Archives v4.7

I spent a significant amount of time Monday and Tuesday sifting and sneezing, once again, through mom’s archives. Pulling what the Getty doesn’t want, packing what they do want, and running down a few rabbit holes trying to figure out what to do with what remains. I confess to being disappointed as when I was told they wanted her archives, that’s what I assumed they wanted. What they want is materials that support what they already have. I’m not going to back up and out of the deal, but I will be a solid negotiator when it comes to price.

• There are somethings I am keeping:
  • The huge negatives used to make the book endplates for her career capping editing job, and the cover for book she wrote about that book.
  • Actual extra endplates and covers to both books (see my post on the Potential of Paper…).
  • A few color prints that were produced in the making of the main book, and a poster signed by both authors to mom.

I’ve reached out, with limited success, to others about some of the remaining items. I am hoping, at least, for direction as to what to do with, say, research materials left behind by the man who was responsible for recovering Charlemagne’s jewels from the Nazis. These are not things I can throw into the recycle. That these materials are in my hands is an honor, and a responsibility.

I’m also trying to find a surviving member of a non-profit my parents formed in the late 90’s to battle a Hollywood film company from destroying an Island park in order to make a movie. I think I’ve found one of the tribe, making contact via her website, but have yet to hear back. Every document from this bit of activism is retained. These I can/will recycle if it comes to that. Or maybe I would retain pertinent parts in case we find ourselves fighting the same battle in the future. I have no idea what to do with the anti-jet-ski materials.

Then there’s the three dense boxes of mom’s personal correspondence… I know some folks would like their letters back (mom made copies of the letters she wrote to others, attaching them, mostly, to the inbound letter in questions). When I understood that one’s archives included personal correspondence, I ditched my sorting for those who expressed interest in having mom’s rich, prolific, and robust letters returned to them. I’ll resume this task after the New Year.