Bob Rhoades at the MET
 

Some of you may know that I have been looking for a 1910 T213-1 Bob Rhoades for many years to complete the set. Well, today I found one. I was searching for a photo of another card I'm looking for, a T213-2 Sweeney Richmond, and the MET Rhoades showed up.

Serious question, should I contact them to see if they would sell or trade it to me? Wouldn't they rather own a Pierre Montezin painting of a duck pond than a baseball card?
www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/Search/417937

It’s part of the Burdick Collection, they will not entertain it.

To explain more, donation agreements usually dictate that the items be held in perpetuity by the museum. They can sometimes be sold only to purchase more material, however I would think this would be a moot point unless the entire collection was sold.

That's interesting. I did not realize the MET thought of the "Burdick Collection" as a single entity. Do you think the Burdick Coupon Rhoades is invaluable in the same way that the Burdick T206 Wagner is? I thought museums de-accessed stuff all the time. Would anyone be upset if they sold me a common from an obscure set? I should have put "serious question" in quotes. I have this e103 Ewing with his stamp. I wonder if the Rhoades and Wagner have his stamp on the back? Rob

I am having a hard time understanding if this is satire or serious.

If you believe that this has legs, perhaps you should call to discuss with the Curator of Drawings and Prints, Carmen Bambach.

Please update with your progress.

The guy on Pawn stars who runs the Gettysburg Museum is selling stuff all the time from his Museum and acquires stuff constantly as well.

Both, really. People I've known my whole life tell me this all the time. It's a character flaw, or a dry sense of humor. I would like to find an example of this card, but when I do, it's in an art museum, packed away in storage. I also have a T201 Lord with his stamp. Maybe I can offer a 2 for 1 swap? In all seriousness, I'm not planning on contacting them about it. I don't think I could make it worth their while.

+1

As my Dad used to say "You already have the No", no harm in asking. Museums sell items quite often and unless there was specific instructions attached to the Burdick donation they may have some flexibility, especially if you're trading Burdicks. You may have something they want more than the card in question.

If nothing else you might make a new friend in the hobby. They also may want to know if you're interested in donating anything when the time comes.

It may not work, but why not try -- worst case you are same place started. You literally have nothing to lose

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'll call them this week and let you all know what they said.

Interesting(I think) read on the Met deaccession policy and how most museums handle their collections:
https://www.metmuseum.org/-/media/fi...D98C8225393C65

"Before proceeding to recommend that a donated work be deaccessioned, the curator first reviews the records of gift to confirm that the gift is unrestricted."

That sounds like the catch here. The Burdick collection is probably restricted, but who knows. Anyhow, it's only a phone call, looking forward to hearing what they say. I may have to do some window shopping if it turns out well. :D

I was looking at Burdick's T213-1 collection. It looks like he had the complete set. I will double-check tomorrow. I would not want them to break-up his set, unless they decide to auction it off one day. I'll email Monday just to ask about their policy and plans.

FYI, here are the articles that Burdick wrote when he decided to donate his collection to the Met, and for a couple of years afterward:

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=240887

Thanks for re-posting the Burdick columns, David. I had not read those before. Burdick clearly states that the "cards will never be sold." I don't want to give them any ideas by asking if their cards are for sale. It's interesting that Burdick addressed the concerns about the cards being stored away. With the internet, I can view his T213-1 set on the web. Too bad they don't scan the backs.

It is not a museum in the true sense of the word. It is one in name only. It is a person's collection and not a charitable or non/not for profit as we view most museums. It does welcome visitors, but does not accept any type of government funding. That pretty much frees him to buy and sell as he wishes. He also sells on ebay.

I have no problem with that. If he is selling items that are War Between the States, but not Gettysburg related and he is trying to strengthen his Gettysburg collection it would make sense. When I would go there every year during the 1990's for the Civil War collector's shows most of the stores that sold those types of items also had displays of items not for sale.

Completely agree with everything said, however it appears he is running it as a non-profit:
"The Gettysburg Museum of History Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, preserves America history for the next generation."

Another piece from the website that has a mission statement tone:
"A private FREE museum. We continue to serve the community and visitors to Gettysburg PA by selling artifacts and museum merchandise. Check out our store."

Anyhow, completely different beast than a legitimate "museum" as said. This is basically a store, with a 501(c)(3) facade, operating to build a personal collection and generate income. For the right price, he would sell almost anything as many collectors do. You see a lot of collections of all sorts turned into "museums" to share that collection with the public and in many cases further develop that collection.

They don’t scan the back because most of Burdicks collection was pasted into albums. Likely most of the backs are damaged from this. I would be shocked if the MET would part with any of the collection but interested to see what they say.