For years I've considered doing a 'book' on Burlington collectibles
(lanterns, timetables, dining car china, passes, etc etc). Some time
ago I also discussed this with Hol Wagner who is receptive to the
concept of a BB devoted to the topic (being a collector himself).
That said, to do a good Bulletin, up to the standards of our current
Bulletins and Zephyrs, will be a massive undertaking. Obviously a
LOT of people will need to "share" to make it a reasonably complete
and accurate reference. There is also the question of scope i.e.
inc. C&S, FtW&D, predecessors and affiliates, non-RR mfg or purchased
items, whether to include models (or should that be a separate
publication?) etc. A further question of 'scope' is how to handle
areas covered in other works: (Luckin's book covers china, ditto for
another work on silver holloware & flatware, playing cards, CB&Q
ETT's, etc. Just do a cursory coverage on those and reference
existing works or ???
There are only a few works out there to judge what works and what
doesn't organizational-wise; generic RR collectibles books, the GN &
NP vol's by Elon Piche, etc. Anyone aware of other specific RR's
collectibles books covering the entire gamut?
The question of accuracy is contingent on MANY people giving input.
There are a number of BRHS mbrs with massive collections but no one
has it all, even in one slim category. Even those who only have a
couple TT's and a switch key in their possession may be aware of an
item in a local museum, at a friend's house, etc.
Then a question of depth: do you want car seals and meathooks (see
future Zephyr!) or just meat & potatoes TT's, passes and calendars.
A balance of completeness and printing costs needs to be made too:
color vs. b/w; pic of every annual pass or just of each design?
As we are a Historical Society I lean toward the school of thought
that you present everything & leave it to the reader to keep or
discard whatever info he/she wants.
Another question related to that is that completeness will require
cooperation of non-BRHS sources. Several books have been done by non-
BRHS mbrs who did not seek BRHS assistance as they obviously felt
they had sufficient material from other sources. There are also
RRiana collectors with unique Q items that need to be contacted,
quality photos taken, etc.
Data is another dimension; I would like to see, in the interest of
completeness, data such as when produced, by whom, variations,
special conditions, etc. This requires more input as well.
Having made the comments (and more implied) what do YOU think?
Thanks for any and ALL replies! (and remember any of the big time
collectors among us can all tell you that there is always one
more "find"* and even the smallest collection often has an item that
the big collectors have never seen - been there many a time! Gerald
(have a good w/e - record highs in low 60's in much of Iowa today)
*for example: Annual Reports - one would assume if you had one for
each yr from say 1850-1970 you have them all; not so! There were 2
issues one yr when the Q changed fiscal years.
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