National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 16 Aug 10 - 09:03 AM

Cease and desist!

We have now established reliable contact with the relevant agents within the citadel.

I will provide a full report after our initial visit in early September.

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 14 Aug 10 - 09:22 PM

For those who haven't guessed, this research foray is all about the British poet and nautical expert Cicely Fox Smith.

Well, we now have access to one of the librarians at NMM but what they're familiar with are the poetry and prose books which are on their shelves and which are on my shelves three feet from where I'm typing this.

What we need to do is to get to a manuscript curator and I'm not convinced at this point if the librarians can communicate with them.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 09:59 PM

There's already some progress here and I do think we'll be able to break through the "shields" in a day or two.

I am being purposely vague about what I am after in this thread but I'm happy to discuss details via PM with anyone who has a direct contact.

What is not useful is to have a dozen or so people calling or walking into the Museum on my behalf without first getting clarification via PM from me. I'd rather do the primary communication myself. There is probably one person there who would be delighted to help me, if I knew who he or she were.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 07:18 PM

I didn't intend to be as comprehensibly negative as that came across - I doubt there'll be much problem transcribing song manuscripts or broadsides (but DO NOT say you're intending to perform or record them, or you'll get endless questions about royalties).

Images are a different matter. There isn't a lot you can do with an image except publish it as is, which means going along with their price list. Wodges of wonga.

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 06:46 PM

Good luck, Charley.
Even if you only get as far as quantifying and identifying what's there, please let us know how you get on. My youngest son lives in walking distance and I feel a visit coming on.
If there's a lot of material just some references would be useful to start with. I strongly suspect that any songs will be scattered among all the other research materials.

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 06:31 PM

You can walk in and get a reader's ticket to the NMM library on the day of your visit (at least you could a few years ago when I was looking for Clan Line material for our initial Red Duster project), but that still might not get you access to the particular documents you would want to see. I'll PM you Charley re someone who may be able to help.
Ross

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Barb'ry
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 05:34 PM

Charley, if you would like me to phone them on your behalf, pm me with details and I will have a go for you!
b

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 05:04 PM

Jack-

My experience with the British Library a few years back couldn't have been nicer.

I'm pursuing a parallel strategy on this one:

This Mudcat thread
Other researchers
Other friends in the UK

We should be able to crack open this Museum in a day or so. Anyone want to lay bets for how long it will actually take?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 04:59 PM

I was once involved in a project that required getting reproduction rights from the NMM for some of their images.

We gave up. The fees they wanted were extortionate, far beyond any other museum I know of. Their stuff is virtually never reproduced in books, and there's a reason for that.

Giving them the impression that you have oodles of moolah to throw around would probably get you an answer.

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 03:58 PM

They have an extensive collection of maritime songs and poems, and some wonderful graphics.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 03:44 PM

What kind of manuscripts might be available in their Archive and Library, Charley - songs?

-Joe-

Subject: National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Aug 10 - 03:41 PM

I was hoping to set up an appointment for reviewing some manuscripts in the collection of the National Maritime Museum Greenwich, UK, this September. These particular files are not available on-line. But no one responds to my inquiry via the manuscript e-mail address and I'm beginning to wonder if the only way to get an e-mail address of the relevant curator is to phone from the States. No doubt they are inundated with inquiries.

If anyone has the e-mail address of a curator, please send it to me via PM.

I'll only be in London a short time starting in September and I would hate to simply spin wheels.

Charley Noble