Posted by Tailspin on July 30, 2001 at 20:13:31:
In Reply to: Re: Question for Wreck diver's posted by capt-ray on July 30, 2001 at 18:51:01:
I made the comment once at a Wreck Divers meeting that all of the great museums started out as private collections, were started with sizeable donations from private collections. The Getty Museum, The Norton Simon were all once private collections, and are now available to all of us. As far as Nautical Artifacts, I think that the same will prove (or has already proven) to be true.
It is unfortunate that some museum funtionaries take it upon themselves to commit larceny, but such is the world of the state fed bureaucrat. That can (sometimes) be taken care of with bulletproof legal papers detailing the conditions of the loan, and placing a value on the artifact so that you can sue the bas*ards when they do try to d*k around with you.
I think that anything you can carry up (except maybe bones) should be fair game. To hell with these idiots who want to let these things disolve so that nobody gets an unfair advantage. I thought all of those types were slaughtered in "Animal Farm", or was it the fall of the Berlin Wall? "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this bulkhead, and pass me a porthole!"