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Author
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Topic: What will you do with your collection after you die?
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-18-2007 10:20 AM
   
quote:
Originally posted by Lunar rock nut:
Robert does the A.S.F. hand out any of the donated items as awards to students.
To the best of my knowledge, they do not. |
Lunar rock nut
Member Posts: 911
From: Oklahoma city, Oklahoma U.S.A.
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 12-18-2007 11:23 AM
They should! at least a few IMHO. Terry |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 12-18-2007 12:51 PM
quote:
Originally posted by spacekid2:
Why not all of the cS members send one special space artifact (flown or not flown) to Robert in Houston. We all pitch in to open the collectSPACE Artifact Museum. It would be located close to JSC so that it would attract visitors.
Perhaps a more feasible idea would be to have a "virtual" museum online, here at cS, where each collector contributes hi-res scans or photos of their favorite 2-3 items from their collection. A special page could be set up here at cS to display these items, with perhaps a paragraph or two written by the contributors to describe each item and why it means something to them... or telling why it has significance to our space history. For collector's who have their own pages, links to those pages might then be included near that collector's items in the virtual museum, so people could explore that collection even further.If all (or most) collector's here displayed a couple of items each on a special page on this site, think of what a fascinating addition that would make to collectSPACE. There would have to be a limit of submissions per member (kept to just 2-3 items max) in order to make it feasible. Plus, the idea would be to display the best (or most interesting) stuff each collector has. For some people, that might be a piece of flown hardware. For others, that might be a special autograph, patch, cover, model, etc. that means something to them. Not every item would need to be worth a lot of money to be displayed... all it would need to be is special in that collector's eyes. What better way to illustrate the vast variety of items that we collect here? As a virtual museum, we could ALL contribute to it... and we could all enjoy seeing what others have contributed. (Sorry Robert... I'm not trying to make your job any harder.  ) |
poofacio
Member Posts: 268
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2006
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posted 12-18-2007 01:06 PM
What an excellent idea! |
FFrench
Member Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 12-18-2007 01:19 PM
Speaking from a personal viewpoint, and not on behalf of the museum I work for...Right now I am one office door away from what was, and may still be, the largest aviation and spaceflight archive in the US west of the Rockies. There are researchers in there all day using its vast wealth of resources, and some very interesting projects have resulted in it. For example, some books on the Atlas program have been almost exclusively derived from the archive here of the company who built them. Without having all of that info. in one place, and maintained for researcher use, I doubt such research would be possible. The museum also has, both on display and being professionally preserved for future displays and future generations, a large number of unique and irreplaceable artifacts. Public display is not always as important as safekeeping, with provence and professional care, for future researchers, future displays, future generations - much like archaeology. So I think museums have a very important role to play. Having said that, there are other items which are created for collection - signed photos, covers, etc. - plus less unique artifacts, of which there may be multiple examples of - which I fully agree, would be far better in the hands of those who will gain direct and frequent benefit and enjoyment from them, rather than being rarely seen by preservation in an archive. The line between the unique, historic piece and the collectible is gray and debatable, but both methods of preservation and enjoyment have strong positives. There are exceptions, such as the Space Walk of Fame Museum, where seeing more accessible memorabilia is part of the experience - but on the whole, I agree, private collections have a great role to play. This discussion looks like it is, quite correctly, coming down to those kinds of distinctions. However, I read a few posts here which seemed to misrepresent the idea - that private collecting was somehow "anti-museum" - a phrase which I would disagree with. Both types have their place, both have enormous positives, and both have important roles to play. |
DOX32
Member Posts: 242
From: Lakewood Ranch FL USA
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 12-18-2007 07:04 PM
With several members already having great web sites of items, I would also scan some of my better items, but maybe a easy service to do this is a best bet.Any suggestions on the easiest service to use? Woody |
spacekid2
Member Posts: 199
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 12-18-2007 07:41 PM
Once again I hope that I am not out of line.My suggestion would be: We send our best pic and description of our favorite artifact(s) to Robert. He would then add them to his own Artifact section on cS. (Of course giving credit to the owner of each new artifact This way Robert could have an even more impressive collection living vicariously through our artifacts. And we could like wise admire our addition to the great artifact collection displayed right here on Roberts cS page. Just a thought...from a "Make it simple" High School teacher. Paul |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-18-2007 08:16 PM
I like the idea of a virtual museum, or if I may suggest a spinoff, a space history timeline illustrated by the artifacts and collectibles left behind.A few years ago, a similar idea was proposed and I only received a few submissions. For this to work (either idea) I would ideally desire 50 to 100 items to exhibit, and hopefully they would all be different items. Almost any type of collectible would work, so long as it is (a) interesting and (b) well imaged. Pieces with intriguing stories and/or are especially rare would be a bonus, but certainly not required. A good representation of space history, from past to present would be more desirable than 50 examples from Apollo 11. Assuming this is of enough general interest to go forward, then before people start breaking out their cameras and scanners, it would be a good idea to get a general idea of the material that is available. A quick e-mail with a short list of potential items would allow me to organize the submissions, eliminate duplicates and save my bandwidth for only the needed imagery. It would also help form the outline for a gallery, which I could then post for comment and additions. |
spacekid2
Member Posts: 199
From: San Diego, CA, USA
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 12-19-2007 02:13 AM
