description given in the newspaper account makes one think immediately of the creche, the early dioramas of Daguerre, and the dissolving habitat case; "The light in the scene slow­ ly fades and the head of the statuette imperceptibly raises towards the skies....the cycle takes four and a half minutes for completion”.^ This religious diorama was made by the same Diorama Corporation of New York already mentioned.

It is the only national company specializ­

ing in the construction of dioramas, and made them for both the Chicago and New York World's Fairs.

8l

Dioramas portraying Biblical scenes have been

New York Herald-Tribune (March 14, 1937), Rotogravure Section.

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made by students Sunday-school classes. Numerous religious, philantropic, humane and social organiza­ tions today utilize dioramas to portray their work or to aid in cam­ paigns of various types.

In 1941*The Humane Society of St. Joseph and

Buchanan County, Missouri, devoted to the prevention of cruelty to children and to animals, undertook a Humane Education program in their community. children.

Part of the program was a diorama-making contest for the These dioramas dealt with such subjects as protection of o

children from accidents, kindness to animals, and the care of children/ Characteristics Of The Commercial Diorama Edward H. Burdick, President of the Diorama Corporation of

America listed the characteristics of a diorama, as the commercial world understands that term, and which may be stated as follows:^ 1. Dioramas may be constructed in any size from several inches up to life-sized.

The average diorama is between four and eight feet in

length, two and four feet in depth, four and eight feet in height. 2. The diorama is viewed through a prosenium or other arched frame. 3. The horizon line or dividing line is usually set at the aver­ age American eye-level of five feet two inches. 4. From this dividing line, sloping down toward the observer, the foreground material is modeled.

10.

M. French, Fifty Years of Humane Service. The National Humane Review (August 1941)# p. 13. E. H. Burdick, America*s New Display Medium. Display World (February, 1935), P. 8.

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5* The use of forced perspective in all modeling and painting en­ ables the group to present an illusion of reality to the observer. 6. Figures for dioramas are all modeled. 7. All figures, costumes and details must be accurate in every detail. 8. The range of subject matter is unlimited. 9. The craftsmanship of skilled workers and trained research men should be used for the construction of a diorama. 10. Many novelties and trick devices are possible for various display purposes - revolving turntables, mechanical motion, Sirrors, hidden animation and anything else essential for the attracting and holding of the attention of the observer. 11. The uses to which a diorama may be put are manifold.

It may

be used solely as an «attention-gettern, or as a permanent exhibit. 12. Lighting is an essential element of the diorama. The light­ ing should be indirect and come from the case housing the diorama.* piorama And Display Workers Union Many artists and craftsmen are today engaged in the profes­ sional, commercial manufacture of dioramas.

They are now united as

the Diorama and Display Workers, a division of the United Scenic Artists

*

close comparison of the characteristics of commercial dioramas with those of the museum diorama as described on page 71, will re­ veal the fact that Items 10 (dealing with motion), and Item II (dealing with the diorama as an "attention-getter")> are the only points of difference between the two conceptions of the diorama.

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of America, Local Union #829 of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America."^ This union published a handsome almanac, 1940 - 1941> describ­ ing the work accomplished in the last few years in the fields of costume and stage designing, painting, diorama making and other display arts. The almanac also contains a classified directory of firms and individuals engaged in this work. An examination of the directory yields a few rather interesting facts: 1. One hundred and forty individuals, scenic designers, in the vi­ cinity of New York City. 2. Two hundred and four individuals, scenic artists, mainly in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. 3. Six companies in New York specifically devoted to the making of dioramas. 4. Twelve companies in New York devoted to the making of dioramas and displays. 5. Two hundred and sixty-two individuals and companies, mainly in New York devoted to the making of displays classified by a code as, ani­ mation; cut-outs; designer; displays; draftsman; landscaping; lay-out; metal fabrication; painting; plastics; puppets and mannequins; scaled models; spraying; three-dimensionals and vegetation. Museum-Commercial Cooperation In 1939, the New York Museum of Science and Industry and the

