Also, think about this angle....... our time period, in the previous century(1900's)and the seven and a half years of this century(2000's). From the late 1800's through, say, post world war II, it was a pretty remarkable time period as far as technology, commerce, graphics, and advertisement, design ... that time period is the most applicable to what we are talking about as far as the items of discussion........things we collect ...... Now that time period, 1897-1946, that time period in the scheme of things, meaning the overall time table, ain't squat. What I mean, it's not really that "old" in the scheme of things. But it is to the collectibles that we all collect. Well, pause and jump back to a time period a LONG time ago, Mayans, Aztecs, Egyptians, BC/AD, Jesus/God, Old as popcorn dust farts days, ok....... now what about when a tomb is discovered now, or a piece from back in the pyramid days is discovered??? You don't see all these archeologists running and picking up the phone to call there buddy to put in an order for a repro arm, ear, or leg that was missing from a sculptural form or doll from that tomb find do you??? They aren't repainting all the walls in all these rare caves and tombs where these murals are. You don't take items that are original, from a specific AND SIGNIFICANT time period, and just start "destroying" them or sterilizing them. The big Sphinx pyramid that you always see that is half lion or tiger or whatever and half Egyptian that's in all the pictures(I don't get to Egypt much), you don't see them running out there with crews to put the half of his face back on that has eroded away. It just eroded away, it's gone, that's that, they don't fix it or repair it anymore because THEY CAN'T!!! IF THEY DO, IT WILL RUIN IT !!! IT WON'T BE OLD ANYMORE !!! YOU STRIP IT OF ALL THAT IT IS. DEFACE - deface it's ORIGINAL purpose and existance. They don't repair the pyramids do they? Why??? They could, but they don't! IT is what IT IS. You have to say sometimes, I am lucky to have what I have, even though it's not all there, atleast it's true and original. In the high dollar world of antiques, whether it be rare piece of furniture or a gold fish from King Tut's tomb, you don't touch it, you leave it alone. In essence, you guys that don't think of the stuff we collect as significant, and JUST as significant and valuable as other items from other time periods, need to stop and think about what you are doing and teaching. You guys that support repros and the work being done with repros, are saying, "hey, our items and treasures from OUR significant time period, aren't worth preserving to the truest, purest form that we can preserve them." I think they are.......they are. We won't see that fold in time and it probably won't be for another hundred years, maybe two, or three hundred more years, but I do know this; if somebody that has a brain about value and true worth, HISTORICALLY, as well as monetary, found a pump that was left by one of us two hundred years from now, which pump do you think he would rather find or own???.....some repainted, all new sheet metal pump, with plastic and aluminum parts all over it, fake, wierd fantasy globe, new decals that usually never existed in the first place, OR a totally untouched all original pump that has some parts missing??? Same applies with globes and signs...one lens good,one cracked globe with a rusty body and some wear, or a repro globe dated 2006??? just think about it........ what would we all love to drive up on today, or see leaning behind a barn somewhere? I can't wait to go out and find some perfect condition repro stuff leaning behind a barn this weekend! Yaaaaayyyyyyy !!!
[This message has been edited by BBQ Chicken (edited 08-18-2007).]