Robert, I think this is a great project. Are you saying then that we should e-mail you direct with our Artifact descriptions? Do you want an initial pic with the description? Or wait for final selection? And perhaps we could get specific instructions on how the artifacts should be photographed (ie. background, lighting, pixel size, etc) for consistency sake. Anyway I look forward to seeing the end result. Paul |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 12-19-2007 02:13 PM
I think a virtual museum should really make an effort to highlight the vast array of collectables out there. Lest anyone think that only high dollar or flown items are worthy of display, I think the museum should display many "low dollar" items too. If nothing else, this virtual museum can offer up great examples of what people can collect from the entire history of spaceflight (following Robert's timeline approach, which I think is a good idea). The idea should be to display items ranging in value from $0.01 to $100,000 (or more).I will be happy to offer any support to this effort that I can, including making anything from my own collection available for online display. |
saturn1b
Member Posts: 159
From: Westcliffe, CO
Registered: Jun 2006
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posted 12-22-2007 03:02 PM
I'd have to agree with Mr. French. I was kind of surprised to see so many people against having items donated to a museum! The MAIN reason we want to get a space museum started here in Southern Colorado is to excite people the way we are excited about it. There are a lot of people out there that don't even realize that they can own some of the cool items we as collectors have. If we can spread our enthusiasm onto others by giving the general public the chance to see these collections then that's exactly what we should do. In our museum there will be no boxes in the corner of a storage room. Everything we have will be displayed for all to see and admire. In fact, we plan on asking other museums for the artifacts that they currently have stored in a closet someplace so we can put them where they will be enjoyed. Right now my entire collection is in my house and guess who gets to admire it? Me and the friends and relatives that come to visit now and then. By putting all of my stuff in a museum, I hope to inspire others to join the hobby, learn more about space and hopefully do better in their school work to maybe become a part of the program in some way, no matter how small it may seem. I'll step down off my box now and just let you all know that when I'm gone, I hope that my collection will still be around for everyone to enjoy and not just in a single persons living room. Steve |
WhiteKnights
New Member Posts:
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posted 12-24-2007 04:19 PM
Not an easy post for me to make but feel this would be a good time to mention that anyone who collects should make certain that either a family member or someone close to you know the value and/or historical importance of your items to avoid any potential disaster. Speaking from experience as I came into possesion of a substantial collection 5-6 years ago. At that time I was not at all aware or familiar with what I had just aquired. Because of that many items were damaged, destroyed or thrown away including several pieces of flown Apollo hardware.. one in particular a Lunar Surface artifact of great significance, value and rock solid provenance by the moonwalker who used the item now resides in a local landfill. That's a heavy burdon for one who has since grown to learn about, respect and love collecting space with the help of collectspace, its members and other such helpful venues.. My hope would be that this experience can possibly save others from a similar fate. Wishing all a long and healthy life filled with many years of happy and rewarding collecting! |
Philip
Member Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 12-25-2007 03:32 AM
Of course the 'great significance' of our collections is just relative  |
LCDR Scott Schneeweis
New Member Posts:
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Registered:
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posted 12-25-2007 07:07 AM
quote:
Originally posted by WhiteKnights:
Not an easy post for me to make but feel this would be a good time to mention that anyone who collects should make certain that either a family member or someone close to you know the value and/or historical importance of your items to avoid any potential disaster.
In that regard I do recommend a good quality tagging system, particularly for those atypical items which may otherwise be outright unidentifiable because they lack ID plates and/or their functionality/role/program affiliation is not identifiable. For most artifacts I have gone with (vitually) indestructible inert tyvek tags coupled with Avery plastic fasteners that have to be intentionally severed to be removed and am using Dymo mylar/metalized printed labels. Onto that I list part/system nomenclature, spacecraft/launch vehicle system, NASA Contract. Easily added could be value or any other data points which may aid your heirs or future owners with establishing favorible disposition of the item.------------------
Scott Schneeweis
http://www.SPACEAHOLIC.com/ |
Jim
Member Posts: 73
From: San Antonio TX
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 12-27-2007 09:38 AM
My collection of space books and models will be passed on to my oldest grandson. Right now he's 4 years old, has met former astronauts Walt Cunningham and Tom Stafford, has shown a VERY healthy interest in all things involving space, and says he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. Gonna keep nurturing that thought... |
embangloy
Member Posts: 75
From: Nashville, TN, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 12-30-2007 08:55 PM
Regardless of the value, I will do what others (mentors, teachers, professors, relatives, and professionals) did for me; just pass it on to someone who is passionate about the items as I was. I believe that what I collected should be enjoyed by another that has the same enthusiasm as I did when I began and continued to collect the space memorabilia. My individual collection was put together by my own endeavors and I do not feel that a facility or museum would appreciate what I, or others in this post, have. For example, how many signed and very overpriced pictures of a very arrogant Buzz Aldrin does a museum need? Just my thoughts.... Maybe I place it in a family time capsule (let's say 300 years) so that generations down my lineage will have direct access to my collection. Surely someone in my descendents would appreciate some 20th and 21st century space artifacts. |
Blkhole
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posted 01-18-2008 10:48 PM
I think when I die (not to far in the future now) I'll have my collection burnt and the ashes mixed with mine...put in a tube and launched into space. Some alien will find it and clone me and I'll come back as a book...Just joking!!!
My wife will either sell it off and use the money for our grandkids (hope she gets good prices) or split the collection with the kids...I think it's worth about $20,000 us about now or at least that's what it feels like I have paid for it over the last 55 years |
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