J. Museums

2601. Hosmer, Charles B. Presence of the past; a history of the preservation movement in the United States before Williamsburg. New York, Putnam [1965] 386 p. illus. 65–13292 E159.H77. Bibliography: p. 349–372.

A selective survey of historic preservation in the United States from its beginnings in the mid-19th century to the 1920’s, when professionalization began to overtake what had been primarily a field for amateurs. Preservation originated as a grass-roots movement motivated by a wide variety ofnon-architectural considerations ranging from sentimentalism to commercialism. The establishment in 1910 of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, which made architectural beauty or originality its primary criterion, was a landmark in the history of preservation. The author includes a discussion of methods used in acquiring property and of the fundamentals of preservation—criteria for selection, techniques of restoration, and economics of maintenance. History of the National Trust for Historic Preservation ([Washington]National Trust for Historic Preservation [1965] 115 p.), by David E. Finley, one of the founders, covers the period 1947–63.

2602. Spaeth, Eloise. American art museums and galleries; an introduction to looking. New York, Harper [1960] 282 p. illus. 60–10429 N510.S6. Bibliography: [265]–266.

In this general guide, the author describes each institution, relating pertinent historical facts and indicating the scope of the collections and the most important works of art. Few college and university museums are included, and the large metropolitan museums are mentioned only briefly on the grounds that they have their own descriptive brochures. More intensive analyses of specific museum collections are offered in A Guide to the Art Museums of New England (New York, Harcourt, Brace [1958] 270 p.), by Samson L. Faison, and Guide to Art Museums in the United States: [v. 1] East Coast: Washington to Miami (New York, Duell, Sloan & Pearoe [1958] 243 p.), by W. Aubrey Cartwright. Museums, U.S.A.; a History and a Guide (Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1965. 395 p.), by Herbert and Marjorie Katz, is a survey of the development of all types of museums in the United States.