In the Attic of the 45th ID Museum in Oklahoma City.

[tsakers85]

I know we all love militaria, but it is important to remember that militaria is not fine art and the majority of it is not historical. Hence the reason museums do not covet some of these items like collectors do. Museums serve a purpose, but the nature of curating is selecting the best items to tell a story. Attempting to display everything is unprofessional and resembles a rummage sale.

 

On a side note, I have a reproduction piece on loan to the 45th Museum for their Great War Exhibit.

https://www.facebook.com/439039145531/photos/pb.439039145531.-2207520000.1413519985./10154665930340532/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xpa1%2Ft31.0-8%2F10472813_10154665930340532_8384383568419904667_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xpf1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10687146_10154665930340532_8384383568419904667_n.jpg%3Foh%3D4b7f0f31e61d7ba8d31a1ebb31445e8f%26oe%3D54ABF509&size=968%2C1296&fbid=10154665930340532

[panzerbait]

We found a solution to the problem of having so many uniforms that will never see the light of day. We built a display case in our museum to house a "Veteran of the Month" exhibit. Essentially, we made a list of uniforms that told an interesting story, regardless of branch, time period or gender of the veteran, and every month during our busy time we display a uniform, photo of the vet and items of interest that belonged to the vet. Along with the aforementioned items, we do a short biographical write-up that condenses their service in a way that the viewing public can get a glimpse of what that vet did. We then contact the local media outlets in the area where that vet was from, and in the week or so before the display is put in we try to let people who may have known the vet have an opportunity to see the display. Immediate family members of the vet are given complimentary passes to see the exhibit. It has been a very popular exhibit. It has certainly increased visits to our museum, and has even resulted in getting more donations to our museum, both in the way of monetary and physical artifact donations. Having the display also has the effect of keeping the museum "fresh" and gives visitors a reason to keep coming back.

[tsakers85]

We found a solution to the problem of having so many uniforms that will never see the light of day. We built a display case in our museum to house a "Veteran of the Month" exhibit. Essentially, we made a list of uniforms that told an interesting story, regardless of branch, time period or gender of the veteran, and every month during our busy time we display a uniform, photo of the vet and items of interest that belonged to the vet. Along with the aforementioned items, we do a short biographical write-up that condenses their service in a way that the viewing public can get a glimpse of what that vet did. We then contact the local media outlets in the area where that vet was from, and in the week or so before the display is put in we try to let people who may have known the vet have an opportunity to see the display. Immediate family members of the vet are given complimentary passes to see the exhibit. It has been a very popular exhibit. It has certainly increased visits to our museum, and has even resulted in getting more donations to our museum, both in the way of monetary and physical artifact donations. Having the display also has the effect of keeping the museum "fresh" and gives visitors a reason to keep coming back.

 

Now that is awesome! Another solution to items in storage is "visible storage": http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/arts/artsspecial/19TROVE.html?_r=0