Seek a political archivist
July 15, 2019 12:15 PM Subscribe
A dear friend died late last year, and he left behind a huge collection of political memorabilia, spanning the years from Eisenhower to Obama. It includes buttons, pamphlets, press releases, badges, ephemera—what we'd call "campaign swag" today, of all sorts. What sort of person can help us make sense of it all?
I'm working with my friend's daughter to figure out how best to manage this collection, which is largely disorganized and sits in about a dozen boxes. Some of the materials might be of interest to historians or collectors; other stuff might just be junk. We don't have the time or knowledge to sift through it all ourselves, so we'd like to hire someone with experience in this sort of thing.
If you know someone who might be able to help (the collection is located in the Philadelphia area), that would be awesome. But even if you can help identify the type of person who would suited for this task, or where to find them, that would be great. Thank you!
I'm working with my friend's daughter to figure out how best to manage this collection, which is largely disorganized and sits in about a dozen boxes. Some of the materials might be of interest to historians or collectors; other stuff might just be junk. We don't have the time or knowledge to sift through it all ourselves, so we'd like to hire someone with experience in this sort of thing.
If you know someone who might be able to help (the collection is located in the Philadelphia area), that would be awesome. But even if you can help identify the type of person who would suited for this task, or where to find them, that would be great. Thank you!
Should the two excellent suggestions above fail (I'd suggest you look into both), your local college's special collections librarian may be able to guide you in finding a trusted, local specialist on 20th century political history or in political ephemera.
A SC librarian would have some experience with archival material, as well as a focus on their classification rather than monetary value, so depending on how the APIC ticks, it might also be a nice added perspective.
posted by ipsative at 12:49 PM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
A SC librarian would have some experience with archival material, as well as a focus on their classification rather than monetary value, so depending on how the APIC ticks, it might also be a nice added perspective.
posted by ipsative at 12:49 PM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
Also, if you were anywhere near Vancouver, BC I'd totally recommend you hire a dual library/archival student to work under specialist supervision. UBC has a top archival program and there's great ways to hire students to apply their skills on real-life questions.
I just did a quick Google search though, and Clarion in Pennsylvania has an MSLS with a specialization in Local and Archival Studies. Maybe give them a call? Perhaps e-mail a faculty member (their addresses are here)? Otherwise, I could ask our archival faculty at UBC, see what they come up with. Just drop me a MeFi mail message if you'd like me to put you in touch with them :)
posted by ipsative at 1:05 PM on July 15, 2019
I just did a quick Google search though, and Clarion in Pennsylvania has an MSLS with a specialization in Local and Archival Studies. Maybe give them a call? Perhaps e-mail a faculty member (their addresses are here)? Otherwise, I could ask our archival faculty at UBC, see what they come up with. Just drop me a MeFi mail message if you'd like me to put you in touch with them :)
posted by ipsative at 1:05 PM on July 15, 2019
You might want to watch "Politically Collect" Antique Roadshow episode.
The appraisers are usually dealers that are pretty accessible. If you get in touch with one- they may be able to refer you to a local expert.
(In my experience experts that specialize in collecting very specific antiques all know each other!)
posted by beccaj at 3:40 PM on July 15, 2019
The appraisers are usually dealers that are pretty accessible. If you get in touch with one- they may be able to refer you to a local expert.
(In my experience experts that specialize in collecting very specific antiques all know each other!)
posted by beccaj at 3:40 PM on July 15, 2019
Witchen's answer is the one I was going to post. To clarify, when archivists talk about appraisal they mean exactly what witchen says - determining the historic value, context, and potential research value of materials. Most archival consultants do not typically appraise for monetary value.* This is because it could present a conflict of interest if they recommend a repository that would be a good home for the collection.
*If you need a monetary appraisal, I recommend you contact someone from the American Society of Appraisers. That said, most archivist consultants could give you a sense of whether it's worth going down that route, or whether this is non-rare material that is not worth the cost of monetary appraisal. I strongly recommend only going for a monetary appraisal after you talk to a professional archivist!
posted by mostly vowels at 5:22 PM on July 15, 2019
*If you need a monetary appraisal, I recommend you contact someone from the American Society of Appraisers. That said, most archivist consultants could give you a sense of whether it's worth going down that route, or whether this is non-rare material that is not worth the cost of monetary appraisal. I strongly recommend only going for a monetary appraisal after you talk to a professional archivist!
posted by mostly vowels at 5:22 PM on July 15, 2019
Are you interested in donating? The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, political history division, collects campaign items. It is impossible to get hold of anyone there by email. Best thing to do is google the number for the Archives Center and call to see if they are interested.
posted by Morpeth at 8:14 AM on July 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Morpeth at 8:14 AM on July 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
To follow on what Morpeth said, we donated my grandfather's papers from when he campaigned for LaGuardia to the Museum of the City of New York here. When the museum put on a related exhibit in 2008, I smiled at seeing Ed Koch at the opening but was really excited to see some items from our family on display. I'd imagine there's a tax benefit ( I was only 12 when he died so not familiar with that end) and legacy value of seeing it live on.
posted by TravellingCari at 9:55 AM on July 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by TravellingCari at 9:55 AM on July 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jonathanhughes at 12:28 PM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]