Donation To The University

Tho íollowing eommanication frorn our fellow-cilizen, Prof. A. D. Wiiitk, to tbe Regenta oí tbe Uni.versity, at their recent session, expjain itselí : To the Honorable Uie Boarct of Regenta : Gentlemen - I desire to presont thl'OUgí) you to tho Univcrsity the colltction oí' medallionp, DUtn boring about 1,500 specitr;eof, cast by Eicbler, ot lierlin, recently imported by rae, and iio'.v iii'ranged in tho terra-cotta room of' tbi museum. The collecUoO comprisos: First - A 6elcetion of casts fiom the collcction of Kolpiured goma in tbe Boya] Muaeum at Berlín. At my re quost Mr. Eichler has selected frira that farnous colloction 450 fipecimens whicb, in his judgmcnt, combine the greatest artistic merit, witb the greateet interest to tho classical scholar and the student of ancient bistory. Mr. E'chler han idded to the usefulness of the gema he hr.s ehowB by nurabering each specimen to correspond with tbe fiill description given in the catalogue drawn up by Wincholbaun at the order of the Ruseian government. Tliis catalogue alo worked to facilitato referente to the collection I dusiro to present. The fccond división of the colleation, comprises a completo reproduction of Mr. Eichlers series of medieval and early modern (Fienai.ic.ianc) modals.- Of these there are about six hundred. Among them will be fonnd a large number of works from the hands of such celebrated artists as Pisan as, Pictor, ]5older, De Pastis, Benevenuto, and Cellini. These furnish aa interesting series for the study oí the progresa oí ait during the last four centunes, but their chief use will be found in their conneetion witta the study of general history. The greater nunTber of the modals are portraits of noted histprioal personages, sculptured in their honor and during their lives. A large number, too, are casta of commemorative medal, strpuck diately ;.ftor famous histoncal eventa. I rnay mention here tb at the groat struggle so nobly described in the works of oor countryman Motluy, is vory fully illustrated. About threc hundred of theso lïichler catalogued fully, with ampie hiatorioal references, and I desire to thank Prof. lirunnow for extending the uefulness oí this catalogue by an excellent translation, "ho remaining raedallions n this división, owing to Eichler's suddon illness wcrc k'ft uneatalogucd. I havo ordered, howover, from Paris, at no expense to the Univereity, the Freneh " Trer.qury of Numismatics and Sculpture," in whoso twenty folio volumes I hopo to find ampie aid in identifying the reinaindor, which were mainïy struck during the time of the Keformation. Tbo third división of the colleotion embraces nearly two hundred cauts, arranged in the direct intention of aidthe student of Modern History. First in this divimon is a complute sories of the Popos from Martin the Fifth, electcd by the Council of Constantino, down to Pious IX, inclusivo, 'i hese aro arranged in' cbronological order, The wliolu eenes i.s divided into centuriesi, and each country is separated from those before and nfter it Sneond - In this división cumes a full series of the Emperors of Germany, from Frederic III. to Francia VI, with whom the Germán Empire ended and the Austrian Empire began. Tkird - In this división is a serios o( the sovereigns of France, from Charlea VI. to Napoleon III, inclusive. - A serios of the sovereigns of Englard, from Honry VII, to Victoria inclusive. Fifth - A series of tha eovcreigns of Piussia. Sixih - The sovereigns of Snxony. Seventh - The sovoreigns of Kussia, frotn the rise of the present dynasty. Eighth - The sovereigns o( Poland. Ntnlh - The sovereigns of Sweden. It should be remembered tlat none of these rortraita are ideal or imar'nary. Each is f'rom an authentíe medal or coíq struck in the timo of the person represented. It is believod that this collection, as arranged, wiil do rnuch toward . izing students with Modem Chronology, raaking it sotnothiog more than tho I dry, repulsivo skole.ton which it too ofton becomes, will add to tbe vividness of historica! preeentation, will aid in grouping cvents about tho knowlcdge oí persons. Ta further these objects, I desire to present Eichler's oatalague oí thea series with additions of rn_v wn. The íourth división of the eollcction comprises í'bout two hundrod and fifty authentie medalljon portraits, mainh' of persons nWted in the history of the past sis ceoturies, including our own century. As these vvore portraits of men distinguished in dopailmcntsand ovents of overy kind, some diííiciilty