In 1900 an exhibition of drawings by the late Prof. Ruskin was
held, and visited by over 10,000 people. From the proceeds of
this a room for a museum was added, to supersede the little
room formerly allotted for the purpose; and the Ruskin Museum
was opened in August, 1901, Canon Rawnsley giving the inaugural
address. The collection shown in the Museum is confined under
two headings--"Ruskin" and "Coniston." It comprises (_a_) local
history and antiquities, with a few illustrative specimens
of general antiquities; (_b_) local minerals, to which it is
hoped some day to add other branches of the natural history of
Coniston: of this division Mr. Ruskin laid the foundation by his
gift in 1884 of a collection of minerals and the model of the
neighbourhood; (_c_) Ruskin drawings and relics, given or lent
by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Severn; (_d_) books by and about Ruskin,
with autographs, etc., in illustration; (_e_) engravings after
Ruskin's drawings, and portraits of him; (_f_) copies and prints
from pictures which have formed the subject of his writing. The
collection is still growing, and an enlarged edition of the
Catalogue (3d.) was brought out at Easter, 1906; copies can be
had of the caretaker at the Institute. The Museum is open every
week-day from 10 till dusk, admission one penny in the slot of the
turnstile. Eight to ten thousand pennies have been taken yearly
since the opening. The hon. curator is Mr. Herbert Bownass.
In the summer an exhibition, usually of pictures, is held during
August and September in the large hall adjoining. Since the new
Museum was built, the room formerly occupied by the collections
has been used as a Ladies' Reading Room; and in 1905 a workshop
for wood carving and other art crafts was added to the premises.
The subscription to the Institute for residents over 16 years of
age is 1s. 3d. a quarter; for boys, 9d.; for visitors 1s. a week,
or 2s. 6d. a month. The management is in the hands of a committee
elected by the members, non-sectarian and non-political; Dr.
Kendall has been president since 1884, and Mr. Edmund Todd hon.
secretary since 1902.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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