111

E. M. Marshall, Business Agent of United Scenic Artists of Amerida, Personal letter, February 17, 1942. (

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Buffalo Museum of science undertook a joint activity which received the cooperation of the Rockefeller Corporation. This consisted of a survey of the New York World1s Fair in 1939 and the San Francisco World’s Fair of the same year. Two reports were published in book form* ’’East Is East and West Is west" by Carlos E. Cumming, dealing with the differences and similarities in the exhibits of fairs and museums; "Exhibition Techniques", compiled by R. P. Shaw, giving a pictorial record of the methods of in­ stallation and exhibition at the two fairs. These reports indicate an attempt by both museum and industry to survey the may

techniques followed by each, with a view to seeing what

be of mutual benefit in their experiences. In speaking of the many types of dioramas used, R. P. Shaw

says, The popularity of the diorama is based on the speed and vivid­ ness of the impression which it makes and on the directness of its appeal. For most persons words and pictures are decidedly incomplete experiences; their imagination cannot fully bridge the gap to reality. They need the look and feel of actual things to awaken the quality of perception which leads to an emotional response. Everybody who has to teach others soon finds his way to concrete illustrations, andthe diorama ex­ tends the range of such illustrations to thelimits of me­ chanical and artistic inventiveness.12 Cummings, whose book is dedicated "To the Museums of Today and the Museums of Tomorrow", says, "The greatest and most significant contri­ bution of the major fairs in recent years to the advancement of the museum idea has been in the line of making the public museum conscious and museumminded

12l

rather than in any important or radical suggestion in regard to the

R. p. Shaw, Exhibition Techniques, p. 115*

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actual problems of museum installation".^ Edward Burdick, speaking from the standpoint of the industrial man says, The use of dioramas in museums and historical societies is, of course, ideal. It is the feeling of the writer that with­ in a snort length of time dioramas will serve as a basis of display for all of our most successful edifices of this type ...The visual education that is possible in commercial en­ terprises, as well as in the education of our younger popula­ tion, is extremely well presented by the use of the diorama ...in the future a great deal of our education in public schools will be done through some three-dimensional form such as the diorama, especially among the lower grades.^ Thus we see that the commercial world has taken the diorama and made it an integral part of the media to be used for display purposes, for commercial advertising, for merchandising, and for publicity and pro­ motional campaigns.

Perhaps the commercial world is more keenly aware of

the value of the diorama as a display medium than either the museum or the school, that is a

question which cannot definitely

Certainly the commercial world to date seems

be answeredasyet. to have givenmore

conscious thought and effort to the production of dioramas. The museums have frequently used the diorama as a substitute for the habitat group. Museum officials are only beginning to realize the effects to be obtained through utilization of the diorama. The schools have tended, when making their own dioramas, to draw upon thecardboard cut-out form.

They thus

ignore, or partially lose sight of, the fact that the full value of the diorama is gained when its three-dimensional characteristic is maintained

13. 14.

C* E. Cummings, East Is East and West Is West, p. 31» E. H. Burdick, America's New Display Medium. Display World, (February 1935)> P* 10.

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throughout in every detail. The commercial artisan more than either the museum preparator or the school teacher, has looked at the diorama from an unbiased point of view. The scrutiny thus given has evidently convinced the commercial makers of dioramas that it was worthy of consideration and use. They have made the greatest progress in using the diorama, and in acknowledging it as an effective teaching medium.

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CHAPTER V I I I

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AS TO THE STATUS OF THE DIORAMA TODAY The pioneer period in the development of the diorama may now be considered as completed.

As shewn in the preceding chapters the de­

velopmental period in the museums may be said to have spanned the years from 1914 to the present date; in the schools it may be said to have taken place from about 1929 or 1930 to the present date; and in the com­ mercial world from approximately 1930 to the present date. The time span indicated is not a long one in point of actual number of years.

In giving this time span, however, one must keep con­

stantly in mind the fact that these years cover the period during which the outward manifestation of the diorama was given concrete form.

The

many sources which combined to make the background out of which the di­ orama evolved, stretch back through the years to that day when man carved his first miniature reproduction of some familiar object. The diorama of today represents the culmination of the labor of many people in dif­ ferent fields of work in various places throughout the world. As a result of (her) research, study and consultations with museum workers, this investigator offers the following as the definition of a diorama. The miniature, three-dimensional group consisting of an arrangement of small modeled and colored figures or specimens, with ac-

161

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cessories, in an appropriate setting, and in most instances artificially lighted.

