4 ms·
The execution is neat, but I really object to destroying these unique historical items, by chopping them up into tiny pieces for profit.
by overcast 10y ago
The execution is neat, but I really object to destroying these unique historical items, by chopping them up into tiny pieces for profit.
- 1001101 10y agoI shuddered when I saw the Enigma. I'm sure other people have similar reactions to some of the other constituents.
- schoen 10y agoThis has been a big problem with illuminated manuscripts such as books of hours (which represent massive amounts of beautiful medieval art and calligraphy). For centuries, some bookdealers have been willing to disbind a complete or nearly complete volume and sell individual leaves, because of course people love to be able to display a beautiful page on their wall. I just went to an antiquarian book fair and there was a dealer selling medieval illuminated manuscript leaves (who's been there for many, many years), with a sign specifically addressing the concern, and basically saying "we didn't do it!". But it's hard to verify and the incentive is still strong, because you can get more from selling a hundred-page illuminated prayerbook as 100 $1000 leaves than as a $40,000 whole. Overall I think people who care about the past in certain ways would prefer for artifacts to remain whole, even if that means we don't get to own them ourselves, much as with King Solomon proposing to cut the baby in half.
- vacri 10y agoYeah, it's far better to leave them in the back of the stacks with others of the same kind, where no-one will ever see them or discuss them. None of these items are unique, except perhaps Chuck's wedding cake.