Over here in the US, we had a similar event in the early 1980s, when the US congress decided to stop funding the Dayton Miller collection of historical flutes, and the Library of Congress was forced to put the instruments in cardboard boxes in the basement of the library. I know that this is the museum's decision, but I wish that there is some pressure that we could put on appropriate folks in the UK government, etc. John O. Robison
This is a tragedy for collections of musical instruments in museums everywhere. In display cabinets, the climate will be carefully controlled to preserve them. But stored away in cardboard boxes, in a basement would mean rapid deterioration. Boilers are often sited in basement and will have a hot and dry atmosphere. Then overnight and holidays it will become cold and probably damp below ground level. Boxes are boxes. Handlers will not know what they contain and will treat them all the same. Something must be done to keep these fragile instruments on view to the public. Otherwise they will be sold to private collectors and never seen by students of music ever again. Ron (UK) To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
