What should I do with this WWI scrapbook?
April 13, 2011 12:22 PM Subscribe
What should I do with this Canadian WWI scrapbook?
I have had it for about twenty years. It was discarded; I don't know anything about the previous owner(s), no connection to the names in it. I am a bit of a paper ephemera nut and have a nice collection of odd old stuff, but this is...well, this is a bit more than my turn-of-the-century quack health pamphlets. I have been sitting on it for two decades not knowing what to do with it, and that's probably long enough to sit on something.
But I still don't know what to do with it.
Who would be interested in an artifact like this?
I have had it for about twenty years. It was discarded; I don't know anything about the previous owner(s), no connection to the names in it. I am a bit of a paper ephemera nut and have a nice collection of odd old stuff, but this is...well, this is a bit more than my turn-of-the-century quack health pamphlets. I have been sitting on it for two decades not knowing what to do with it, and that's probably long enough to sit on something.
But I still don't know what to do with it.
Who would be interested in an artifact like this?
Get in touch with your local historical society and see if they have any interest in adding the book to their archives.
posted by baronessa at 12:34 PM on April 13, 2011
posted by baronessa at 12:34 PM on April 13, 2011
Additionally, a local library may be interested in it as well.
posted by zizzle at 12:41 PM on April 13, 2011
posted by zizzle at 12:41 PM on April 13, 2011
Response by poster: (Rather naive q that relative poverty forces me to ask: are there tax credits associated with donating to certain institutions?)
posted by kmennie at 12:47 PM on April 13, 2011
posted by kmennie at 12:47 PM on April 13, 2011
Most of the artworks look copied by a very tentative hand. It was common for autograph books and albums to be filled with these kinds of doodles. It doesn't look tremendously valuable as an artefact.
posted by fire&wings at 12:49 PM on April 13, 2011
posted by fire&wings at 12:49 PM on April 13, 2011
If you can transcribe the signatures, might be worth doing a bit of research about the people.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:57 PM on April 13, 2011
posted by Ideefixe at 12:57 PM on April 13, 2011
The War Museum here in Ottawa will accept the donation only if it can be proven to be of value and it isn't something they already have. They have lots of art, but perhaps tentative sketches like these might be of interest, who knows. Your best bet is to call the museum and explain what you're trying to do, and ask to be put in touch with the art curator. If the curator expresses initial interest, they'll tell you what they will need from you by way of information going forward. They'll also be able to answer your question in terms of tax write-off by reason of donation, or whatever.
posted by LN at 1:10 PM on April 13, 2011
posted by LN at 1:10 PM on April 13, 2011
If you really run out of ideas, MeMail me: I am on mailing lists with military history types (including a couple of the Canuckian persuasian) who might have good ideas.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:27 PM on April 13, 2011
posted by wenestvedt at 1:27 PM on April 13, 2011
You might want to talk to your local genealogy society to see if they could help track down the original owner's family, if there are names or place names in the book. You might have seen the Laurel Point Inn photo album that was tracked down recently.
posted by acoutu at 8:54 PM on April 13, 2011
posted by acoutu at 8:54 PM on April 13, 2011
It doesn't look tremendously valuable as an artifact.
I disagree; we occasionally get a very good price on similar items that turn up in our store (mostly WWII sketchbooks). There's definitely a market for this kind of personal war-related item, and while it can be difficult to fix a value without knowing more, I'd be very hesitant to declare this to be non-valuable without more research into who the person was. A local genealogical society seems a decent first stop if you're willing to put a bit of effort in.
But, frankly, an appraisal will cost you more than any of those are worth.
That may not be true at all. Plenty of businesses will talk with you about what they think an item is worth without charging a fee. It's definitely worth a few phone calls to auction houses, historical societies, etc.
posted by mediareport at 6:30 AM on April 14, 2011
I disagree; we occasionally get a very good price on similar items that turn up in our store (mostly WWII sketchbooks). There's definitely a market for this kind of personal war-related item, and while it can be difficult to fix a value without knowing more, I'd be very hesitant to declare this to be non-valuable without more research into who the person was. A local genealogical society seems a decent first stop if you're willing to put a bit of effort in.
But, frankly, an appraisal will cost you more than any of those are worth.
That may not be true at all. Plenty of businesses will talk with you about what they think an item is worth without charging a fee. It's definitely worth a few phone calls to auction houses, historical societies, etc.
posted by mediareport at 6:30 AM on April 14, 2011
some sketches from an unknown soldier
Key word for our purposes being "unknown," of course. Finding out who this soldier was is important to determining value here.
posted by mediareport at 7:43 PM on April 14, 2011
Key word for our purposes being "unknown," of course. Finding out who this soldier was is important to determining value here.
posted by mediareport at 7:43 PM on April 14, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:29 PM on April 13, 2011 [2 favorites]