Cases should be made from museum specifications, never from those used by a department store. Experience will soon show how a case should open. The usual wall case with a wide door will need to have some support when open, but it is much easier to arrange such a case than one in which only the narrow ends are made to open. The free-standing high table case which is to have exhibits on four sides is hard to arrange. The McLean system of raising the top has the advantage of giving access to all sides, but unless the top can be raised the entire height of the glass, there is sometimes difficulty with big objects. If the type of case with doors at either end be used, it is convenient to have the bottom of the case made to slide out to permit easier arrangement.
The furniture inside a case and the question of whether the bottom of a desk case should be flat or slope with the glass are matters of individual preference. Glass shelves are usually used, although if there is the slightest vibration in the museum the objects cannot be kept in line if they are standing on glass. Wooden shelves are lovely as a background for many kinds of objects. In wall cases a form of adjustable bracket support is used for the shelves. In free-standing cases small glass columns usually bear the weight of glass shelves when these are used.