aróse aa vo the modo of thüir arrangement. It was finally decided to separate tliem by centurias - to set each character in that century in which his rnr.iii work was done - and to arrange the portraits in each eentury nlphnbetically. Of these I havo prepared a preliminary catalogue, giving birlh date and doath-dato of each peron. It ia beiüved that this división al-so will stimulate to hiatorical study, and :úá ih it. In regard to the authentieity of these portraits, I quote from Eiuhler'a Catalogue, publiíhod in 1817: ''The greut number of portraits wkioh the gallery now contains, may cauee some pereana to sufpect that the Works aro of a roecbnnioal p ort, without reliability and without artistio merit. "Thiu is notatall the case. In thoir preparalion have boen used only such coin?, casts, or sunlpturod origináis ai belooged to the Iand3 and timos ia which the persons represented lived, and such, also, as were made 1y tha most noted contemporary qrtikts. The rii'h trensnros of the Roval Museum. also of several private colloctions havo beon opensci, and Lave givoa a rare opportunity for using t'ne trarica oí the most noted soulptors of the last four centuria, in produdng this gallery of portraits. " Tho undersigncd (Eíchler) has for many years sparud neithor troubió nor expense in tíiking cftst? of nttod works a foreign mr.seiii"ris which rnight aid in completing his colleotion. " Itis bclioved, then, th;it the collection wíl) be found gutisfactory both in regnrd tothe nrtisti perfotion of the work and tho reliability of the portraite." The fiflh división comprimes a miscelInneous collettion of veiy large iiip1;i1ions, portraitB of the Itilian and Germán poets, f.ixl ol somo noted Ihtoü, ntnong tho rest reproductions of Jloudon's Washington, Canova'tí Napolüüii, nnd Rauch's lülucher. The largost of thcn, íawteo iu nuinber, fiuishec] to imítate sculpturo iu ivory, were sliivered into stmill fragmenta. próliaWy at tlio Now York ;stiun-boupe, and greut thanks are dne ] 'rofessor VVntson for theingonuity aiid patienee which has rostorud ihoin aliuot to Uu-ir oiiitiim) !o:iu:y. The sixth aiid ír.st divUioi: coinprise a few reduotiouri frorn thu ruure notvd I woika of Thópwuidfen. Êuch of these is lramud it bvass, umi glazed. In uonclnding tliis oulline of iha collection I (Jii-iit; lo exprect thahka to Dr. Tapptin and the Fnoulty goneraily, for '1111011 good ndvice and aid ; to liogL-iit Slvííntyre fr his readines to bonr somo reponsibility in regard to raewvipa tliu culleution; to Mr. Eclwiird Á. F;iy, of the raitiof chiss, who during a tortnigbt lias fivcii ill his leirturo botwt-t'ii duwn and dusk to ;tsiifl in pri'pm iiiL', labtiling, setlin and aiTiinging the (sollactiön, and to otlier momliLTf of the mura clima who frorn timo to timu have givcn much aesistiince. I present this colleotion to the TTniveriity on thé following conditions : First, '.heve shall be furnirthed by the Regonts at the earliest poswible day, 8uitublu cnsos for the entire collecthiii. SecocuJlv, tho Koíents sha!! rundor the colloetion nvailable by providing for the lugible copying and aimplt ivnniing- of neat, pmdtieal lisls of ppei-itnenB, -wvliiob yliull be attaobed to the caaeo. Thirdly, therc shn!l be efiected at nn arly day, and tliere shall alwnya bu niuintaincd, an insüranee upon the colleotion and cases of at lnst $400. Fourthly, au a süght memorial of onu who, after dcing much for other institutions of learding, carne to look with especial hope and idmiration toward the futiife of the Univoraity of Michigan, and who was only pretented by dfath from proving theío feeüngs by Rtibotuiitial tokens, the collection hall bear the name of "The Horaco White Ooüection of Medallions." Hopiug that thösu terina inny not eein önerous, and thut the collection rnny tend in some dègrée to in crease the uséfulnesa and raiaa still higher the eharacter of the ITiuvcrsity. I remain, nritb usuraoofi, of L;rfa'. respect, AND D. WHITE, Prof of UUtorr and of EngHtb Li'.priiiure. Univerity of Michigan, Doe, 18, Io61. Mr. Bishop oñeicd a resolution that the collection of reradallióoe pieented by Prof White be acoeptod, and the thanka of the Board tendored to tho Professor for dis liberal and valuable Honution, nd that tho collection, as reqiicsted by the donor, be called the Horace Wnite collection, and that the num of two hiindrcd dollars be placed at the diíposal of the Finance Committeo .o defray tho expense oí' casos, and the proper disposition of the colluctiDD in the lluseuin. Adopted.