Fairground Heritage Trust Arcade

General vintage slot machine related topics.
ab88
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Re: Fairground Heritage Trust Arcade

Post by ab88 »

Just to answer a few questions specifically with the FHT.

As a charity we accept donations and we are different from a private collector in that we intend to exhibit everything in working order wherever possible for the public good. It isn't about making money when it concerns the collection, though the modern 2p area I am trying to cobble together is a semi commercial plan and newer machines purchased won't enter the collection at this stage. Donations (of which I've had a couple - we now have three Double Falls which is quite nice) do enter the collection.

Yes donations can be disposed of if times change however there is one big difference - the FHT is an Arts Council Accredited institution. This means that we've signed up to an awful lot of rules concerning collections care and management, in return it opens up larger funding doors. We can't just sell things from the collection to raise money. We can conduct a collections review of specific areas and decide we have duplicates, things of insufficient quality, things that have become damaged (though there is a lot of paperwork to fill out answering why it got damaged) etc. Even then we have to offer things to other accredited museums before disposal (for free). After all of that we can dispose.

If some mad/generous person wished to donate us a full set of working Bryans machines (as an example) they can also give us clauses attached to the donation, which we can choose to accept or reject, a donation can be a negotiation as well. So it could be written that if ever it is disposed of then it must be offered back to the donor foc, or that 50% of the funds raised go to the cats home.

In that scenario they could state the collection must remain whole and displayed together wherever possible. That may give us an issue if for example we have a stunning payramid of extreme importance and in the best condition and the one in the Bryans collection is a bit tired. However collections policies are not rigid and no problem is insurmountable. We may choose to talk to the donor and explain and discuss, of we may retain both or dispose of the nicer one in an extreme situation.

I asked the question about big machines, as often they are in the way and for a lot of collections space matters. There is often a concern that big machines may get broken up or left in poor storage if sold. I've got a few bits in my Fairground Art collection I only bought to keep safe (as it happens they are on loan to the FHT). I was also interested in advice on operating which I've received in several useful posts. Big machines don't survive in large numbers so I am also offering a safe haven for them where they can be looked after and enjoyed.

The selectacolor on Colcon at the moment is a case point (though in the condition its in we couldn't consider it). It's struggling to sell and isn't worth much. If it was working we'd give it a home and keep it going.

The Trust is largely run by enthusiasts who all donate a lot of time (and money) to keep it going, all in the name of keeping old machines and times alive for modern audiences. We also are very blessed with volunteers, on the slots front Les Coddington (who is on here) has been working tirelessly bringing machines back to life for our reopening later in the year. Nobody is being commanded to donate anything, it was more a general shout out as you never know what may crop up.

Sorry if that is all a bit long winded!
classicgambler
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Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:31 pm
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Re: Fairground Heritage Trust Arcade

Post by classicgambler »

And yes this is exactly what it says on the tin. Well spoken. !!THUMBSX2!! I put all my spare time in this museum arcade and I literally love doing what I do for this great museum too. We all do our bit to preserve the heritage of the travelling showmen from yesteryear. And what has just been said has hit the nail on the head, well spoken A.

CHEERS LES
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