Reduce, reuse and recycle – and when in doubt, call me before you throw it out!

I think I already told you I am the collections manager around here. That means that I am the one whom people call when they want to donate something. Most of the time the general public will only call me if they think that have something especially valuable to donate, like very old handcrafted tools or hand crocheted bed spreads. When they come here with their objects, and we chat as we fill out paper work and I look their things over, they often tell me stories like “My grandmother made that for my parents as a wedding gift. I forgot I had it. It was in a box full of Grandmother’s other junk, like costume jewelry, some old toys and an old diary. Stuff with no value, you know? I threw it out a coupe of days ago”. People, please don’t do that! One man’s junk is another man’s (or in my case, collection manager’s) treasure. Obviously, I love things like your great grandmother’s hand made quilt and that single tea cup left from Aunt Edna’s Limoges, but to me there is great value in your old junk. Please don’t assume that it’s junk to me – I am, after all, trying to furnish a complete 1920’s household. There are two beds in the house, but I bet I have at least three bed spreads for each bed. What I don’t have is the “junk”, as in the pillow cases and the bottom sheet and the blanket that goes under those bed spreads. People throw those out, because they have been used and look the part, and people have no idea how valuable they are to us here at MSA. But if there is hand tatted lace on the pillow case, someone took the time to make it, and if someone stitched the pillow together, it’s still special to me. A strip of lace like that takes just as long to make as some of the quilts in my collection. Night shirts and bloomers take a long time to make, too, and I am not embarrassed when you bring them, either… And besides, what’s a bed without at least one sheet, and back then, who would have slept in it without night shirts? And ladies, men’s things other than tools are also valuable (I have very few items in my collection that have anything to do with the things that men did, unless they are tools and work related objects – I know pioneer men did not have all that much free times to pursue hobbies, but surely there must be a harmonica or at least a whiskey glass somewhere out there?). I would love to have your old 1920’s costume jewelry. Why? Well, because it shows fashion of that era, and it’s the kind of jewelry that Joe Blow’s wife would have been able to afford to wear to church. Diaries show the stories of regular people. As an archaeologist, I know that many, many everyday activities are now lost in the mists of time because they were so everyday that it was assumed we’d always remember how to do them. If we found a diary of a lady who lived in the 1200’s, we’d know skyr. Bet you don’t know how to make skyr. I do, but only because I studied the topic and did experimental archaeology type things with the material, and because I got my greedy little hands on someone’s old diary! I love your old monogrammed kitchen towels – and bathroom towels, too, for that matter. Again, not that I don’t love your fancy marble busts, I really do, but you know, it’s really nice to have knick-knacks that everyday sort of people would have had in their homes, too. So next time, before you throw it out, call me!

The other thing that comes into play is stuff like family Bibles. I recently had to turn one of them away. It was a beautiful example of a family Bible, with terrific tie-ins to the community and it was in pristine condition, to boot. The catch was that if I wanted it, I had to display it permanently. I have had similar offers for uniforms and other such things. Here’s the problem: A. If you display something in the wrong humidity, the wrong temperature and/or the wrong type of lighting 27/7/365, your precious object will suffer damage. Not immediately, but over time. Also part of the equation is that if I displayed all the items that had been offered to me under the condition that I display them permanently in this small museum, the walls would explode and collections objects would spill out onto the street. I just can’t do it, folks. Not right now, anyhow. B. Family Bibles and uniforms are of great sentimental value to you, but in terms of a museums collection, they may not have anywhere near as much value to us as they have to you. Then they should stay with you. Last week when I was searching for yet another good home for yet another exquisite Bible, I was told by more than one archivist that family Bibles are the scourge of museums and archives. I wouldn’t put it so harshly to the people that come here and offer up their beloved family heirlooms, but sometimes what is valuable to you is not to me, but the box that you stored the item in, although junk to you, merely a container, may have been of great value to me – until you threw it out. So, again, please don’t throw it out before you ask me. I love your old junk!