As an attraction, one winter when the attendance was lbw, Peale installed in one corner of the hall a man to cut silhouettes by a new method. In one year 8,880 people carried away likenesses of themselves. After he retired, but particularly after his death, under the direction of his sons this precedent that Peale himself established of having attractions was increased, so that in its last years the institution became little more than a dime museum.
In the library of the Pennsylvania Historical Society there is a large blank book bound in whole calf entitled "Memoranda of the Philadelphia Museum/' This book contains a record of the donations, accessions and exchanges between the years 1803 and 1837. An impression that one gets from reviewing its pages is that of the enormous amount of valueless material presented by travelers from Europe and from farmers up in the state. This, however, is a common feature of all museums; nothing offered must be refused, but, if of no value, will find its way to the official rubbish heap.
The library of the museum must have been of exceeding value. Every page records books bought or books received in exchange. As an exchange for specimens sent to France the museum received Buffon's works in five volumes. The following is a sample page showing the type of entry:
Page 12
| 1806 | A Tropic Bird, 2 Frigates, 3 Eels which are said to wound very severe |
| Feb. 17. | and to attack people. Ship Geo. c Washington by Capt. B Farris. |
| The natural history of British Insects with colored plates Vol. 1st—octavo,—John Armond. | |
| 19. | Fossil shell from Kentucky, they are found from I foot to 50 feet below the surface of the earth in limestone. W. Chambers. |
| 2 pieces hog skin, one inch and 14 in thickness, from the shoulder. | |
| It was shot on the banks of the Ohio, in the spring of 1793—William Chambers. | |
| 21. | The head of the Petrel F. V. Riviere. |
| 21. | Phæton Athireus or tropic bird, female, F. V. Riviere. |
| Lacerta Chamæon, Chameleon, Isle of France—Caps Farris. | |
| 21. | Skeleton of a Porcellaria Petrel. Samuel Coates. |
| 22. | The Trumpet Fish from S. America—Peter Solee |
| An Experimental Dissertation on the Rhus Vernix, Rhus Rodicans and Rhus Globrum commonly known in Penns by the names Poison ash, Poison-vine, and common Sumach by Thos Horsfield. | |
| An Inaugural Dissertation on the warm Bath by Hen. Wilm Lockette. | |
| 24. | Viverra nasua Coata Mondi (alive) from South America Joseph Baker. |
His Last Years
Peale's early training and natural ingenuity enabled him to turn his hand to anything; this quality has been exaggerated by his biographers and mere incidents pointed to as periods in his career.
Peale's period of senescence may be said to date from the time he
