Did you actually accession the tombstone into a
collection? Under what circumstances did you accept the tombstone (any
promises to the donor about what you would do with the object?)
If you didn’t actually accession it , I’d think you
can dispose of it in any way you see fit. You might tell the original owner
that you intend to dispose of it, in the event they want it back.
You might also document the tombstone – take a photograph,
create a file with relevant data – so if more information is unearthed in
the future, your file might be of use.
Cindy Boyer
Director of Museums and Education
The Landmark Society of Western New York
133 S. Fitzhugh St.
Rochester NY 14608
(585) 546-7029 ext. 12
The Landmark Society: Revitalizing Yesterday, Protecting
Today, and Planning for Tomorrow
Confessions of
a Preservationist: The Landmark Society blog
From: Museum discussion
list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marguerite
Radhakrishnan
Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2008 11:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Tombstones
Dear list members,
We received a hundred-year-old tombstone along with a
collection of documents. While we do want the documents, we are not
interested in the tombstone -- there is no information about its background (we
were told that someone found it while gardening, and we do not know the date or
the address where it was found), and the name does not show up in city
directories for the relevant dates, so we have no knowledge of the
person. It does not fit with our collecting policy and is also very heavy
-- in short, we don't want it. The question is: how does one go about
properly deaccessioning a tombstone? Does anyone have any suggestions for
what type of facility might be interested in a tombstone with just a name, a
date, and a general location for its unearthing? If no one wants it, what
is the right way to divest oneself of an unwanted tombstone?
Thank you,
Marguerite
Radhakrishnan, Archivist I
Houston Metropolitan Research Center
500 McKinney
Houston, TX 77002
832.393.1654
Marguerite.Radhakrishnan@cityofhouston.net
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