The scale and size of the group is variable; there i3 no stand­

ard shape; there is no limitation as to subject matter, which may be re­ alistic or imaginative according to what the creator of the group wishes to portray. The diorama may be used in the following capacities 1. As a method of exhibition technique in museum exhibit halls. 2. As one of the visual aids sent to the schools by the museums. 3. As an objective teaching aid to be made in and by the schools themselves, and used in classroom teaching. 4.

As a commercial advertising and merchandising aid.

5. As a visual medium for portraying episodes, events and char­ acters, to be used by libraries, social organizations, historical socie­ ties and similar groups. Those sources tovhich one may look for prototypes of the dior­ ama may be said to fall into three main classifications: 1. Religious groups - the crib or manger, displayed at Christmas time in Catholic churches throughout the world since the time of St. Francis of Assissi. 2. Stage sets - miniature carved stage sets, toy or juvenile theaters, shadow boxes, puppet theaters, cardboard cut-outs, and shadow pantomimes. 3. Miniature carved models - small carved models of houses, thea­ ters, gardens, temples, and people.

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Those sources to which one may look for the immediate fore­ runners of the diorama fall into the following classifications: 1. The panorama or cyclorama - these life-sized painted scenes provided the idea of a background painted in perspective and curved to follow the normal horizon line. 2. Museum habitat groups - these groups provided the idea of showing mounted specimens set against painted backgrounds, the whole so arranged through forced perspective as to present a realistic reproduc­ tion of the actual place from which the specimen came. 3. Exhibits in fairs - the small, modeled groups shown in the ex­ hibitions and fairs of Europe and the United States since about 1876, provided the idea of miniature, scenic groups.

can As far as the research and study of this investigatoi/deter­

mine,the use of the diorama in the museums of the United States came about through the introduction of small historical groups, first made by Dwight Franklin in 1914. Other workers in museums soon began to make similar groups, and today there are many such workers occupied in making dioramas for the museums. The museums were ready to utilize this medium of exhibition technique. Evidence of this readiness tc utilize it is to be seen in the rapidity with which it was adopted by the various museums.

Crafts-

and preparators, as well as scientists, in the museums saw that the miniature group offered many opportunites to reproduce information in such a way that it told the desired story to the museum visitor.

Educ-

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tional workers in those museums which maintained educational programs al­ so saw in the diorama a new visual aid by means of which to awaken and hold the interest of students, and to stimulate their observant powers. Habitat groups, first introduced into museums in 1901, had be­ come exceedingly popular in the natural history museums as a means of installing and exhibiting specimens.

The habitat case however, proved

expensive to make and required careful and expert workmanship of a spe­ cialized nature.

The diorama offered the smaller museum an opportunity

to possess less expensive but equally effective groups.

The history

museums in particular found the diorama an effective way of showing historical episodes and peoples. The museums in general found that the miniature scale of the diorama was not a barrier to its effectiveness as a display medium. The three-dimensional qualities of the diorama enabled it to present an illusion of reality which was not lessened in any way by its miniature scale. The museums first introduced the diorama into the schools by means of circulating collections of study materials.

The schools have

since used the museum dioramas, and have also made their own dioramas. Both museums and schools have instituted teacher training courses in the making of dioramas.

The diorama has been accepted throughout the

educational world as one of the modern objective teaching aids.

In the

schools there has been a decided tendency to use the cardboard cut-out type of diorama, due to the ease with which these can be made and their

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very low cost. The diorama has been used on all levels from elementary school to university, and has proved effective in many teaching situa­ tions. The diorama apparently reached the commercial world through the avenue of the fair or industrial and commercial exhibition, and was patterned to a large extent after types of exhibits found in Europe. Since 1931, « U of the large fairs in the United States have made elab­ orate and extensive use of the diorama as an exhibit technique. Following the example of the fairs, business firms, stores and other industrial groups have utilized the diorama as a means of window display, publicity and advertising.

The use of dioramas by business is

increasing steadily. The one great distinction between the diorama as used by the museum and the school, and that used by business, lies in the factor of motion and mechanical animation. Museum preparators and teachers have tended to frown upon the use of such motion, whereas the commercial maker of the diorama regards motion as the chief means of attracting attention. The greatest hindrance to a proper understanding of the term diorama lies in a lack of agreement as to terminology. The museums have never prepared a standard list of terms for museum materials.

