Our friend Marv died suddenly in May and I'm still sad and angry about it. He left behind not just a loving daughter, Dana, and a large group of close friends, but also a lot of scientific antique instruments. He was a well-known antique dealer, in both the US and Britain (maybe elsewhere?).
I told Dana, a working mother with a busy life, that I would try to help her sell some of these items. We don't really know what we're doing, but as a start one of Dana's friends took some pretty good pictures of everything. I've now loaded all the pictures on a blog, in no particular order (which would have driven Marv crazy if could see it--if you can see it Marv, I'm sorry). Next, the friend who took the pictures says he has, in his head (hard to believe but we'll see), details about what everything is and how old it is, and soon he'll pass along that information and I'll add it to the blog.
In the meantime, if anyone sees something they can identify (for example, what does "trans" stand for?) let me know. And if anyone either collects such things, or knows someone who does, keep an eye on this blog for further details. We'd like to find local (DC area / Baltimore / Annapolis) buyers for the barometers -- to avoid the complicated business of shipping something with mercury in it. But Marv shipped hundreds, maybe thousands of items over the years and I know there's a way to ship anything safely as long as you're willing to pay enough.
Commercial over!
4 comments:
Oh sad. And how nice of you to help with dealing with his estate. That's a lot of work.
I suspect trans is "transit," a surveying instrument. Some useful terms here.
Hi Pam,
Been wondering where you've been, and now I see how busy you are these days. I remember reading about Marv earlier in your and Doug's blogs.
I don't know anything about all those thingamijigs I looked at on the other blog. I will say that I may have seen similar looking things in Albus Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Good luck with this major undertaking. I know it can't be easy.
Thanks Kitt. Surveying instruments were, I'm sure, part of his inventory. The link should be helpful too.
And Anne, you are way more than gracious to compliment me on this tiny little selling effort I've started for Dana. Compared to what you're handling these days it's but a speck of dust. Your latest entry was so powerful. I'm still re-reading and trying to absorb it all. Talk about not being easy! But I'll say no more here and say it instead over on your site.
You are doing a very nice thing for your departed friend. I'm sure, if he can see the photos you posted, that it is not "driving him crazy". I bet he is smiling.
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