How can I preserve Douglas Adams typewriter?
Beagle and nonane have it. An additional point is that not only have collections policies gotten narrower and more stringent, but loaning is now very rarely done. The risks of loaning are too great on both owner and loanee, and insurance prices have become far too expensive to take that risk for something like a typewriter that, regardless of who owned it, are not unique. Loans also get very, very sticky. Because the owner continues to feel ownership, sometimes the owner believes s/he should be able to dictate the terms of display for the object, or to come remove it from display whenever s/he wants it, or is disappointed if the item isn’t put on display at all. The negotiations around this are costly and time-consuming, and two resources museums have little of are money and time. So loaning has become far more rare. This wouldn’t be a good purchase. For what it’s worth, I work in museums, and just about every week we get offered something that the owner thinks “should be in a museum.”
