I am pleased to say that many more collectors are taking a cue from
archaeologists and curators and are seeking to find and record the source
and history of the items that they collect.

I have been active since 1977 in historic military vehicle preservation as a
hobby (I have a 1944 Willys jeep and couple of 1942 BSA folding airborne
bicycles) and have gradually seen a shift where owners now tend to record
the history of their vehicles. For example they take photos of them as found
and during restoration, gather documentation from previous owners, record
any military markings that are found on the vehicles, and research to try to
find out about the history in military and post-military service etc. At
vintage car shows you will see more and more collectors proudly displaying
pictures and historical information about "their baby".

The more we encourage collectors to document their collections, the better
we will all be. Remember too that the widow or widower of a collector (be it
of dolls, antique cars, razors or 'Old Master' paintings) will often
approach a museum offering to donate all of some of the collection. Isn't it
nice when each item is already catalogued as opposed to the person saying "I
have no idea where he/she got it."

I suspect that I surprised the staff at the Canadian War Museum when I, as a
collector, donated a uniform worn by a Canadian friend of mine in the US
Marine Corps in the Viet Nam War. Every item already had a catalogue number
and provenance including a photo taken in Viet Nam showing him wearing the
outfit after coming in off a combat mission.

Our museum had a vintage car collector come to us seeking the photo album of
the lady who had owned the 1931 Ford Model A Deluxe Roadster that he had
acquired. He has literally travelled across Canada from coast to coast
documenting this car and the people associated with it. Would that we had
time and resources to document our vintage cars (and other items) at our
museum that well! Now, we have a rare 1929 Nash Roadster in our museum's
collection that was used in Burnaby ...

Colin Macgregor Stevens,
Curator,
Burnaby Village Museum,
Burnaby, BC, CANADA
================================================

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of Rachel Orlins Bergman
> Sent: June 23, 2000 09:49
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Archaeologists/Collectors
...> My understanding of the diffence between collectors and professional
> archaeogolists is that when archaeologists are able to study objects and
> sites in situ, not only are they able to record information correctly for
> future generations ..., they are able to learn--and help the rest of us
> learn--from cultural interpretations of the materials.
>
> As a museum professional it should be easy to understand that context, and
> original context, are very important keys to understanding obejcts,
people,
> and culture.
>
> Rachel Orlins Bergman
> museum studies graduate student
...

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