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[33]

THE
MUSEUM GAZETTE.

OUR HISTORY ROOM. (See Frontispiece.)

A department of our Museum to which, as regards itseducational usefulness, we attach very great importance, isthat which attempts the illustration of Human History. It isdisplayed in a separate division of the main building, and isarranged, as far as possible, on “the space-for-time method.”This method, which, following the pattern of an ordinarydiary, allots to every period of time the same amount of space,is, of course, possible only where the time-periods and datesare fairly well established. It is not well adapted, exceptingas a sort of open and, to some extent speculative, frameworkfor the illustration of prehistoric times. A courageousexample of such use of it we ventured to offer in our lastnumber in reference to prehistoric man in Britain. It wasnot history in any other sense than that the periods of timewere real; the events assigned to them were largely conjectural.In the Museum itself we do not attempt to dealwith very remote periods in this manner. Our space-for-timearrangement begins only with 2000 B.C. It might now,perhaps, fairly begin with 4000 B.C., but, unfortunately, wehave not space enough. In this Schedule, which occupies thewhole of one side of a long room (70 feet), a measured spaceon the wall, of nearly two feet, is allotted to each century.The centuries are marked out by strong black lines, drawn[34]vertically from roof to the table-shelf below. This table-shelfis 18 inches wide, and runs the whole length of theroom. It is upon it that the busts shown in our frontispieceare standing. Each bust is supposed to be in its appropriatecentury, and with it are placed any other illustrative objectsbelonging to the period—medals, coins, small architecturalmodels (when we have them), and the like. For instance, amodel of Stonehenge stands in the century in which it seemsprobable that that most remarkable structure was built, andportions of Roman pavement and other relics mark the periodof the Italian occupation of Britain. Upon the wall itself areplaced engravings, photographs, and the like, illustrative of thecentury, and representing either human personality or someresults of human effort. In order to aid the memory eachcentury is designated by the name of some prominent personof the time, to whom other associations may convenientlycling. These names, painted in bold characters, head thecolumns which represent the centuries. Beneath theseprominent names we have (in the case of a considerablenumber of the most recent centuries) put up schedules of theprincipal events, and lists of some of the principal persons.The appended schedule is one of them and will illustrate whatis meant:—