#  Unrolling the Past: Treatment of the Museum Of Comparative Zoology Teaching Charts 

 





December 19, 2024

 

 

   ![A photograph from 1892 showing a classroom in an attic space with large charts hanging all around the room.](/sites/g/files/omnuum11066/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/library-preservation/files/mcz7_mczatticclassroom1892.jpg?itok=IUYD1dQP) 

 

  
*The attic classroom at the Museum of Comparative Zoology with some of the teaching charts in use, 1892. From the MCZ collection.*  Staff at the Weissman Preservation Center have been treating and rehousing a superb collection of teaching charts from the [Museum of Comparative Zoology](https://mcz.harvard.edu/) at the [Ernst Mayr Library](https://library.mcz.harvard.edu/). After the charts have been treated and rehoused, they will all be digitized. We started with a group of 30 charts from the collection of about 200 and will continue to work in batches until the project is complete. Amanda Maloney, Special Collections Conservator, is leading the team with conservation technicians Louise Baptiste, Anne Corrsin, Bill Hanscom, and Kate Levy helping to treat and rehouse the charts. Summer worker, Mia Bloss, a paper conservation graduate student, joined the team this past summer, and we are sure there will be others helping to complete the remaining 170 charts.

   ![A person surface cleaning a large, unrolled chart. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum11066/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/library-preservation/files/mcz4_charts_bh.jpg?itok=K5Kef_6c) 

 

  
*Bill Hanscom working on Crustacea Arthropoda Isopoda parasitica (Entoniscidae), SC-2856.* The teaching charts show zoological illustrations. Many are produced by Dr. Rudolf Leuckart (1823-1898) and Dr. Hinrich Nitsche (1845-1902) in Germany in the mid to late 19th century. The items vary in degree of damage and need for treatment. Many of the teaching charts are lithographs printed in 4 parts per chart, backed with textile, with wooden dowels at top and bottom. The color on the charts is remarkably vibrant and the printing clear. The charts range in size from 36” wide to over 70” wide with various lengths. We’ve found unique examples of teaching charts that are hand drawn or are photographs, and we are excited to see what other varieties the collection holds.

 Custom enclosures were designed by Bill Hanscom to house up to 10 charts per box. They are always a treat to work on and we enjoy learning more about the specimen on the charts!

   ![A box with 10 dividers to house rolled charts. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum11066/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/library-preservation/files/mcz5_charts_inbox.jpg?itok=mR3JTyCl) 

 

  
*10 completed charts rehoused and ready for imaging.*    ![A person grabbing one rolled chart from a pile of rolled charts off a table. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum11066/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/library-preservation/files/mcz6_amatmcz.jpg?itok=gudRBK3R) 

 

  
*Amanda Maloney picking up a new batch of charts at the Ernst Mayr Library.*    ![A large, unrolled chart with illustrations of insect anatomy. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum11066/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/library-preservation/files/mcz1_chart.jpg?itok=mII53muk) 

 

  
*Gephyrei Vermes Sipunculoidea, Echinuroidea, SC-2826.*    ![A large, unrolled chart with illustrations of parasite anatomy. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum11066/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/library-preservation/files/mcz2_chart.jpg?itok=GU4jkPlu) 

 

  
*Gregarines, Monocystis, EML\_9.*   ![A photograph from the late 19th century showing a classroom with a large hanging chart of a mastodon at the front of the room. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum11066/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/library-preservation/files/mcz8_mczclassroommastodonchartundated.jpg?itok=ZqQ4msb-) 

 

  
*A mastodon chart in use in a MCZ classroom, undated. From the MCZ collection.*    ![A large, unrolled chart with illustrations of insect anatomy. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum11066/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/library-preservation/files/mcz3_charts_arthropoda.jpg?itok=b3UdR8PO) 

 

  
*Myriopoda Arthropoda Diplopoda, Onychophora, SC-2833.*

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Conservation ](/hlps-tags/conservation)
 
 

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