Collection Notes
Two Museum Photographs May Be Two Views of One Object
Before counting objects in a museum image gallery, check accession numbers and view labels. Build a small view map without treating every photograph as a separate item.
A closer look at material history
Collection Notes
Read museum descriptions, identifiers and historical context with care.
Collection Notes
Read a Maker’s Mark Without Guessing the Whole Biography
Use a visible mark as a research lead while keeping its reading, identification, and relationship to the object’s manufacture separate.
Collection Notes
Separate an Object’s Dimensions from Its Display Mount
Check which measurements describe the object and which include a base, frame, or mount before comparing museum catalogue entries.
Collection Notes
Write Down What You Did Not Examine
Add a short limits statement to an object observation so unseen surfaces and inaccessible parts do not disappear from the record.
Collection Notes
One Catalogue Entry May Describe More Than One Physical Piece
Distinguish an object record from the pieces it describes, using a fictional case with a lid and box to make collection notes easier to follow.
Collection Notes
The Box Has a Date. Does the Object Share It?
Keep packaging dates separate from an object’s manufacture and ownership history, and ask what evidence connects the box with the item inside.
Collection Notes
Write a Small Object Label That Says Something Specific
Create a concise object label with an identity, one supported detail and a visible uncertainty, without squeezing an entire collection history into a paragraph.
Collection Notes
A Sewing-Machine Patent Model Is a Specific Piece of Evidence
Use Elias Howe’s 1846 patent model to distinguish a documented invention record from a general story about every sewing machine that followed.