>Can anyone cite a specific example of a "successful" antique show or appraisal fair hosted by >a non-profit historic/preservation entity? How were the ethics issues resolved? How was the >event presented to the public? >From evaluating items' monetary value on site to the potential for artifacts not being >handled properly in front of the public, I see nothing but red flags and mixed messages being >sent by museums being associated with such an event. Wouldn't the public then view that site >as a place to go to have their objects formally evaluated and get confused when they are >later turned away? Our museum a few years ago ran four "military antiques roadshow" events - 2 at home and 2 on the road. Three of these events were very successful, 2 at our museum and 1 held at another museum. The 1 show that was unsuccessful was so as a result of the sponsoring institution not advertising! What we offered was identification and evaluation or military artifacts - NOT financial or monetary appraisal. Our experts were from the staff of our museum and the host the museum, and we offered identification of the materials brought to the show along with it's relevance or importance in material cultural history, along with tips on the care, handling and preservation of the material. If people insisted on a dollar value we had a list of appraisers and auctions houses they could go to - and only a few people wanted this information. In a couple of cases we recommended that the people contact an appraiser in order to adequately insure the piece in question. Most of our visitors were more interested in finding out what it was that they had, how old was it, what was the history surrounding it etc then the actual value. But again - we did not offer a dollar appraisal, and advertised that and still got hundreds of people turning up with their militaria in hand. And in all cases - we handled all artifacts with the appropriate responsible care and made recommendations on the handling and storage, and for those wanting appraisal we had names and numbers to offer. We also made it clear that firearms were not to be brought to the show, and for those who did, we had the police on hand to ensure that the weapons were properly license and handled. All in all it was clear to the public by the time they got to my table (archival material) that they were there to find out what they had and how it fit into history. Also here in Ottawa, our National Gallery was the host for the "Antiques Roadshow" from the UK - which was enormously successful both for the gallery and the roadshow with thousands of people lining up and some absolutely fabulous and historically significant material being brought in. And last year the Canadian Museum of Civilization was the local host for a Canadian version of the Antiques roadshow - and again outside appraisers and experts were brought in and was so successful that one of the experts (a friend) managed 15 minutes for lunch and finally got to leave about 8-9 pm - four hours after the doors closed to the public! Tickets were free on a first come first serve basis via the website set up for this event (look for Canadian Antiques Roadshow on the internet) Carol Reid Collections Manager, Archives Canadian War Museum 330 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0M8 www.warmuseum.ca tel: (819) 776-8661 fax: (819)776-8657 e-mail: [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).