I have read this thread with interest and with some dismay.
Yes, Mr. Gertler shouldn't apologise for "rescuing this collection".
However, I am very curious why he "rescued" this archive personally rather
than finding a suitable institution for it in the first place.
I think that his situation perfectly illustrates why most museum
professionals and institutions subscribe to a code of ethics and conflict of
interest provisions which limit personal collecting. Although many of these
provisions insure that the staff will not be in a position to compete with
their institution's interests, they are also intended to insure that a
curator or director will not be in Mr. Gertler's position of having a deep
financial interest within one's field and scope of professional activity.
Curators and other museum professionals are in a position where they are
approached constantly by institutions, collectors, and the general public.
For such a professional to be simultaneously involved in the commerce of
collecting leaves too much potential for abuse and outright fraud, let alone
the perception of conflict. The recent case involving the FBI's arrest of a
curator at the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum who was involved in the trade
is another illustration of these issues which I am concerned about, which
damage both the profession and the institution.
It is clear that everyone agrees that this important historical archive
should be in an insitution which can care for them and make them publically
accessible, and I do not doubt Mr. Gertler's sincerity in pursuing that. I
do take issue however, with the ethics of his personally "investing" in these
archives in the first place which, "cost me a fortune and two years of
exasperating and frustrating negotiations". It is obvious that Mr. Gertler's
circumstances have changed and now that he must divest himself of this
personally acquired archive he must make the painful choice to either sell
it all off piecemeal (something he keeps reminding us of) or he is nobly,
"willing to negotiate and compromise my families stake in these archives to
see them go to a proper insititution..."
"Caveat Emptor"
This is precisely the sort of mess which no musuem professional should ever
find themselves in and this is why those who teach aspiring musem
professionals should strive to emphasize professional ethics in their
courses, whether it be museum studies, education, or conservation.
I am curious, is the field of historic aviation museums and collecting
especially prone to this sort of conflict? Or is this situation present in
other fields?
Dave
David Harvey
Conservator of Metals & Arms
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776 USA
voice: 804-220-7039
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
___________________________________________
On Sunday, April 7, 1996 J. Gertler wrote:
>I agree that this collection should not STAY in private hands. >I agree with
many of the poins made by E. J. Pershey. But I >will not apologize for
RESCUING these archives. I have >been employed full-time or self-employed
full-time for
>the past twenty-five years as an aviation museum supplier, >consultant,
and/or curator and executive director. My major >accomplishment was
establishing a recognized tax-exempt >public museum featuring one of the best
collections/exhibits >of pre-WWII aero engines in the world. (THE RACEWAY
>COLLECTION; 175 engines; 48 WWI and earlier and 19 being >the only known
examples) I also collected the largest >collection of WWI German and
Austro-Hungarian aircraft >parts and instruments, along with a number of
unique
>or extremely rare aeroplanes over those twenty five >years.They were all
publicly accessable and information was >provided to all who needed it. When
I was contacted by the >previous ownere of these archives, they had sat in
file >cabinets for nearly forty years in his basement and he was on >the
verge of breaking them up to sell the most historic >documents to autograph
dealers and the photo collection at >airshows for $5 per photo. His own words
were, "You >wouldn't believe how many pick-up loads (of The Curtiss >Wright
Co archives) I took to the dump." Fortunately, he was >fascinated by the
early material and his basement was bone >dry and his four file cabinets were
full of folders pressed >tightly together. When major dealers such as those
with full
>page ads like Profiles In History, are selling single Lindbergh >letters @
$25,000 and Sotheby auctions are fetching >$7,000-$12,000 for signed Wright
letters in the Kallir auction >and even a ten page report from cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin is >hammered for over $100,000, What is a signed and personal >wax
sealed contract forming The Wright Company by Wilbur >and Orville worth? What
are 850 pages of unpublished >Wright Co. letters worth? What are the
executive board >minutes, ledgers, and ten crates of historic documents
>worth. Wealthy collectors have been fighting over them, >without let-up. The
Cody Archive sale in London brought >some bids that were five to ten times
the high estimates for
>personal and business documents!
>I am willing to negotiate and compromise my families stake >in these
archives to see them go to a proper institution who >will preserve them and
provide public access. They cost me a >fortune and two years of exasperating
and frustrating >negotiations. I can appreciate your concern. I appreciate,
>very much the help I have received from subscribers to this >list. Until
recently I was executive director at Ryder's Fighter >Museum when the owner
and wife and son were killed in a >plane crash. This association cost me
several hundred
>thousand dollars and the virtual destruction of my life-long >collection.
>Cheers,
> J.Gertler
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