In one museum the term diorama applies only to the

miniature group; in another it applies to the habitat group, and in still another it applies loosely to both types of groups.

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This same lack of definition of terms prevails in the schools. In addition,teachers classify almost any type of cut-out or grouped ef­ fect as a diorama, '.vithout giving consideration to what is expected of a diorama, or what results are to be achieved through use of a diorama. The commercial people are very definite as to what they mean by a diorama. In the construction and use of dioramas they have fol­ lowed an entirely independent course of development, and have not to date consulted with the museums to any extent. However, indications for the future would seem to indicate a greater degree of cooperation between museums and commercial establishments on questions of display technique and methods of installation of exhibits. Thus we see that the diorama has won a place among the ex­ hibits of the museum world, the school world, and the commercial and industrial world. Regardless of what workers and craftsmen in each of these three fields may have felt in the past concerning the work and the capabilities of the others, indications point to a change of at­ titude in the not too far distant future. No one of them can exist wholely without the other. Workers.in til three are allied in one re­ spect - they are seeking the favor and approval of the public. In order to secure this public attention and to carry out the particular program of the moment, each has utilized the diorama in one form or another. Recently we have seen the beginning of a tendency on the part of all three groups to cooperate and to consult over this matter of display technique. Which of the three will take this common medium of technique, the diorama,

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and utilize and develop it to its fullest possibilites remains for the future to reveal. In the light of the conditions concerning the present status. of the diorama as outlined in this study, this writer would make the following recommendations: For the MUSSUMS: The formation of an inter-museum committee to draw up a standard terminolgy to be used and applied in all museums, and acceptable to all museum workers. A study on the part of each individual museum of its exhibits to determine their effectiveness as instruments for conveying informa­ tion. The past two decades have been a period of great expansion and building on the part of the museums. The need is for an evaluation of the results of this work. This is particularly true with regard to the diorama.

Just as the peak has probably been reached in the making of

large habitat groups, so it is with the diorama.

If the museum diorama

is to fulfill its role as an effective visual aid,it needs to be studied. The museums all have a wealth of material on hand and in their cases. The present need is how best to interpret these materials in terms that the visitor can understand.

Such interpretation demands some sort of

evaluation before proceeding to the next step. The museums have long been regarded as guardians of the arti­ facts and evidences of cultures of the past.

If they are to perform

their duty to future generations they should utilize the diorama to record events which are taking place now.

Primary evidence is always

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the hardest to secure.

The museum makers of dioramas would be perform­

ing a definite service to mankind if they made more dioramas showing various phases of present day life and civilization.

The skill of the

museum craftsmen would then be allied to first hand knowledge of his subject. The result would be a permanent record which future students would find of inestimable value. For the SCHOOLS: An evaluative testing program to determine the relative merits of the various types of objective teaching aids other than slides and motion pictures.

In setting up such a test,the

school personnel should consult with museum educational workers, par­ ticularly with regard to any testing of the merits of the diorama. No statements as to the teaching value of the diorama should be established unless a true diorama has been the basis of the testing.

School workers

need to be made to see that flat cardboard cut-outs cannot reasonably be expected to yield exactly the same results as modeled, three-dimen­ sional dioramas. For CO^TRGIAL AGENCIES; The establishment of an acceptable common terminology for all types of display materials. As applied to the diorama this would mean the substitution of a new term to indicate groups in which mechanical animation was employed - perhaps ttmotoramaM, or some similar term.

This would probably make for better cooperation

with museum and school makers of dioramas and result in mutual aid in the making of better dioramas in the future. The diorama is today an accepted medium of visual display. Anyone using it needs to be aware of the results he expects to obtain

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through the use of the diorama.

It should then be used in that relation­

ship in which it will prove most beneficial.

The value of the diorama as

an objective display technique is such that it warrants the attention and talents of the most skilled craftsmen.

