In article <[log in to unmask]> Steve Ringle
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>   I have a question about assigning accession numbers "ex post facto."
>   The works in question came to us several years ago, their status as
>gifts or loans unclear at the time.  The artist subsequently passed away,
>and then this past year his widow also died.  Correspondence from the
>executors of both estates indicate that neither estate placed any claim
>on these works in our possession, ie:  they are ours.  I assume that they
>became ours in the year that the artist died.  I am now free to assign
>appropriate accession numbers to them, and to complete the accession
>process.
>   Our accession numbers take the form  YEAR.LOT.ITEM  eg:  95.3.7 for
>the seventh item in the third lot of works accessioned this year.
>   It is my impression that, in some museums, numbers assigned to works
>after their initial entry into the museum include an 'x'.
>   Should the accession numbers for these works be 1995? or the year that
>the artist died?  While this seems more logical, it entails opening the
>accession records for that year and appending more information.  Where
>would one insert or append the 'x' in the accession numbers?
>   Any ideas or insights will be much appreciated.

The accession number is really an artificial label that describes when
an object was *accessioned*, not necessarily when it was received.  We
keep a field in our database (and in our accession ledger) to show when
the object was received, but there is no indication in our number.  Some
of our volunteer accession committee (sweet old ladies, they were) in the
1970s did try to separate objects with different kinds of records,
and now we're trying to reconcile numbering systems with all kinds of
prefixes.

I wouldn't reopen accession records from previous years -- just keep
good records about the chronology of ownership and administration and
assign regular accession numbers as you always have.

Sara Kelley

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Sara Phinney Kelley                            Collections Manager
Lehigh County Historical Society
Allentown, PA                                       (610) 435-4664

email: [log in to unmask] (use "for Sara" in subject line)
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