do you think donating items to a MUSEUM is a good idea? have you ever donated?

[green papaya]

I have some historical military items I was thinking of donating to local museums so it helps preserve it for future generations to see, instead of sitting in private collections never to be seen by the public.

I heard some museums end up reselling items to raise money for the museum?

 

[Cicero]

I heard some museums end up reselling items to raise money for the museum?

You don't want to know how many museums actually do this!
Selling the original stuff and replace it with fakes/post war and so on.
Or they tuck it for years away in a basement or attic till its destroyed by the elements etc!
So be careful and think twice before you consider to give it to a museum .

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

If this is something you really want to consider, approach the museums you're thinking of, and ask them! I'm a librarian, not an curator, but I think I know a few things they would consider.

Is your donation relevant to their collection? If they are primarily devoted to art, your collection might not suit their mission.

Is what you have primarily of interest to your own family, or would it have a broader interest?

Are your items semi-rare? They may already have an adequate selection of your type of item.

Is there a specific kind of museum that might have a place for your collection? The National Infantry Museum (infantry obviously), other branch/specialty specific museums. Signal, Intelligence, Subs, etc.

Is there a virtual museum out there where you can download pictures and history of your items, but you keep the originals?

Can you approach a museum, and leave your personal feelings at the door? What might be very cherished by a member of your own family may be the 20th example that the curator has had offered. I can tell you that one of the most unpleasant duties I had was telling someone that what they wanted to donate to the library didn't fit our collection. I accepted many books that I planned on "disposing" of later. It was that or telling a little old lady that her 3rd edition, 26th printing (1937) of Gone with the Wind was worthless.

Is "no strings" something you can accept? If you have a verifiable collection of Medals of Honor, you could probably set some conditions for your donation. For most donations, once you sign it over, it's theirs. Can you live with that? And what they plan to do with it this year could change in five years.

Bear in mind that what you keep in a private collection could benefit/inspire members of your family for generations to come. Even if your children don't care for it, might a niece/nephew/second cousin once removed treasure it?

 

[Deco-Doll-1928]

I think donating something to a museum is always a noble idea. I love the idea of things, especially of a historical nature, being accessible to everybody so future generations can continue to enjoy them. With that said. I think what you should consider is not only donating to a museum that specializes in the same field as your items (in this case military), but it would help to donate them to smaller museums (ones that are dedicated to education and share the same enthusiasm about the subject you are interested in). So many of the smaller museums rely on public donations and a team of loyal volunteers to keep themselves running. They are not going to have the kind of budget that a lot of bigger museums might have to obtain items for their collections.

I also agree with Bluebird Marsha that giving them to a family member that you know would appreciate it and take care of it is also a wonderful idea.

 

[sheeplady]

Many museums do sell items, for a number of reasons. Unless it is a speciality museum, you may better know the market for such items and be able to get more money for your item on the private market. Therefore, if your goal is to support museum X as opposed to giving them the item per say, you might want to sell the item yourself and donate the money to the museum rather than gifting the item.

Smaller museums and family members are a good idea as well.

I just want to add that once you give something away, it is no longer yours to decide what becomes of it. It doesn't matter if you give it to a family member, friend, museum, or sell it. It is no longer your's. It is up to the new owner to decide how to care for it, if they sell it, and how much they value it. If your items are so personally valuable to you that this disturbs you deeply, you shouldn't give those items away while you are alive. We all want our stuff to go to "good homes" but once it is there, we lose all say in what happens to it.

 

[Cicero]

Give it in loan (loan agreement) for a period of time IF the museum is very interested in showing it to the public.
In that case it still belongs to you or your family for as long as you want.


EDIT: http://askville.amazon.com/difference-loan-permanent-gift-museum/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=67519324

 

[scotrace]

GREAT idea. Send all unwanted vintage items to:

Scotrace's Museum of Vintage Coolness.
Dover, OH

 

[AmateisGal]

GREAT idea. Send all unwanted vintage items to:

Scotrace's Museum of Vintage Coolness.
Dover, OH

 

[AmateisGal]

Better to give it to a museum then take it to a pawn shop. I've seen numerous historical iteams pawned off on that ridiculous Pawn Stars show on the History Channel. Last night a man brought in his great-great-great grandfather's Civil War diary that he wanted to sell so he could fix his car. While I understand the need for money, especially during this dismal economy, I cringed at the idea of pawning off such a historical treasure.

 

[LizzieMaine]

When I was writing my will a few years back, I considered leaving my collection of original radio materials -- recordings, original scripts and documents, photographs, etc. -- to the University of Maine's Special Collections Department. I considered it, that is, until I actually visited that department and saw what had happened to some of the other radio collections there -- shoved into cardboard boxes in a random storeroom, and left to decay because they didn't have the budget for proper preservation or storage or researchers' access.

I still don't know what's going to happen to that stuff when I kick off, but it's not going there.

 

[Tomasso]

I still don't know what's going to happen to that stuff when I kick off....

http://www.museum.tv/

 

[fortworthgal]

When I was writing my will a few years back, I considered leaving my collection of original radio materials -- recordings, original scripts and documents, photographs, etc. -- to the University of Maine's Special Collections Department. I considered it, that is, until I actually visited that department and saw what had happened to some of the other radio collections there -- shoved into cardboard boxes in a random storeroom, and left to decay because they didn't have the budget for proper preservation or storage or researchers' access.

This happens with a great many museums, even some of the larger ones!

