I have joined your Museum List in hopes of solving a personal
problem.  Perhaps some of you will care to share your wisdom
and insite.
 
>From approximately 1900 until 1945 my grandmother collected
dolls--some 700+ in all of all descriptions.  When she died
we (six sisters) inherited the collection.  The collection
remained packed in large steamer trunks and stored in my
parents' home.  Now, two years after the death of my mother,
my sisters have decided that it is time to "dispose" of the
collection.  Each of us has our own ideas of how we want this
done, and the majority seems to agree that we should each choose
several dolls that we like and the rest should be auctioned off.
 
I have persuaded at least two of my sisters that we should
set aside some dolls, to go to some museum.  But, none of us
know much about that and one of us has strong feelings that
they would be sold anyway--but by the museum.  So. . .
 
Are there museums interested in displaying collections which
they do not own?
 
If two of my sisters and I were interested in pursuing this
type of arrangement, how would we go about selecting which dolls?
In other words, what kind of collections would a museum be
interested in?  A cross section of the entire collection?
All the black dolls?  Ethnic dolls?  Indian dolls?  Baby dolls?
Porcelain dolls?  Character dolls?  Cloth dolls?  You name it
and I think we have it.
 
What would our responsibility be is this type of arrangement--
i.e., we would still own the dolls but the musuem would display
them?  Who would insure them.  Who would pay for their shipping.
 
All of the dolls were "cataloged" by one of my sisters but the
descriptions are very brief--size in inches, type of doll and
the material of which it is made.  The information includes
a notation of any markings found on the doll, etc.  Almost all
of the dolls have been photographed.
 
The six of us are meeting this weekend to "dispose" of the dolls.
I only wish I had known about your list sooner.