Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/176

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THE MUSEUM

be made larger than the tongue in order to allow for shrinkage or swelling, but a layer of cotton or linen felt (never wool in any form) may be inserted to stop any possible passage of dust. If this is saturated with a disinfectant it is even better in keeping out insects. In metal cases the door is usually made to shut against the frame, and a layer of felt is supposed to be sufficient to keep out dust.

An excellent type of flat, shallow case attached to a wall for the exhibition of prints may be seen in the Fogg Museum, Cambridge. It should be noted that in this case much space is saved by having two doors hung on one specially constructed hinge.

Storage cases for Prints will be discussed under the separate heading of Engravings.

In a number of European museums attempts have been made to build cases which should harmonize in design with the objects they contain. The institution which has carried out this idea most extensively is the National Museum in Munich. Here we find cases designed to harmonize with the Byzantine, the Romanesque, the Gothic, Renaissance, Rococo and even modern periods. Such a procedure is of doubtful usefulness and does not accord with the latest dictates of museum practice. A case is not a part of