Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/152

126 holes on either side of the head, into which the instrument fits, but every one realizes that a strong wire hairpin would be quite sufficient to take the place of the patented instrument that is supposed to be used with these screws. In European galleries where the light is not uniformly good, it is the custom to hang paintings of special importance on long hinges. By this means they may be turned out on an angle with the light. A room in which there are several pictures so hung has a rather untidy appearance, but the improvement in the lighting of the pictures is worth it. The backs should always be covered if the pictures are hung in this way.

—This is another matter which should engage the attention of a museum director, and here his real genius will come forth. There is absolutely no logical ground for refusing to label the objects in a museum. The two excuses given for omitting labels are, the revenue to be derived from the sale of catalogues, which is really negligible and which should not be considered by any director who has the interests of the public at heart; and the fact that the average visitor will read the labels and will not stop to look at the objects. If this is ever the case, the visitor would probably find a way to go through the gallery without profit. Unless a visitor is really interested, he