A much less concise response than Peter Tirrel's -(thank you Peter)! but
I couldn't help but comment at more length --it's such a text book case.

Yes, this sounds very, very familiar.  I dealt with dozen of just such
problems at a state University museum founded in the 1920's, and learned
that this is typical of collection practices in many museums earlier in
the 20th century.

No you can't just give away State assets, nor, normally, give away
things away out of the permanent collections.  But no matter how much
you want to keep it, if your predecessors didn't get the signature on a
gift document, or you don't have other really solid proof that the owner
did actually donate it, you just have to bite the bullet and return it
to the legal heir(s) --wherein lies another problem  --being sure that
the person who wants it back is the legal heir. The son will have to
prove the he is the legitimate and sole heir before it can be returned
to him. Then document this all completely, to forstall any accusations
of giving away state property.

These cases are always a reminder to those who collect today: "Please"
be sure you are getting solid documentation for gifts. Unraveling these
kinds of problems decades later is time consuming and stressful, and can
create disastrous public relations problems.

Last but not least, there is the negotiation route. Couldn't the State
Museum arrange to loan the artifact to the Philips Co. Hist. Soc.?
(This method sometimes ends up pointing out to the erstwhile owner that
the museum he wants his precious artifact to go to is lacking in
security provisions, though this certainly may not be the case here.)
What is the son's real agenda and is there another way to satisfy it?
At his advanced age, he may respond to a cautious or candid approach to
thinking long term: 'what is best for the artifact --where will it be
safest over time', etc. etc. and perhaps he'll even decide to sign a
donor form if you can make him happy by finding a legitimate way to meet
his needs. It's the old 'you catch more flies with honey....." routine.

Lucy Sperlin Skjelstad
Corvallis, Oregon


"Henry B. Crawford" wrote:
>
> Sound familiar??
> HBC
>
> >>________________________________________________________________
> >>Billings Gazette 11/30/99
> >>State museum refuses to give up historic pistol
> >>Donor's son claims gift wasn't permanent
> >>
> >>Associated Press
>
> >>MALTA (AP) - One of the ivory-handled Colt .45s used by a
> >>turn-of-the-century horse and cattle rustler is the center of a dispute
> >>between the state and the family of the man who provided it to the Montana
> >>Historical Society years ago.
>
> >>Jim Watkins, 78, says his father, Alfred Watkins, obtained "Dutch" Henry
> >>Ieuch's revolver as a gift from Ieuch in 1905 and sent it to the historical
> >>society in 1962.  A few months ago, Watkins decided it was time to
> >>retrieve the pistol so it
> >>could be displayed at the Phillips County Museum in Malta, but the
> >state-run historical society won't return it.
>
> >>Administrators say the elder Watkins provided the pistol as a permanent
> >gift, not a loan. They have suggested that the younger Watkins talk to the
> >>society's board of trustees, which will meet on Jan. 13 in Helena.
> >>"I just know Dad would've never given it away," Watkins said. "He wanted to
> >>keep it in the family. It was such a prized possession to him it was
> >>inconceivable to assume he would part with it permanently."
> >>The Phillips County Historical Society and the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
> >>have formally voiced support for Watkins. State Rep. Sam Kitzenberg,
> >>R-Glasgow, has written a strongly worded complaint to the state historical
> >>society about how it has handled the matter.
> >>The state's records indicate the gun was a permanent gift, but none of the
> >>documents contains a statement or signature from Alfred Watkins to that
> >>effect. "This item belongs, in our view, to the state of Montana, and you
> >>can't
> >>simply give away assets," said the society's director, Arnie Olsen.
> >>"We want to do right by the family, but on the other hand we simply can't -
> >>just because somebody asks for something - just take it out of the
> >permanent collection and give it away."

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