Over the last year the Friends of the Petrie Museum have been running a
publication appeal in honour of Professor Harry Smith's 80th birthday,
and as a by-product to conserve Petrie's archive negatives in the
museum. This was originally just a Friends appeal (and we have managed
to keep it a secret from Harry!) but a number of his personal friends
and colleagues have asked if they can contribute.
It occurs to me that there may be more people in the wider world (and
what's wider than the EEF list? [ArchaeoBlog! --Ed.]) who might like to register their
appreciation for Harry's life and work, not to mention conserving our
irreplaceable archive.
Our appeal letter follows - if you would like to contribute, feel free
to contact me off-list if you have any queries. We go to press at the
end of the month so time is of the essence, as they say.
Very best wishes, and apologies for a post that may not be relevant to
many people
Regards
Jan Picton (j.picton@ucl.ac.uk)
Conservation and publication appeal
Unseen Images: the photographic archive in the Petrie Museum
Volume 1: Gurob, Sedment and Tarkhan
The publication will include some of the Petrie Museum's extensive
archive of unpublished glass and other negatives that cover excavations
dating back to Petrie's own first experiments with excavation
photography. Because of the number of photographs involved we are
bringing out this first volume on Gurob, Sedment and Tarkhan. The
project involves the digitisation of the entire collection, and suitable
conservation and archive storage so that the material will survive well
into the future.
The financial support of the Friends for conservation work in the museum
is fundamental to our purpose and over the years we have contributed
substantially to the preservation of objects in the museum. The
photographic archive is both a wonderful research tool and a link with
Petrie himself - it is imperative that this vulnerable material is saved
for future generations.
All contributors will be acknowledged in the publication and donors of
=A350 and more will receive a copy of the book. The appeal closes on the
21st January 2008 as the book goes to the printers so please support
this important work with your donation now.
The book is being published in honour of Professor Harry Smith's 80th
birthday, which coincides with the Friends' 20th anniversary. So far,
the secret is intact and Harry knows only that the book is appearing. It
will be presented at our anniversary dinner on 7th June 2008 so put the
date in your diary. Your contributions will acknowledge the respect and
affection in which we hold Harry, Edwards' Professor of Egyptian
Archaeology, and staunch guardian and supporter of the Petrie Museum
(and the Friends) over many years, as well as contributing to saving an
important research archive for future generations to study and enjoy.
Best wishes
Lucia Gahlin and the PMF Committee, Stephen Quirke (Research Curator,
Petrie Museum)
Please contribute if you so desire. The Petrie is an excellent museum and they do superb work. And as readers of ArchaeoBlog know, one of our intense interests is in conservation of existing data.