[NHCOLL-L:2480] RE: valuation of a slide collection

[Karl Hutterer]

About a year ago, we received a donation of more than 10,000
photographic slides as well as travel diaries from the widow of a man
who had spent his life traveling to exotic places to make natural
history collections, principally of birds but also of a diversity of
other things. He traveled, from the 30s through the 60s, in places like
Ethiopia, Afghanistan, India, Madagascar, Ecuador, and Mexico. The bird
collection was donated to us three years ago and is quite valuable.

The widow is convinced that the slide collection is highly valuable as
well and would like to take a tax deduction for it. We have contacted a
variety of appraisers and experts and have been told, not surprisingly,
that the collection represents little monetary value other than the hard
cost of the film and of creating the slides. The donor is very unhappy
about this, and our Development Director would like to accommodate her
as much as possible, because she has made arrangements for other
donations that would, in fact be of great value to us.

I am looking for anyone who might have helpful suggestions about how the
value of this slide collection might be (legitimately) increased.

Karl L. Hutterer
Executive Director
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
2559 Puesta del Sol Rd.
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(805) 682-4711, ext. 101 phone
(805) 569-3170 fax