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This is an interesting question which deserves more discussion.  Once I was asked what the most 'valuable' item in the Rail transport Collection at the Science Museum was.  I replied that this was almost certainly the 'Rocket' locomotive - yet it was worth little to even collectors of Railway locomotives as they would never be able to operate it - it is little more than a load of scrap - with most of the brass removed.  It is also fairly robust so would survive a flood or possibly even a fire with little need for conservation.  Rather perversely in an auction room locomotive name plates would be much more 'valuable'.
 
Whilst I think it is important for museums to provide an insurance value for repair I think trying to give a purely monetary value for accounting purposes rather misses the point - although I fear that many people, including some of the holders of our purse strings, do not view it in this way. 
 
Robert Excell
Curator (Collections Care),
London's Transport Museum,
Covent Garden,
London WC2E 7BB.

Tel:  O207 379 6344 (ext 2254)

-----Original Message-----
From: Social History Curators Group email list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Briony Hudson
Sent: 31 January 2006 15:08
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [SHCG-LIST] Valuing 'priceless' objects

This is an email sent via the SHCG List. If you reply to this message, your message will be sent to all the people on the list, not just the author of this message. ---------------

Hi Christine,

The Cost of Collecting report (Lord, Lord and Nicks, HMSO, 1989) might provide some thoughts on the subject, although a quick flick through the copy I have lurking on the office shelves doesn't turn up anything that looks too helpful.  Might give some ideas for a methodology though.  I'm happy to lend you our copy if you'd like a look.

Our collections are not on the Society's asset register, as the furniture, computers and fittings are.  We have high-value areas of the collection e.g. portraits, delftware, medicine chests valued as with market value, partly because I lost an argument about looking at the conservation costs as an alternative (currently not enough time to re-trace my steps on this one!)

All the best

Briony

Briony Hudson
Keeper of the Museum Collections/SHCG Chair
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
1 Lambeth High Street
London
SE1 7JN

tel: 020 7572 2211
fax:020 7572 2499
[log in to unmask]

www.rpsgb.org/museum


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The SHCG list is provided for members of Social History Curators Group to discuss subjects relevant to social history in museums. To join SHCG visit www.shcg.org.uk . Opinions expressed in this email are the responsibility of the author and are not necessarily shared by SHCG. To leave the list do not reply to this message but send an email to [log in to unmask] with a blank subject line and these words as the body of the email: SIGNOFF SHCG-LIST