>
> "Dale Jones" is referring to the "Museum of the
> Rockies" in Bozeman, MT (part of the University of
> Montana).. The collection he alludes to is that
> of the famous NP photographer "Ron Nixon" whose
> 20,000 images were sold to the museum by Ron's
> family.
> Bet they made a nice nest egg. The Museum's
> prices are astronomical and copies are simply
> printed on paper. What kind of paper ?
>
> A lot of families could care less about history.
> They want whatever "loot" they can garner from a
> quick sale. To them, railroad collections are
> simply "gold" waiting to be mined!
>
> Union Pacific charges plenty if you want to get a
> few prints for a BOOK you might be working on.
> Where do a lot of famous collections disappear to,
> never to be seen again ? Here are a few I
> personally know of:
> Western Pacific negatives (Will Whittaker) to
> "Walt Ainsworth".
> Warren Wing Collection to "Walt Ainsworth"
> Marvin Maynard Collection to "Walt Ainsworth"
> John Illman Collection to "Dick Dorn"
> Misc Will Whittaker negs/prints to "Martin
> Hansen"
> Southern Pacific audio/visual library to "Michael
> Clayton"
> Will Whittaker motion picture library to "Michael
> Clayton"
> Misc Guy Dunscomb negs/prints to "Martin Hansen"
> Dave Joslyn Collection to "Martin Hansen"
> and the sad lists go on and on... Rare and
> wonderful stuff never to be seen ...
>
> For myself, I'm trying to get rid of as much
> pictorial stuff as possible. In May-2011, my wife
> and I are having a big two-day Yard Sale. Yes,
> that's what I said ! RR photos, books and models
> will be for sale. When the time gets closer, I'll
> post the dates!
> Cheers.
>
> KRK

Well, this really gets interesting. Some collections have been disbursed after the owners
death and continue to be shared with others. However, there is a least one noted collection
that is not and its use or the lack of it today, goes completely against what the original
owner wished and also what he did with it while he was alive. Very sad indeed and a disaster
for real historians who would be able to actually do something viable with the contents of
the collection.
Ken, Your mention of Dick Dorn is somewhat unfair, he used a sizeable number of John
Illman's images at Winterail just a few years ago and it was in fact, a tribute to John's
years as a photographer.