It is capable of being an effec­

tive teaching aid, a display medium, and a valuable advertising medium. The results achieved will be in exact proportion to the wisdom and care with which the particular diorama has been made, selected, and then used. The present investigator definitely feels that the diorama is one of the most effective of visual aids being made today, and that the future will see a greatly extended field of usefulness for it.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

BIBLIOGRAPHY THE DIORAMA Abbott, C.J., Small Groups at Small Costs. Washington, D.C-.: American Association of Museums, New Series. No.5. (1927), pp. 9-14. American Institute of Architects, Committee on Education. Significance of the Fine Arts. Boston: Marshall Jones Company, 1923.Pp.3od. 4- 483. A'Mhrie, R.I., Models for Moderns. United Scenic Artists Almanac. 1940 1941, P. 33. Anonymous, Cardboard Dioramas; Working Drawing. School Arts. XI (Sept­ ember 1941), p. 19. ______ , Lincoln; Three-Dimensional Highlights of A Career. Christian Science Monitor (February 12, 1942), p. 11. . Freezing History in Miniature. Popular Mechanics. XLI7 (Feb­ ruary 1941), pp. 174-176. Bapst, G., Essai'• sur lthistoire des panoramas et des dioarmas. Paris; Imprimerie Nationals, 1891. Pp. 30. ______ , Essai sur lthistoire du theatre. Paris; Rapport du jury inter­ national de l*e3cposition de 1889, 1893. Pp. ii -f 693. _________ , Les metaux dans Itantiquity et au mgyen age. Paris: G.Masson, 1894. Pp. x 4- 330. Batchelder, E.A., Design In Theory and Practice. New York; The Macmillan Company, 1910. Pp. xx -f 271. Bel Geddes, N., Futurama. Unitp-d Scenie Artists Alumnae. 1940—1941, p.33. Binjton, L., Chinese Art and Buddhism, British Acadeny Proceedings. 1938, p. 21. ________ , Painting In the Far East. London; E. Arnold and Company, 1934, (3rd edition). Pp. 3cvi 4- 302. Bonser, F.G. and Mossman, L.C., Industrial Arts for Elementary Schools. New York; The Macmillan Company, 1932. Pp. ix 4- 491. Browne, Van D., Secrets of Scene Painting and Stage Effects. London; George Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1914. Pp. 75. Burchard, 0., La netite sculpture chinoise. Paris; G. Crfes et Compagnie, 1922. Pp. 11. - 170 -

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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Burdick, E. H., America’s Hew Display Medium. Display World (February 1935), pp. 8-9 and 30. , Lilliput Outgrows Gulliver. Hew York: Diorama Corpora­ tion of America, 1939. Unpaged pamphlet. , Modem Showmanship in 3-Dimensions. New York: Diorama Corporation of America, 1939. Unpaged pamphlet, reprint from Phoeniw Flame (December, 1936). Burns, H. J., Field Manual for Museums. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1941. Pp. xii 4ge. _________ , The History of Dioramas. Museum News. XVII (February 15, 1940), pp. 8-3.2. _________ 9 Life In Miniature. Natural History. XXVIII (September October 1928), pp. 546-554. __________ , The Value of Miniature and Life-Size Historical Groups. Museum News. X (January 1, 1933), pp. 7-8. Campbell. C. I.. A Problem In Model Making. Museum News. XI (November 1, 1933), pp. 9-10. - Church, V., The Original Toy Theatre. pp. 255-260.

Theatre Magazine. XXI (May 1915),

Cotterill, H. B., History of Art. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1922. 2 volumes. Daguerse, L.J.M., Historique et descriptions des procedes du daguerrotype et du diorama. Paris: A. Giroux et Compagnie, 1839. Pp. 76. Donovan, S. M.,

Crib, The Catholic Shcyelopeaia, Vol.IV, pp. 488-489.

Dunlap, W., A History of the Bise and Progress of the Arts of Design in the United States. Boston: C. E. Goodspeed and Company, 1918. 3 volumes. Elliott, E.W., With Uncle Same at the World’s Fair. (April 1939), pp. 9-11.

Signs of the Times.