Museums do sometimes sell things off for money. They also don't have room to display every single donated item all the time. So the possibility is there that your items could be auctioned off, sold, or stuffed in a cardboard box in a back store room. I've witnessed the "back storeroom cardboard box" thing myself.

I'd look for a serious (and reputable) collector of the items, or I'd donate to a museum that specialized in the items you have. For example, donating an 8th Air Force WWII uniform to an 8th Air Force specific museum. I am a militaria collector myself with a very specialized area, and I can tell you there are good and bad things about donating to museums. With most private collectors, the items will be preserved and well cared for. That said, I've also seen veterans taken advantage of by very well-known "collectors" - including one under the guise of getting items for a museum. Ugh. Visit the museum you're considering first and get to know them.

I guess my point is to make sure that whatever you do, know who you're dealing with and that they are reputable. If you donate to a museum you can possibly do an extended loan or something to ensure they don't sell your items off.

 

[Lily Powers]

A colleague handled an estate of a man who had died and had an extensive collection of Nazi uniforms. There were some issues regarding the sale of the uniforms, so a Hollywood prop department was contacted and arrangements were made to donate the uniforms for use as movie/TV wardrobe.

 

[Deco-Doll-1928]

Better to give it to a museum then take it to a pawn shop. I've seen numerous historical iteams pawned off on that ridiculous Pawn Stars show on the History Channel. Last night a man brought in his great-great-great grandfather's Civil War diary that he wanted to sell so he could fix his car. While I understand the need for money, especially during this dismal economy, I cringed at the idea of pawning off such a historical treasure.

I saw that episode too. Who in their right mind would do something like that? It's not the only time where I have seen something like that on that show too. Sad. Some people don't realize how lucky they are. I hope that guy really does give the diaries to a museum though.

 

[Deco-Doll-1928]

Give it in loan (loan agreement) for a period of time IF the museum is very interested in showing it to the public.
In that case it still belongs to you or your family for as long as you want.


EDIT: http://askville.amazon.com/difference-loan-permanent-gift-museum/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=67519324

I wasn't sure how to put it into words, but I was going to mention the items as being part of a rotating exhibit for the museum. That's a great idea too Cicero.

 

[Deco-Doll-1928]

A colleague handled an estate of a man who had died and had an extensive collection of Nazi uniforms. There were some issues regarding the sale of the uniforms, so a Hollywood prop department was contacted and arrangements were made to donate the uniforms for use as movie/TV wardrobe.

I have always wondered about this topic. I have heard of some families (unwillingly) inheriting items related to the Nazi's mostly because such items were taken as "war tokens". If a family wants to be rid of it (because frankly its kind of creepy to own such items), what would a person do with it? Donate it to a museum with the intention of education? Sell it (although that seems immoral to me)?

It's interesting that you should mention a Hollywood Prop Department. I would have never thought of that.

There are quite a few items that are of this nature (not just things relating to the Nazis). It makes me wonder if some items historical value outweighs their negative connotations?

 

[AmateisGal]

I saw that episode too. Who in their right mind would do something like that? It's not the only time where I have seen something like that on that show too. Sad. Some people don't realize how lucky they are. I hope that guy really does give the diaries to a museum though.

One episiode had a gal trying to pawn off her father's WW2 diary and his leather jacket that he wore while flying in the B-17s. I wanted to kick her.

 

[Captain Neon]

While I agree that it is a shame that people pawn or sell things that we would treasure were it ours, if the person pawning has no love or enjoyment for the item, it is probably better that they sell it and some one that will cherish said item might have it. It would be worse if they held on to such an item, and it was just allowed to deteriorate or simply tossed out as old juncque. There was an older gentleman that my brother and I helped haul hay when we were in juniour high. He showed us a few things that he brought back with him from Japan when he was there with the Army after WWII. He was a bachelour, and I have no idea what became of those items. I fear that they may have been left to rot when he when he was sent to the nursing home or even destroyed when his house was burnt down by an arsonist. I would have liked a few of the things he had in his home just as mementos to remember him by.

 

[vitanola]

A colleague handled an estate of a man who had died and had an extensive collection of Nazi uniforms. There were some issues regarding the sale of the uniforms, so a Hollywood prop department was contacted and arrangements were made to donate the uniforms for use as movie/TV wardrobe.

Wardrobe and props?!!

Nothing is so calculated to destroy an item!

Heaven forbid!

 

[fortworthgal]

I have always wondered about this topic. I have heard of some families (unwillingly) inheriting items related to the Nazi's mostly because such items were taken as "war tokens". If a family wants to be rid of it (because frankly its kind of creepy to own such items), what would a person do with it? Donate it to a museum with the intention of education? Sell it (although that seems immoral to me)?

It's interesting that you should mention a Hollywood Prop Department. I would have never thought of that.

There are quite a few items that are of this nature (not just things relating to the Nazis). It makes me wonder if some items historical value outweighs their negative connotations?

I think the historical value of these items is very high. A terrible regime, yes, but it shouldn't be forgotten. I personally know several collectors. They are normal guys, not weird or into Nazi beliefs or anything of that nature. They are just fascinated by history. Some of them look at the items as a monetary investment, which they certainly are.

It isn't illegal to sell or trade WWII German uniforms within the US, but I know ebay prohibits anything bearing a swastika. I'm not sure about the laws in Europe although I'm certain they are probably more strict.

I'm surprised to hear there were issues regarding the sale, as I see this type of stuff for sale quite often.