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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Letter of the day? January 19

Stealing the idea from another museum’s blog - http://www.starbulletin.com/features/20100117_ahoy.html - it seems like it might be interesting to look at 150 years of museum history, one day at a time by transcribing letters in the collection. Here’s one from 101 years ago, showing that ordering office supplies never gets any easier. This is page 1 of Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 3629.

 

 

Washington, January 19, 1899

 

Bausch & Lomb Optical Co.

Rochester, N.Y.

 

Gentlemen:

 

I have received through the Medical Purveyor at New York, 4 dozen stender dishes, Cat. No. 4075, D. They are altogether too small for our purpose and I have this day returned them to you, by express, to be exchanged for 4 dozen No. 4075 B. If you will examine your Catalogue you will see that the illustrations of No. 4075 do not at all agree with the figures given as to sizes and proportions, an error which misled us in ordering the goods.

 

 Very respectfully,

 

Walter Reed

Major & Surgeon, U.S.A.

Curator.

 

B&L sent the correct order a week later.

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