I have visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York twice. The first time, as I've mentioned before (Dinosaur Treasure House Vol. 5), was in the winter of 1980, right after John Lennon's assassination. There was a memorial service in Central Park, and the Dakota Building (where he lived, and which is near the museum) was cordoned off with barricades.

At that time, the dinosaur situation in Japan was quite bleak; a Tarbosaurus had only just been installed at the National Museum of Nature and Science. As for models, there were only Airfix plastic kits (Aurora kits were already becoming rare). So, you can imagine my excitement when I was suddenly confronted with the world's largest collection of dinosaur skeletons. The museum shop was a treasure trove, but it was a time when one dollar was nearly 300 yen, so I carefully chose items like the Brontosaurus skeleton kit in the photo above, the metal Stegosaurus introduced in Dinosaur Treasure House Vol. 5, and many small, inexpensive rubber dinosaurs and paper goods. My favorite item, however, was the Diplodocus from the British Museum, which I was amazed by when I first saw its quality. I bought about three of them, only for them to become widely available in Japan shortly after... I have a somewhat sad photo in my album of me holding them happily in my hotel room.

The second time was in the spring of 1998, for some reason on a trip with writer Ryuichi Kaneko. We traveled back and forth across the East Coast, mainly for "DinoFest" in Philadelphia. We museum-hopped at places like Harvard University in Boston, the Smithsonian, and the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences before finally arriving at the AMNH. Incidentally, at all those museums, the original dinosaur merchandise was mostly T-shirts, so I didn't find much to my liking as someone who collects figures. A shame.
And then, New York. As expected, dinosaur goods were abundant. First, at a nature goods store called "Evolution," I bought a Deinonychus skull model (half the price it was in Japan!). Then, at the famous "Maxilla and Mandible" behind the museum, I purchased a bronze Struthiomimus skeleton model, which I had long admired. And finally, 18 years later, I was back at the AMNH.

The dinosaur exhibit had been completely renovated, with an upright Barosaurus in the hall and a T-Rex in a horizontal pose. But I'll skip the exhibit details here and head to the museum shop. I sifted through mountains of common merchandise looking for something unusual. The photo above shows a replica of the type specimen of Velociraptor mongoliensis, the original of which is displayed in the museum. I believe it's a historically significant item that Andrews brought back from the Flaming Cliffs. Replicas of type specimens are rare; I haven't seen them elsewhere. It cost $65. The photo below on the left shows an Oviraptor (juvenile?). The manufacturer and other details are unknown, but it has a nice charm.
The photo below on the right shows new and old pennants side by side. The new one features the renovated T-Rex, but the old one is, surprisingly, that very British Museum Diplodocus figure that brought tears to my eyes. Why???