Fenn, A., Design and tradition.. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1920. Pp. xx f 376. Fenollosa, E. F., Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art. New York: Frederick A. Stokes and Company, 1921. 2 volumes Fletcher, Sir B., History of Architecture On the Comparative Method. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1928. Pp. xxxvi f 929.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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Fox, D. R., The Development of the American Theater. New York History. XVII (1936), pp. 22-41. - Franklin, D., A Recent Development In Museum Groups, American Association of Museuns Proceedings. 1916, pp. 110-112. _________ , It*s A Small World. Education. LXI (September 1940), pp. 30-41. _________ , The Psychology of Museum Groups, American Association of Museums Proceedings. 1917, pp. 34-35. French, M., Fifty Years of Humane Service. The National Humane Review, XXIX (August 1941), pp. 13-14. Frost, B., Figures for Dioramas. Museum News. XVIII (January 15, 1941), pp. 6-8. Gardner, H., Art Through the Ages. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1926. Pp. xi ■*• 506. Gilmore,- B. B., Merchandising, United Scenic Artists Almanac. 1940-1941, p. 44. Greacen, E.,Jr., The Use of Metal in the Preparation of Miniature Trees and Foliage. Museum News. XIX (March 15, 1942), pp. 10-12. Grober, K., Children? s Toys of Bygone Days. New York: Frederick A.Stokes Company, 1928. Pp. iv f 306. Hamilton, W., Skelt and Webb: Penny Plain or Two Pence Colored. Notes and Queries. X (1890), pp. 12-15. Hamlin, A.D.F., History of Ornament. Ancient and Medieval. New York: Century Company, 1921. 2 volumes.

The

___________ , Origin and Development of Style in Architecture. Albany: University of the State of New York Extension Department, Syllabus No. 69, 1897. Henkell, K. F., Diorama.

Zurich: Verlage-Magazin, 1890. Pp.xvi 4- 272.

Hewes, J., Small Geological Dioramas. Museum Service (Rochester Museum), XLlV (May 1940), pp. 5-8. Him, Y., Origins of Art. London: Macmillan Company, 1900.

Pp.xi 4- SSI.

Hoffman, F., Window Display, American Association of Museums Proceedings. 1917, pp. 69-70.

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- 173 Jameson-, A. B., Sacred and Legendary Art . Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1881, 2 volumes. Keppel, F.P. and Durfin, R.L., The Arts in .American Life. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1955. Pp. xi 4- 227. Xiemaa, C. and Spence,C.S., How To Make Three Dimensional PostersrHow To Motivate. Design and Construct Dioramas From School Room Materials. Chicago: Schoool Products Bureau, 1957. Pp. 52. Lethaty, W.R., Early Christian Art, Cambridge Medieval History. Vol.I, pp. 598-614. __________ , Form In Civilization. London: Oxford University Press, 1922. Pp. 242. Lewton, F.L., Installation of Textile Fabrics, American Association of Museums Proceedings, 1916, pp. 115-117. Mahoney, D.J., Prevention of Reflection From Glass Fronts of Dioramas. The Museums Journal, XLV (January 1940), pp. 422-425. Matthews, B., A Book About the Theater. New York: Charles Scribner1s Sons, 1916. Pp. xii f 554. __________ , Stage Devices. Theatre Magazine. XXIX (February - March 1929), pp. 82-90. __________ , The Theatres of Paris. New York: Charles Scribner*s Sons, 1850. Pp. viii + 208. McCafferty, C.E., Three Dimensional Pictures: The Portable Education Diorama. Nebraska Education Journal, XXVII (November 1941), pp.232255. - loorehead, D., The Developmental Pueblo Diorama. Mesa Verde Notes. VIII (December 1939), pp. 8-11. Murray, Sir J.H. (editor), Diorama, The New English Dictionary On Histori­ cal Principles. 1888-1928. Oenslager, D., Fine Art of Variation. United Scenic Artists Almanac. 19401941, p. 8. , Scenery Then and Now. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1936. Pp. xiv f 265. Parker, A.C., History Is Written In Objects. (December 1938), pp. 38-44.

The Regional Review. I

__________ , A Manual for History Museums. New York: Columbia University Press, 1935. Pp. xv ♦ 204.

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Parker, J. H., Archaeology of Rome. Oxford: J. Parker and Company, 1877. ii parts in 8 volumes. Part 10 - Sculpture, and Part 11 Church and Altar Decoration and Mosaic Pictures. Patten, M., The Arts Workshop of-Rural America. New York: Columbia University Press, 1957. Pp. 202. Plastrcw, C.C., The Use of the Diorama in Advertising and Education. United Scenic Artists Almanac, 1940-1941, p. 48. Poore, H.B., The Conception of Art. Garden City: Doubleday, Page abd Company, 1915. Pp. xv + 222. Post, C. R., 5istory>'of European and American Sculpture. Harvard University Press, 1921, 2 volumes.

