Campaigners save Marconi Collection for Science Museum BY NIGEL HAWKES SCIENCE EDITOR (Times of London March 26, 1997) THE Marconi Collection of historic items from the earliest days of radio is to be given to the Science Museum after a U-turn by the electronics firm GEC-Marconi, which originally planned to auction it. The sale of 1,000 items of equipment and archives relating to Guglielmo Marconi's development of the invention was halted after protests, including one from Marconi's daughter, Princess Elettra Marconi, which appeared in The Times. The auction was abandoned a month ago and the results of the negotiations, announced yesterday by the company, have resulted in a complete success for those opposed to the break-up of the collection. The Princess said it was "wonderful news". "This is the best thing that could happen," she said from her home in Rome. "It's a wonderful day to think that the whole collection is saved and will remain in England." The Science Museum, which will take responsibility for the long-term conservation of the 250 items of equipment and the 750 letters or documents, will lend many items for display in Chelmsford, where Marconi set up the first radio factory in the world. The borough council is planning to set up a science discovery centre and is hoping for money from the lottery fund. The papers will go to the Essex County Council archive, where they will be available to scholars. Sir Geoffrey Pattie, chairman of GEC-Marconi, said that the company was "absolutely delighted" to have come to an agreement with the Science Museum. He said that, before deciding on the sale, the company had looked at the options available for preserving the collection, but had not made much progress. Since the sale had been announced, he said, the company had received constructive proposals from the Science Museum and Chelmsford Borough Council: "Once we had those possibilities, the whole scene opened up." The company originally valued the collection at £1 million, now revised to £3 million. The proceeds of the sale were to be used to fund "Marconi Days" for teachers, organised by the Institution of Electronic Engineers and designed to raise their skills in electronics. Now GEC-Marconi will fund the initiative from other resources. The items in the collection date back a century to when Marconi arrived in Britain from Italy with the aim of making radio communication a reality. He did so with the help of the Post Office, later founding the company that still bears his name. John Sutherland, a former managing director of Marconi Radar whose letter to The Times protesting about the sale was instrumental in rallying opposition, said yesterday: "I'm absolutely delighted. This is an excellent decision from which everyone will benefit: the public, the Science Museum, Chelmsford and the good name of GEC-Marconi. No recriminations this is the right thing to do and I'm very pleased." ============ The Museum Security Network dedicated to all aspects of cultural property protection http://museum-security.org/ mailto:[log in to unmask] join the mailinglist: [log in to unmask] http://museum-security.org/mailing.html#form ========================