Have You Protected Your Collection?

[Billy Pettit]

Chrisian Fandt wrote:


> Aggh!! Where is it??!!  Anybody!!???  I'LL HELP PAY their citation from the 
> police for having "junk" in their driveway!! Let's just try to rescue 
> anything that remains (if there's much left)!
> 
> Just look at this URL to see what we're basically losing:
>             http://members.iinet.net.au/~dgreen/
> 
> Jeeez, that's all the more reason for someone to have disposal 
> instructions, including basic descriptions, for the "stuff" their family 
> may be stuck with after their death.
> 
> Keep us posted on this please.
> 
>   --Chris F.
> 
> NNNN
> 
> 
> Christian Fandt,    Electronic/Electrical Historian
> Jamestown, NY  USA      cfandt at netsync.net
> Member of Antique Wireless Association
>          URL: http://www.antiquewireless.org/ 
> 
>     *




I want to second this and third this message.  I'm in another hobby, 
science fiction fanzines, where we just lost one of the most significant 
collections of the last 50 years.  And all because the collector didn't 
write it's disposition exactly in his will.  He left most of his estate 
to his church.  The fanzines were left to a University collection.  He 
mentioned this is letters and conversations - but not in the will.

But probate ruled that the church gets everything since it wasn't in the 
will.  The church wass fighting to keep the stuff because they smell big 
money.

So the collection now is lost to the group that would appreciate it 
most. I know of two major collections of science fiction lost the same 
way.  One of them was original art worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Is your collection going to the dump?  Will your kin know what to do 
with it?  Will the books and tapes be tossed?  If you value the effort 
you put into it, protect your collection.

Write it up - talk to your heirs.


Billy