Cambridge,Mass.:

~ Powell, L.B., Interchangeable Dioramas. Museum News. XIX (October 15, 1941), ppi 11-12. __________ , The Flexible Installation of Dioramas.Museum News, (Nomember 15, 1957), pp. 7^8.

XV,

Purdy, W.F., Methods of Display in Shops, American Association of Museums Proceedings, 1917, pp. 67-68. Ramsey, G.F., Project Making, New York: American Museum of Natural History School Service Series, 1954, pp. 25. Sarg, T.,

Window Displays.

United ScenicArtistsAlmanac.1940-1941.

p.22

Shaw, R. P.,(editor), Exhibition Techniques. New York: Museum of Science and Industry, 1940. Pp. 151. Speed, H..Science and Practice of Oil Painting. London: Chapman' and Hall, Ltd., 1924. Pp. xii f 275. Staley, J.E., Guilds of Florence. London: Methuen and Company, 1906. Pp. xxii + 622. Stenger, E., Daguerre^ Diorama In Berlin. Berlin: Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1925, Pp. 76. Stevenson, R.L., The Flight of the Princess and Other Pieces. Magazine of Art. VII (May 1884), "Penny Plain and Two Pence Colored", pp.227-252. Strzugowski, J., Origins of Christian Church Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1925. Pp. xi 268. Symonds, J.A., Renaissance In Italy; The Fine Arts. London, J. Murray, 1927, Pp. xvi + 594.

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Texier, C.F.M. and Pullan, R.P., ByzantineArchitecture.London: Son, 1864. Pp. 218.

Day and

Tovria, J.H., Mission San Jose de Tumacacori, Pictorial Restoration. Southr■western Monuments Monthly Report. Washington, D.C.: United States Govern­ ment, Department of Parks (January 1956), pp. 41-44. Mimeographed. United Scenic Artists of America Almanac. 1940-1941. New York: Scenic Artists of America, Local 829. Pp. 64.

United

7an Pelt, J.V., Essentials of Composition As Applied to Art. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1913. Pp. x -f- 273. Walston, Sir C., Greek Sculpture and Modern Art.Cambdirge: Cambridge versity Press, 1914. Pp. xii f 70.

Uni­

~ Washburn, B., The Dissolving Habitat Group, A New Type of Museum Exhibit. The Museums Journal. XV (February 1940), pp. 450-452. Whittemore, M., Figurines, Models, Dioramas To Illustrate Studies. Science Monitor (January 4, 1941), p.U.

Christian

- Wilcox, J.K. (compiler), The Diorama: A Bibliography. Chicago: John Crearer Library, 1933. Pp. 1-7. Wilson, A.E., A Penny Plain. Two Pence Colored. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1918. Pp. ix + 194. Woce, A.J.B., The Evolution of Art In Homan Portraiture. Journal, British and American Archaeological Society of Rome, III (Session 1905-1SC8), pp. 70-94. Woelfflin, H., The Art of the Italian Renaissance. New York: Putnam, 1913. Pp. xvii + 436. Wyatt, M.D., The Industrial Arts of the Nineteenth Century. Londent Day and Son, 1851. 2 volumes. _________ , Notices of Sculpture in Ivory. London: 1856. pp. 54.

The Arundel Society.

_________ » Specimens of the Geometrical Mosaics of the Middle Ages. London: Day and Son, 1852. Pp. 70.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

- 176 -

THE HABITAT GROUP Adams, C.C., Some of the Advantages of an Ecological Organization of a Natural History Museum, American Association of Museums Pr»r>cf>fif?iripr«. 1906, pp. 170-178. _________ , Visit Your State Museum. New York State Education. XVII (1929-1950), pp. 947-949. Akeley, C.E., The Autobiography of a Taxidermist. World* s Work.XT,T (December 1920), pp. 177-196. . The Four Seasons and The Virginia Deer in Northern Michigan. Chicago: Field Columbian Museum, 1902. Pp. 80. __________ , In Brightest Africa. New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., 1925. Pp. xvii + 267. Akeley, M.L.J., Carl Akeley* s Africa. New York: Dodd, Mead and Comoany, 1929. Pp. xix 4* 521. ___________ , The Wilderness Lives Again. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1940. Pp. xiv f 411. Anthony, H.E., The Capture and Preservation of Sm«n Mammal .