I really wonder how things related to old tech / engineering are being done in the world. I think certain things need to be financed by someone who has a steady income and can afford to have a decades-long mission to do this or that, usually for the good of humanity. ... Perhaps collectors on this list should rethink their options. Maybe start a church.
This is a problem that has been going on for a long time: Think of the Egyptian Pharaohs: They had amazing stuff, it was buried with them in massive pyramids, and within a few generations it was looted and probably melted down into junk lost to history. People didn't care. Took thousands of years before people actually cared about the remaining loot boxes and to be honest it's only been 100 years so it's quite possible King Tut's junk will be trashed when the next revolution comes (see ISIS).
Honestly the best idea may be to bury this stuff in concrete and sink it in a deep hole somewhere. Stuff is used, then worthless, then suddenly valuable and cherished when it's almost all gone.
To be honest, the best thing that can happen is if prices for this stuff skyrocket on Ebay and stay there. People take better care of things they pay a lot of $$$ for and while I know people pish posh selling it on Ebay to the highest bidder it's probably the best way to make sure it gets taken care of as opposed to a "donation" that is treated like junk because it was "free".
I saw this happen with early Porsche 911's. They were nice, then worthless then you couldn't give the damn things away. Now they go for 100-300k. I'm trying to convince my dad to just trade his 68 911L for the best Porsche that Stuttgart can build so it can go to their museum and they will actually value the little thing....
I just gave away a Megaframe, a pretty priceless little thing. I hope by now they are rare enough that the guy who got it will take care of it and love it. We'll see.
C
