Hi Kim,
 
Sounds like a great collection. It would be best to start assessing the  
condition of the boxes..any that are in poor condition could be discarded.
 
If you have more than one of the same, keep at least one example. Hat boxes  
are very collectible so perhaps the remainders could be sold? Or given away to 
 another non-profit organization that may have a use for them? Or re-used for 
 some other purpose?
 
It can be difficult to make decisions such as these at the get go, and may  
just be something that needs to be researched over time, as you are still  
becoming familiar the collection. The initial weeding out of the boxes should be  
fine. Do the best you can to store and preserve the remaining boxes.
 
Pam
 
 
 
In a message dated 1/26/2006 9:56:40 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Hello  all,

We just received a fairly large collection of mid-20th
century  ladies hats.

Many of these hats came to us in hat boxes, but  the
problem is that 2-4 hats are inside each box.  Most of
them  cannot be authenticated as "THE" hat that came in
the box, because labels  don't match, etc.

I am planning to remove the hats from the boxes  and
place them in acid-free storage boxes.  But what do I
do with  the hat boxes themselves?

What do you do at your museum?  Do you  accession the
empty boxes separately and take up double the  storage
space?  Or do you pitch them?  Does it matter if  you
can match the hat up with the correct box or not?  Do
"orphan"  boxes matter?

There are quite a few boxes in this  particular
collection -- so we aren't talking about one or two. 
Storage  space -- like always, everywhere -- is
limited.

I also have this  question about shoes that are or
aren't in their original boxes.  Do  the boxes
themselves matter?  Usually if the boxes are
identified  with a local department store, I have been
keeping them and accessioning  them as their own
artifacts (that goes for shoes, hats, clothing  boxes,
etc).  But if the box comes from a major department
store  that could have been purchased in town or across
the country, do I want to  keep that?

Incidentally, I can't ask the donor.  She is  suffering
from dementia in a nursing home, and the hats were
brought in  by her son, who has no more information to
provide...

Any advice is  greatly appreciated.

Kim Kenney






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