Loans or donations to museums

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by bigfanNY

About 4 years ago I was cataloging my collection and came across a photo of the Clemson baseball Team from 1903. I did a little research and found the John Heisman was the coach that year and was in the photo. I contacted the library and was told that they did not have an original photo of the team just a recent copy and they would be very interested in obtaining the photo. after a few emails I donated the photo to the Clemson Library in memory of my Dog who had passed away asking that when the photo was displayed that I be notified (so I could visit) and that my Dog always be mentioned as Donner of the photo. I was told that they would be happy to comply with both requests.
What I learned was that once they take possession of the item all bets are off they can do or not do whatever they want with the item. Sad in a way but I do not regret the donation. I tried to do a nice thing and what they do is completely on them.
Jonathan .

Is it on display now or ever and if so was it labeled as being donated by your dog(I really like this being a dog person)?

[bigfanNY]

I have no idea I have not heard a word from them aside from a one paragraph email saying that they received my photo. I have inquired a couple of times with no response... Those are the breaks but I still feel the photo is where it is meant to be.

[drcy]

Something like 10% of a museum's holdings are on a display at a time, so, unless you have a Van Gogh or George Washington's military uniform, expecting something to be on permanent display usually is a bit much.

However, you can donate to a museum that catalogs their items and has them available online. Numerous museums have good online catalogs of their holdings. Example

[mrozie21]

Thanks for the great insights on dealing with loans/donations to museums.

I'm just in my initial talks with a particular museum and am weighing my options.

Please keep the responses coming on this topic as I think it's a great discussion for our hobby!