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I couldn't agree more. As Chris suggests, it's difficult to extend the appeal of archives to the wider public, as required by the policy makers and funders, without risking a distortion of their real value. They are, first and foremost, evidence of activity and the concentration on the 'pretty pieces' breaks that link. It defines archives as individual units with a display value like museum objects, rather than as an aggregation of evidence and information in context which connects the past directly to the present. As such, their primary value is to support the rights of the ordinary citizen and to allow that ordinary citizen to hold authority to account. They also, almost coincidentally, provide the source material for retrospective research of more or less seriousness and for strengthening community relationships. If widening the appeal of archives achieves a greater understanding of these fundamentals then it will be worth the effort. Otherwise it's just so much misdirected resource. I was raised in the 'total archives' tradition which allowed the national institution I worked for to hold three dimensional objects, films, photographs, etc. as well as the records of the government (the official archives) and private individuals and corporate bodies (the historical manuscripts collection). The key concern with the three dimensional objects was that they should have direct connection to the documentary materials. Context is everything. What's really interesting about the Chinese parasol is just what Aviva or one of its predecessors was doing to acquire it. Peter Emmerson Director Emmerson Consulting Limited Poplar House 5 School Street Witton-Le-Wear County Durham DL14 0AS Office 01388 488865 Mobile 07516 744795 Emmerson Consulting Limited is registered in England No. 3607347. Registered Office: 140 Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 7RT Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] For information about joining, leaving and suspending mail (eg during a holiday) see the list website at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=archives-nra