Transitioning from Collectors to Conservators

[Ogami]

Have any of you ever considered eventually donating your unique, historically significant items from your collection to a museum or comic book collection of a library?

 

I'm working on something right now that decades from now, I'd hate to see split up and scattered to the four winds.

 

NY or DC needs a comic book museum.

[seanfingh]

I haven't found a curator yet that will take a thousand defaced comics.

[comicwiz]

I remember many years back, while searching for some rarer underground comix, stumbling on a special collections/archives in the US that maintained an impressive list of books. I had made some inquiries but they were very guarded about the books - and not just a few of them, but all of them. They ended-up being somewhat helpful, but I felt like they were weeding out any people with disingenuous intentions.

 

The instant impression that left on me is that is exactly the kind of curator/conservator you want to manage a collection.

 

As a sidebar to this thought, we all make the transition to curator at some point when we get older and the collections start to become so unmanageable that we need to pare them down, put them in the hands of collectors who can appreciate them, and/or be left with a small pile to pass on to the next generation.

[VintageComics]

Have any of you ever considered eventually donating your unique, historically significant items from your collection to a museum or comic book collection of a library?

 

I'm working on something right now that decades from now, I'd hate to see split up and scattered to the four winds.

 

NY or DC needs a comic book museum.

 

I think it's nearly impossible to do when either

 

a) you need the money

b) your kids need the money

[Columbia Comics]

Have any of you ever considered eventually donating your unique, historically significant items from your collection to a museum or comic book collection of a library?

 

I'm working on something right now that decades from now, I'd hate to see split up and scattered to the four winds.

 

NY or DC needs a comic book museum.

 

I think it's nearly impossible to do when either

 

a) you need the money

b) your kids need the money

 

a) only while you're living

b) give a man a fish, he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime

[VintageComics]

b) give a man a fish, he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime

 

Thanks, Aristotle.

[Columbia Comics]

b) give a man a fish, he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime

 

Thanks, Aristotle.

 

If your children become dependent on handouts, they'll become Americans!

[VintageComics]

b) give a man a fish, he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime

 

Thanks, Aristotle.

 

If your children become dependent on handouts, they'll become Americans!

[gaz973]

It's all a nice idea but I'm a lot more concerned with providing a future for my children. Whatever comics I have to sell when I'm about to croak may be the difference in whether my kids own their own homes (and I will damned well do my utmost to teach them to earn their own money).

[delekkerste]

Have any of you ever considered eventually donating your unique, historically significant items from your collection to a museum or comic book collection of a library?

 

I'm working on something right now that decades from now, I'd hate to see split up and scattered to the four winds.

 

NY or DC needs a comic book museum.

 

I went to the Jack Kirby Museum in NYC the other week - it was a one-week "pop-up" museum on the Lower East Side. Once I went there, I realized that there is no way a full-blown Jack Kirby Museum is going to be an economic reality. Maybe a larger Marvel Museum backed by Disney money, though they would certainly marginalize Kirby's contributions for legal and other reasons.

 

I'd love to see a major, serious museum dedicated to the art form, but you'd have to get a major financial backer to pull it off. I think Kevin Eastman had a comic art museum at one point, but it flopped financially and closed. The Geppi Museum is still around, but it seems to have struggled basically since it opened. I think George Lucas is putting together a private museum on the West Coast, which could be interesting, though it won't be dedicated to comics (though they will be represented). There is the Society of Illustrators/Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in NYC, though it is not the kind of museum that you or I would have in mind (limited permanent collection of mostly illustration art is what they have now, with mostly lent exhibitions in a fairly small space). There is that Ohio State University museum opening up that's been reported this week, though it seems to be dominated by comic strips. Guess being part of an enormous public university helps a lot from a cost perspective; like I said, I don't think such a museum would be viable on a private, standalone basis.

 

So, yes, I'd love to see such a museum, but am skeptical we will see one in our lifetimes. I also think that it would require a huge shift in collector mentality; whereas in the fine art world, much of the best material is routinely donated to museums, I think that concept would be totally alien to comic book/comic art collectors.

[lizards2]

My collection is an integral part of my retirement plans:

 

A) a source of income, and

 

B) something to do.

[seanfingh]

Have any of you ever considered eventually donating your unique, historically significant items from your collection to a museum or comic book collection of a library?

 

I'm working on something right now that decades from now, I'd hate to see split up and scattered to the four winds.

 

NY or DC needs a comic book museum.

 

I went to the Jack Kirby Museum in NYC the other week - it was a one-week "pop-up" museum on the Lower East Side. Once I went there, I realized that there is no way a full-blown Jack Kirby Museum is going to be an economic reality. Maybe a larger Marvel Museum backed by Disney money, though they would certainly marginalize Kirby's contributions for legal and other reasons.

 

I'd love to see a major, serious museum dedicated to the art form, but you'd have to get a major financial backer to pull it off. I think Kevin Eastman had a comic art museum at one point, but it flopped financially and closed. The Geppi Museum is still around, but it seems to have struggled basically since it opened. I think George Lucas is putting together a private museum on the West Coast, which could be interesting, though it won't be dedicated to comics (though they will be represented). There is the Society of Illustrators/Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in NYC, though it is not the kind of museum that you or I would have in mind (limited permanent collection of mostly illustration art is what they have now, with mostly lent exhibitions in a fairly small space). There is that Ohio State University museum opening up that's been reported this week, though it seems to be dominated by comic strips. Guess being part of an enormous public university helps a lot from a cost perspective; like I said, I don't think such a museum would be viable on a private, standalone basis.

