Thanks, Tom Lear, for your putting into words what is actually the
truth about museum collections, and about my curator friends who
I can agree are often arrogant "snot-noses".

I have worked for 38 years in the museum world, and agree with your
assessment that one must have close to iron-clad agreements to make
sure that "curators" don't hide "their" collections from the public.

Too many times in my experiences did I find that access is restricted
to the privileged, or that access is for benefit of who is willing to
pay the most.  Even museums of big objects try to restrict access.  On
the other hand, there are wonderful institutions like the Mercer Museum
of early American tools that seemingly bare all their collection to the
public.

Now, I understand that we must restrict people from rifling collections,
and indeed even need to protect the collection from being "used up".
I also think that many if not most objects are better preserved outside
of a museum environment where collectors actually take better care of
those objects.

One must remember that all museums were started because there was
a need to preserve artifacts that individuals had collected.  So
individuals and their collections are of the utmost value.  It is true
that some items are lost this way, but so are items lost or even thrown
out in a museum setting.

I for one, whose experience included top management in the museum I
worked at before my semi retirement, feel that transactions between
individual collectors are of the most valuable in the preservation
efforts.  And eBay actually does make items available to a very wide
audience who will appreciate them because of the costs of acquisition.
I myself, as a hopeless collector, have secured a lot of key pieces to
my personal collecting world through eBay, items that would never have
been made available to my collection otherwise.

At my death, most of my personal collection of some 7000 books and 7500
(non-music) artifacts will be going to museums, but under contracts
that provide preservation as a collection in my name, restrictions
on disposal, and most importantly the written agreement that the
collection must be openly made available for research and editorial
purposes at no or very nominal actual cost.

But other items such as my orchestrions and related items will be
passed onto other collectors who can enjoy what they are.  Those
collectors will take better care of them for posterity than would
the museums.

Julie Johnson
West Chicago, IL