N.J. Historical Society is criticized for selling historical collection in effort to raise funds

the star ledger ^ | January 13, 2011 | Peggy McGlone

[Coleus]

The New Jersey Historical Society has sold one of its prized possessions — an incredibly rare, hand-colored map of the United States from 1784 — because the Newark institution is hard up for cash. But in the museum world, some experts are calling the sale unethical because museums are not supposed to sell their treasures to raise money.

The Abel Buell map, which brought in almost $2.1 million at the Christie’s auction, was described by a cartography expert as "one of the most coveted of all American maps." It is the first map of United State published in America, the first that features an American flag and the first map copyrighted in America, according to the Christie’s catalogue, Even so, the society sold this piece of history last month, one of several dozen items from its collection it has sold or plans to sell. It will use the proceeds to pay off its $2.6 million debt.

Some critics say the sale of the map, held by the society since 1862 and described by Christie’s as pristine, is a violation of the code of ethics by which museums live. That code says pieces of a museum, library or historical society’s collections may only be sold to purchase additional items, not to pay for ordinary expenses like heat, or debt service.

"It’s horrifying," said Stanley Katz, director of the Princeton University Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies. "They are not violating any law, but they are violating the moral duty of a public institution to preserve its collection," Katz said. "There is no argument for selling this map. It’s a major map, for a society whose strength is in the early period. It’s indefensible."

[Coleus]

A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America Layd Down from the Latest Observations and Best Authorities Agreeable to the Peace of 1783.

[Coleus]

.

[GeronL]

bankruptcy and liquidation might be a good enough reason.

[Cu Roi]

No wonder they’re being criticized - that’s the most inaccurate map of the U.S. I’ve ever seen.

[sueuprising]

The New York Public Library displayed Asher Durand’s Kindred Spirits, an iconic representation of the Hudson River School painting, for a century and then sold it to the Walmart heiress because it needed the money. She took it out of the public sphere saying that someday she was going to have a museum of fine art next to Walmart headquarters and display it there. It was shameful primarily because the sale was done privately and left out museums that may have wanted to bid on it.

[XRdsRev]

The New Jersey Historical Society is a state and national treasure. The items housed there relating to the history of New Jersey and the United States are incredible. They should move the institution out of downtown Newark so people are not terrified of going there. Seriously I know of many people who’d like to go there but won’t because of where it is located.

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

· GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach · · join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·
	Antiquity Journal  & archive  Archaeologica  Archaeology  Archaeology Channel  BAR  Bronze Age Forum  Discover  Dogpile  Eurekalert  Google  LiveScience  Mirabilis.ca  Nat Geographic  PhysOrg  Science Daily  Science News  Texas AM  Yahoo  Excerpt, or Link only?	Thanks Coleus. If this had been done during the administration of ANY Demwit governor, it would have received no coverage other than hysterically over-the-top praise for far-seeing policy. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
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[SunkenCiv]

Mea culpa, but only because I know in my heart that it wasn’t really my fault.

Wait, what?

[kalee]

How odd that they would sell their most important acquisition.
It is not uncommon for museums to sell off items of lesser importance as they upgrade their collections, but selling their most important is very strange.

[ApplegateRanch]

That code says pieces of a museum, library or historical society’s collections may only be sold to purchase additional items, not to pay for ordinary expenses like heat, or debt service.

This is plain BS, along the same fallacious lines as giving "humanitarian aid" to an unfriendly state, while "not helping" its government...a bookkeeping fiction.

The payment of the debt will free up future acquisition money; it is no different than selling this to acquire other pieces, and redirecting the current acquisition budget to debt payment.

Money is money is money, and none of it cares which account name is attached to it on the budget sheet.

[ApplegateRanch]

That “map” is so wildly innaccurate that it’s essentially worthless anyway, so let somebody with more money than brains buy it. /sarc

[SunkenCiv]

I had four of these maps in my collection when I was a kid, but my mom threw them out when I was in college.

[KarenMarie]

That area is not what is was a few years ago. Gazillions of dollars were spent to redo large parts of Newark. Much of it is really nice. I would not go there alone at 3AM but it is safe to go to museums and stuff like that.

:)

[TaMoDee]

I get sick when I think of what my Dad threw out when our house broke up. WEEPING!!!

[SatinDoll]

Museums sell possessions frequently; it is done all the time.

[Fresh Wind]

Reminds me of this...

[afraidfortherepublic]

Although I hate to see this happen, it is a lot better to sell the map at auction to a buyer with the funds and the will to care for it than to do what the Milwaukee museum has done in the past with excess inventory — dump it in Lake Michigan! I know this happens with libraries and museums all the time — they just get rid of excess donations. They do it quietly so as not to offend the donors, rather than pay for expansions to store the artifacts. I think that such material should always be put up for sale to an interested public.

[marsh2]

Our County museaum had several valuable Alaskan Indian baskets that we sold last year to fund operation of the museum. (They had no direct bearing on our local history.) The museum director retired and now it is all run strictly on a volunteer basis.