I think your baby snake reaction depends on the kind of museum.
Certainly some natural history museums, especially those with an active
research program, might be very happy with such a donation (depending on
rarity, etc.) and find it not only not at all bizarre, but a class of
calls that is common.
Cheers,
Art Harris
Jenny Olmsted wrote:
> We also found a piece of cake accessioned! About ten years ago, I was a summer intern at a house museum. While working on an inventory, I opened a drawer in a desk and found an engraved white box; inside, still wrapped in the original silver paper, was a piece of fruitcake which the original owners of the house had served at their huge 50th anniversary party in 1911! I loved mentioning that when visitors asked about my favourite item in the collection.
>
> More recently, I recieved a call from a man wondering if our museum would like to accept a baby snake he had found after cutting open a dead snake in his yard(!!); he would be happy to jar it in alcohol and drop it off. This one was never actually accessioned, but was definitely the most bizarre potential donation I've ever encountered!
>
> Jenny Herring
> Curator
>
>
>
>
>
>> Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2009 12:20:11 -0500
>> From: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Bizarre Accesssions (was Outreach & artifacts)
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> I believe back in the early days (1920's - 1930s?) we accessioned a
>> boxed piece of birthday cake. One of our interns came across the
>> catalog card while researching a donor. I can say that that cake has
>> never been found in the collection, so I assume it is safe to say that
>> the cake was removed (hopefully not eaten!) soon after it was placed in
>> the collection.
>>
>> I hope that is bizarre enough for you!
>>
>>
>> Kara
>>
>> Kara S. Vetter, Registrar
>> Indiana State Museum & Historic Sites
>> 650 West Washington St.
>> Indianapolis, IN 46204
>> 317.232.8179
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>> P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>> Behalf Of Dan Bartlett
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 12:10 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Bizarre Accesssions (was Outreach & artifacts)
>>
>> Kind of like the coffee-making equipment accessioned in the 1980s by
>> well meaning volunteer collections folks at my last museum...
>>
>> Sarah's post got me thinking, what are some of the other strange objects
>> people have found accessioned into their collections?
>>
>> Dan
>>
>> Dan Bartlett
>> Curator of Exhibits and Education
>> Instructor of Museum Studies
>> Logan Museum of Anthropology
>> Beloit College
>> (608) 363-2678
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>> Behalf Of Sarah M. Allen Sarah Allen Museum Technician Knife River
>> Indian Villages NHS Stanton, ND 58571-0009 701.745.3300
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 10:12 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Outreach & artifacts
>>
>> My 2 cents.
>>
>> Be sure they are actually "artifacts", I know that sounds dumb, but bear
>> with me. Once, I was doing an inventory of American Indian artifacts in
>> a collection and could not find a pair of moccasins the computer said we
>> had, with no description... I got out the accession book and found who
>> had donated them and when, but nothing for a description there either. I
>> about pulled my hair out looking for these things, as the museum was
>> small and mostly archeological items, the moccasins should have stuck
>> out like a sore thumb.
>>
>> One afternoon, I had an epiphany. I shared my office space with the
>> education specialist. I got in his traveling discovery trunk and behold,
>> there were the moccasins, numbered and all. It did not take me long to
>> realise looking at them that they were not authentic. but why catalog
>> them?
>> I found an employee who had been there for ages. she told me that some
>> people a few years back had started cataloging everything that came thru
>> the door as artifacts, regardless of origin. They were quickly told to
>> stop, but several items were never "fixed". The moccasins had been made
>> by a vendor specifically for the use they now had. they were not gifts,
>> but a commissioned and paid for prop for the interpretive staff, over 15
>> years prior.
>>
>> Sarah Allen
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Julie Blood
>>
>> <julieblood@SANJO
>>
>> AQUINHISTORY.ORG>
>> To
>> Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask]
>>
>> discussion list
>> cc
>> <[log in to unmask]
>>
>> SE.LSOFT.COM>
>> Subject
>> [MUSEUM-L] Outreach & artifacts
>>
>>
>>
>> 02/02/2009 01:00
>>
>> PM
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Please respond to
>>
>> Museum discussion
>>
>> list
>>
>> <[log in to unmask]
>>
>> SE.LSOFT.COM>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> We have traveling trunks that docents take to outreach programs for
>> schools. Recently I found out that there are actual artifacts in these
>> trunks. I am thinking that these should not be the actual artifacts,
>> but reproduction items or objects taken strictly for education purposes
>> only.
>> Has anybody else experienced this before, if so how did you handle it
>> with your education coordinator?
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Julie Blood
>> Collections and Exhibit Manager
>> San Joaquin County Historical Society & Museum P.O. Box 30, Lodi, CA
>> 95241
>> (209) 331-2055
>> (209) 953-3460
>> [log in to unmask]
>> www.sanjoaquinhistory.org
>>
>>
>>
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