Article on French Classic Computer Collectors

[jhd]

This article is rather more academic. Despite the title, there is no real discussion of museums; it is mainly about collectors and their attitudes. As a case study, it examines French (in France) collectors of classic computer hardware.

 

Vinyl Records and Old Computers as Material Culture: Perspectives on Collecting and Donations to Museums

Material Cultural Review Volume 80/81 (2014/2015)

[carlsson]

Nice, will try to read it more in detail later. My initial response is that I'm less than thrilled about how established museums treat vintage computing and gaming, so not surprised if collectors didn't want to loan or even donate their prized possesions to a museum where the stuff would be on display for a while and then God knows where it ends up. And yes, I've had direct contact with curators and staff members of said museums, usually willing to do something half hearted but seeking full attention from collectors for doing so. Perhaps after reading the article closer, I will revisit my opinions.

[jhd]

Other than the very occasional random items as part of a larger exhibit, Canadian museums generally* do not place much emphasis on old games and/or computer hardware. I do not know if that is due to lack of interest from curators, lack of artifacts in the collection, or some other cause.

 

I am interested to hear the perspective from Europe.

 

*I am speaking here of the major, Provincial institutions (e.g. New Brunswick Museum, Royal British Columbia Museum). The Canadian Museum of Science and Technology is obviously an exception. The now-closed (defunct?) Personal Computer Museum in Ontario was more of a private collection than a public facility, so I would not count it either.

[carlsson]

And in the rare cases a museum has a partial computer collection on display, it is just that - on display. Both the fear things will break and I believe the general lack of detailed knowledge about the items prevents them from having it running even once in a while. Sure, the same can be said about car museums too but to general public, cars are more aesthetic to just look at than what computers ever were.

 

If anything, I'm getting the feeling that museums are a little bit of "my way or the highway" when it comes to cooperating with the collectors, the experts outside the museum staff. Perhaps it is due to how the management generally are running the museum and perhaps they need to distance themselves from the general public in order to not have conflicts of interest, but then again they shouldn't be surprised or disappointed if they don't get help when they suddenly ask for it.