 

So, yes, I'd love to see such a museum, but am skeptical we will see one in our lifetimes. I also think that it would require a huge shift in collector mentality; whereas in the fine art world, much of the best material is routinely donated to museums, I think that concept would be totally alien to comic book/comic art collectors.

 

Michigan State has a massive comic collection, and I think a West Coast school does as well. Maybe UCLA?

[EC ed]

NY or DC needs a comic book museum.

The Library of Congress already holds the largest known comic book collection in the US...over 100,000 issues dating back to the '30s ( CLICK HERE for their web page). One interesting thing about this collection is that the LOC contracted with a company called Preservation Technologies to completely chemically deacidify all the comic books en masse (check out THIS ARTICLE ) ...not sure if the LOC is accepting more donations, though

[Ogami]

Have any of you ever considered eventually donating your unique, historically significant items from your collection to a museum or comic book collection of a library?

 

I'm working on something right now that decades from now, I'd hate to see split up and scattered to the four winds.

 

NY or DC needs a comic book museum.

 

I went to the Jack Kirby Museum in NYC the other week - it was a one-week "pop-up" museum on the Lower East Side. Once I went there, I realized that there is no way a full-blown Jack Kirby Museum is going to be an economic reality. Maybe a larger Marvel Museum backed by Disney money, though they would certainly marginalize Kirby's contributions for legal and other reasons.

 

I'd love to see a major, serious museum dedicated to the art form, but you'd have to get a major financial backer to pull it off. I think Kevin Eastman had a comic art museum at one point, but it flopped financially and closed. The Geppi Museum is still around, but it seems to have struggled basically since it opened. I think George Lucas is putting together a private museum on the West Coast, which could be interesting, though it won't be dedicated to comics (though they will be represented). There is the Society of Illustrators/Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in NYC, though it is not the kind of museum that you or I would have in mind (limited permanent collection of mostly illustration art is what they have now, with mostly lent exhibitions in a fairly small space). There is that Ohio State University museum opening up that's been reported this week, though it seems to be dominated by comic strips. Guess being part of an enormous public university helps a lot from a cost perspective; like I said, I don't think such a museum would be viable on a private, standalone basis.

 

So, yes, I'd love to see such a museum, but am skeptical we will see one in our lifetimes. I also think that it would require a huge shift in collector mentality; whereas in the fine art world, much of the best material is routinely donated to museums, I think that concept would be totally alien to comic book/comic art collectors.

 

Great post, Gene.

 

As you say, funds, audience, and collector's perceptions all need to appear/change for something like this to become a reality.

 

Perhaps a standing Comic Book Hall of Fame, similar to the Rock and Roll and Baseball ones?

[seanfingh]

 

Perhaps a standing Comic Book Hall of Fame, similar to the Rock and Roll and Baseball ones?

 

I never went, but from the pictures that were posted, Geppi's museum in Baltimore was very much like a CB HOF, very heavy on the Golden Age.

[Senormac]

Perhaps we are it. I mean, why does this "museum" have to be at a single or particular location. With the way technology is progressing, we all could very well become the conservators and museum curators of the future and if people wish to view something it happens electronically.... or perhaps holographically.

 

You got me thinkin Nate

 

the wikipedia of comic museums..... all are welcome to contribute

[VintageComics]

NY or DC needs a comic book museum.

The Library of Congress already holds the largest known comic book collection in the US...over 100,000 issues dating back to the '30s ( CLICK HERE for their web page). One interesting thing about this collection is that the LOC contracted with a company called Preservation Technologies to completely chemically deacidify all the comic books en masse (check out THIS ARTICLE ) ...not sure if the LOC is accepting more donations, though

 

Deacidifcation is something that is going to become a must at some point.

 

I asked about it back in 2006 when I found out about it.

 

Link to a 2nd discussion.

 

Link to a 3rd discussion.

 

 

[comicwiz]

Perhaps we are it. I mean, why does this "museum" have to be at a single or particular location. With the way technology is progressing, we all could very well become the conservators and museum curators of the future and if people wish to view something it happens electronically.... or perhaps holographically.

 

You got me thinkin Nate

 

the wikipedia of comic museums..... all are welcome to contribute

 

Absolutely the same line of thought I had. Although mine would be closer to mimicking a physical one.

 

The idea of a virtual museum that aggregates collections for all across the world to see is far more exciting and expansive than trying to centralize, promote, and sustain a physical one. Especially in light of the operating costs to manage such an endeavour.

 

Cisco put together this telepresence video 6 years ago which might help visualize the concept of using technology to present a virtual museum:

 

[Ogami]

 

Perhaps a standing Comic Book Hall of Fame, similar to the Rock and Roll and Baseball ones?

 

I never went, but from the pictures that were posted, Geppi's museum in Baltimore was very much like a CB HOF, very heavy on the Golden Age.

 

I look at Geppi's as a phase one at best.

[Ogami]

Perhaps we are it. I mean, why does this "museum" have to be at a single or particular location. With the way technology is progressing, we all could very well become the conservators and museum curators of the future and if people wish to view something it happens electronically.... or perhaps holographically.

 

You got me thinkin Nate

 

the wikipedia of comic museums..... all are welcome to contribute

 

I like this idea, Mike!

 

An electronic source of all of the data of the art form, including OA, profiles, collections, etc. all in one place.

 

What a lot of current sites do now, all in one place, neatly organized and accessible.