I have been asked by a woman here in Charlotte to help her find a home for a group of six panoramic paintings done by her grandfather in the 1880s. These were used as a sort of primitive moving picture to illustrate talks on religious themes given by the artist at venues all over the southeast and into the midwest. He was, she tells me, accompanied by his wife playing the organ. The paintings, about ten feet high, were rolled from one iron bar to another by some sort of gear mechanism. I have seen about half of one roll and the beginning of another. They are painted in a broad poster-like style with water-soluble pigment on heavy cotton sheeting. The initial panels have been damaged by water and, in some cases, little four-footed chewers, but as you get farther in, the colors are remarkably well-preserved and the cloth still sturdy. The figures are remarkably expressive; the Ark of the Covenant is sumptuously portrayed in gold. My request to you is this: Would your museum be interested in preserving this remarkable work of religious folk art; or, do you know of any institution, museum or otherwise, that would be interested in it? A full restoration of the work would be a considerable undertaking, but it looks to me as though it could be stabilized for exhibition by a group of trained volunteers with sewing skills at very little cost. And my problem is this: we have no space for storing this work, and the building where it is being stored is due to be torn down next month. So any answers will have to come quickly. The donor would be willing to help in a small way with the cost of stabilizing the works, and I could ask her whether she would be willing to pay for shipping. Thank you, Anne Anne T. Lane, Collections Manager Charlotte Museum of History 3500 Shamrock Drive Charlotte NC 28215 704-568-1774 [log in to unmask] ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).