MUSEUM OUT-OF-DATE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 873, 17 January 1930, Page 9

MUSEUM OUT-OF-DATE

BRITAIN’S ART TREASURES ARE UNINSURED PLEA FOR SAFE BUILDINGS LONDON, Thursday. The “Daily News” comments upon the report of the Royal Commission on the National Museums and Galleries. A sub-committee of the commission considered the fire risks at the British Museum, also how the safety of the galleries is affected by the pressure of the cast-iron girders which support them. The paper asks: Is the British Museum a safe place of custody for national treasures which comprise the most valuable collection in the world? Its value is incalculable, but probably is £50,000,000, according to a Treasury estimate. It is stated that a large part of the museum is a century old and does not accord with modern ideals. The sub-committee recommends a gradual reconstruction of the floors and roofs at a cost of £340,000, also the introduction of varius methods of reducing the risks, particularly the strengthening of the fire patrol, which it says is most desirable. However, the report leaves the Government to decide. A museum official says the treasures are not insured. The staff take enormous care and the sight of a cigarette or a match makes them jump. Firemen are on patrol all night and they have direct communication with the fire brigade. Apart from a bomb or similar outrage the danger is comparatively small. The commission says the Public Records Office, where priceless manuscripts are stored, is now subject to mildew. Its 200 strong-rooms are overcrowded and it would take 10 years to clean them.