June 1, 1907.

Freiherr Theodor von Moeller,

25 Hohenzollernstrasse, Berlin, Germany.

Your Excellency;-

On behalf of Mr. Carnegie I tendered to you as a gift to His Imperial Majesty and the German people a replica of the colossal Diplodocus. His Imperial Magesty most graciously by cablegram signified his acceptance of this gift. In our conferences you expressed to me some uncertaintly as to just where this replica might be placed. I am sure that after your return you have found much to occupy your mind, but, without wishing in the least degree to impose upon your good nature or your patience, I write to inquire whether any steps have been taken looking toward the designation of the place where the replica is to be installed and the time when it would be convenient to receive it. My motive in writing to you springs from the fact that in order to have it ready for presentation it will be necessary to make preparations quite in advance. The labor of preparing the specimen for installation is considerable and necessarily consumes a good deal of time. If I had an intimation as to where and when the replica will be received I would be able to act more intelligently. If His Imperial Majesty could most graciously designate the proper person with whom to carry on preliminary negotiations, he would be placing me under many obligations.



By express I am forwarding to you, as I promised to do, a set of our publications giving figures of this animal, and I am also sending through our ambassador in Berlin a copy of our publications to His Imperial Majesty. He may be interested in seeing the drawings of this colossal animal. I am informed that a fragmentary half relief of a very much smaller specimen of the Diplodocus has been presented by Mr. Morris K. Jesup of New York to the Senckenberg Museum at Frankfurt. I saw this specimen before it was shipped to Europe. It is very much smaller than the specimen which we possess, and, as I have said, is only a fragmentary reproduction, many parts being wholly omitted and represented simply by diagrams. It does not begin to represent the anatomy of the great beast as perfectly as the specimen which we have offered to His Majesty, nor is the restoration nearly as costly a gift as that which is tendered by Mr. Carnegie would be. While it possesses the merit of presenting some of the real bones of the animal, the fact that only a few of the bones are there makes it by no means so desirable a specimen as that which Mr. Carnegie's generosity proposes.



With assurances of the highest esteem and regard, I am,

Yours very truly,



Director Carnegie Museum