Separated at Appraisal: Maintaining the Archival Bond between Archives Collections and Museum Objects

Abstract

Although archives may consider three-dimensional objects as being outside their purview, many archivists are confronted with the task of appraising collections that contain both records and artifacts. A case study performed at the Wisconsin Historical Society examined the ways in which an archives managed the appraisal and processing of an archives collection that contained artifacts. Concepts from studies of material culture and the documentation strategy, as well as the notion of the archival bond, are discussed. Ways for archivists to maintain the bonds between records and objects in their collections are suggested.