[Milsurplus] Bomber Radio Pictures

[Mike Hanz]

Albert LaFrance wrote:

>What is your opinion of  "permanent loan" as opposed to an outright gift? 
>

That is certainly possible with some museums - perhaps even the 
majority.  With the Smithsonian generally, and the Air & Space Museum in 
particular, it is a sort of last resort for the museum.  As you can 
imagine, "The Nation's Attic" is pretty full, and simply keeping all the 
artifacts in a state of preservation occupies a great deal of time and 
money.  The first photo at http://aafradio.org/NASM/Hmmmm.html shows 
what I irreverently call the "machine gun" building, and conditions in 
which the 1938 ARC Type K Model 2 receiver set is stored in air 
conditioned luxury, but such care isn't free.   "Permanent Loan" implies 
a fiduciary responsibility in case of damage for whatever reason, and 
being self-insured for most of the collections means that they frown 
upon loans.  If you have the original Dolittle blind landing radio 
system from 1929 or some such historic artifact associated with a famous 
person, then of course that's a different story, but they generally try 
to discourage the donor from attaching such strings.  With thousands of 
potential donations a year, you can appreciate the logistics and 
tracking problem they face.

There is a board of Curators that meets once every month or two to 
consider gifts.  It better be one of a kind, or needed for a current 
aircraft restoration, to even be put on the agenda.  I have a stack of 
paper describing *part* of the avionics collection on which they have 
asked me to flesh out usage and relevance to associated systems - one 
page per item - and it is almost two feet high...   :'(   And yet there 
are curious gaps in what we would call common WWII surplus items - just 
the luck of the donation profile over the years.  The curatorial staff 
is responsible for providing the context for the artifact (the so-what?) 
when it goes before the board, but they are pretty thin in some areas, 
thus the last resort to my ill-advised thoughts on the subject.  
Needless to say, I haven't even made a dent in the stack yet.

Giving to the Smithsonian will mean that the item will eventually be 
used someday, in some form, or may even be loaned to another reputable 
museum - but action may not be in your lifetime or even your childrens' 
lifetimes.  To me, the thought of one of my acquisitions/restorations 
going into the Enola Gay or other historic aircraft hauls a lot of 
water, so there is an intangible aspect in situations like these that 
supersedes the desire for it to be actively "exhibited" in the sense 
described by several posters.  The staff tends to think and plan in 
terms of decades, if not centuries.  That has guided much of what I have 
donated - things like the selection of vacuum tubes with proper date 
codes and correctly varnished wire to replace missing open wire 
cabling.  That long term view is appropriate for this unique 
institution, IMO.  Just as an example, the staff is still sorting out 
just how to properly exhibit the original ~1934 Type K Model 1 ARC 
receivers that Gordon White donated back in 1984, though because of my 
continual whining and moaning that looks like it may become a reality 
within the next couple of years - it depends largely on getting funds 
for glass cases at Udvar-Hazy and the like, but recent cuts have delayed 
it until the fall at the earliest.  Sometimes being a gentle but 
persistent pain can yield movement - sorta like a laxative...heh...

All this is just another data point for consideration.  It really 
depends on where your values lay.  If you prefer to convert your 
holdings to cash for the benefit of your family, then a long slow 
divestiture on ebay is the surest route to achieve that.  One has to 
plan early for it, as folks like August Link (radioarchivist) have done, 
and resolve to deal with the pain of marketing, packing, and shipping.  
If your aim is to preserve for posterity, you may actually accomplish 
that with the ebay approach as well, though it will somewhat depend on 
the price you get out of a item (more money = more care with ultimate 
disposition.)   I do think local museums have a place in this picture, 
but you have to sink as much or more effort into them as you do with 
outright selling if your aim is preservation for posterity.

Enough random thoughts for the day...my second floor A/C unit needs a 
little R-22 at the moment and is calling me (or is it my bride, 
complaining of the temperature...might need a hearing aid if this keeps up).

73,
Mike