George Brown Goode

"With the Renaissance came a period of new life for collectors. The churches of southern Europe became art galleries, and monarchs and noblemen and ecclesiastical dignitaries collected books, manuscripts, sculptures, pottery, and gems, forming the beginning of collections which have since grown into public museums. Some of these collections doubtless had their first beginnings in the midst of the dark ages, within the walls of feudal castles, or the larger monasteries, but their number was small, and they must have consisted chiefly of those objects so nearly akin to literature as especially to command the attention of bookish men."

"The exposition or exhibition and fair are primarily for the promotion of industry and commerce; the museum for the development of learning."

"It was my greatest good fortune to serve under Doctor George Brown Goode whose influence on the museums of America may be compared to that of Flower on the museums of England. Like Flower, he early recognized the educational possibilities of museums and the importance of making them interesting and attractive to the general public. One of his favorite maxims was to keep ever in mind the human interest in any exhibit, to show just where and how it touched man directly. And under his direction, the U. S. National Museum, and the various exhibitions in which it took part, exerted a great influence on the museums of the country and particularly on those that came into existence after 1880."