‘As for museums pleading poverty -it’s often for the reason that they don’t actually have any money hence why my dealings with them have very infrequently involved money and often parts have joined museum projects at cost to me and not them!’
Very commendable that you can afford to ‘give’ items to museums, but having been a founder member of Tangmere back in the ’80’s ,we had buy some of the more interesting exhibits by raising bank loans (secured against our individual properties) and paid back to us on museum receipts over the following years. These items proved to be the ‘kick start’ for the musem to grow into what it is today (plus a great deal of hard,time consuming, free time work over many years).
Many exhibits were donated, and an increasing stock value of those items has accrued as substanial financial bonus to the Ltd company of the Trust. Charity begins at home, and I do tend to choose project buyers over private collectors wherever possible. I also believe that objects of historical interest give an enormouse satisfaction to those that buy them, and the circulation created, opens up new interest to another generation.
Collectors, bless them, collect and save these items for their satisfaction, but sooner or later they sell and swap them for whatever reasons, at a profit. Hence Aeromarts, auction houses, Ebay ect.
Please don’t tell me that a Hurricane, cockpit project, Spitfire control column, is recirculated at its cost price.
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