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Washington, D.C., circa 1927. "NO CAPTION (man with skull display)." Friends of the family, no doubt. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
I don't know who the human is, although he looks extremely familiar, but the skulls are those of female gorillas.
Surely these skulls still reside somewhere in the Smithsonian.
It's probably pretty apparent that this was taken in a Smithsonian facility, but as an employee of the National Museum of American History, I can confirm it. Some storage units like those metal-clad wood cabinets on the left are still in use here and at our next door neighbor, the National Museum of Natural History, where this photograph was almost certainly made. It was known at the time as the new National Museum or National Museum annex, as it had supplemented the original Institution building, the Castle, and adjoining Arts and Industries building, on its opening in 1910.
I had to make it a little spookier. Hope you like it.
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