Welsh Journals

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the four years he was at the College he was absent for possibly as much as a year,3 but in that short time he did establish the Museum. In the Session 1876-7 a room was set aside but a year later this was already overcrowded and a second room had to be allocated for the purpose. Further gifts are reported every year, including geological and botan- ical specimens, coins, a Roman kettle, an Indian idol, busts and auto- graphs. In 1878 the Museum was opened to the general public every Tuesday afternoon and in the summer vacation the college buildings, including the Museum, were opened every day. It was free but visitors were asked to make donations, which went towards a Visitors Scholar- ship' The first of the College's portrait paintings was presented in the Session 1877-8 suitably a portrait of Lord Aberdare, the first president of the College, painted by W. E. Jones of Merthyr Tudful and a portrait of the Rev. William Rees DD (Gwilym Hiraethog) painted by Mercier of Manchester and presented by the deacons of the Welsh Independent Churches.5 Professor Rudler submitted his last report in 18796 in which he announced the first part of the Powell donation. The addition of this large amount of non-scientific material meant that the two allocated rooms were used to house the Natural History Museum and the coins and the archaelogical and curio section were displayed in cases in the library. The science collections were essentially designed for teaching purposes e.g. collections illustrating the smelting of iron and copper and lead but further additions broadened the range a number of exchanges of material are noted, e.g. zoological material with the Liver- pool Museum and even with Otago Museum, New Zealand (the bones of a Moa bird) ethnological objects, spears, clubs, paddles had been effectively arranged on large screens which cover a consider- able portion of wall space in the new room Professor Rudler left to become Curator of the Museum of Practical Geology in London but his association with the College and partic- ularly the Museum, was renewed in 1915 when Mr. S. G. Rudler sold to the College, on very reasonable terms, his deceased brother's personal collection of minerals, fossils, books and instruments which he personally catalogued and organised.9 Money was also left to endow a scholar- ship in Professor Rudler's memory. Further gifts ensued over the next five years, presumably of things originally left to his brother who in turn gave them to the College.10 In The Cambrian News of i July 1881 the Principal's speech to the Governors is reported. On the subject of the Museum he is full of optimism when he proudly presented the first publication A Short Handbook of the Museum by T. S. Humpidge. Dr. Humpidgell was the new Professor of Chemistry and successor to Rudler as the curator,. The Principal does admit to a need for more specimens in all depart-