Author Topic: Farnsworth Museum closing: (Read 7976 times)

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #15 on:** June 19, 2010, 05:50:32 PM »

As I recall, he had every issue of digest-sized TV Guide. I'd love to have them myself, but I am running out of room. I'm limiting future purchases to NYC, Los Angeles or Michigan editions as much as possible because NYC and LA stations had full network schedules in pattern 99.9% of the time and Michigan is my home. Maybe Google Books can work out an agreement with the copyright holder and digitize them for posterity with the click of a mouse.

rialtus · « **Reply #16 on:** June 19, 2010, 08:58:13 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'242768\' date=\'Jun 19 2010, 02:39 PM\']Later this year, I'm helping to direct a production of The Farnsworth Invention, an Aaron Sorkin play about the development of television. At the very least, I got to snag some nice big pictures of some of the older items from the auction website, so I'll have something to work with as I design props.[/quote]I got to see this in La Jolla with Aaron himself in the audience. It was, to put it mildly, a very good day for me.

/Aaron Sorkin is not related to Arlene Sorkin

mmb5 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 19, 2010, 10:22:03 PM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'242770\' date=\'Jun 19 2010, 05:50 PM\']As I recall, he had every issue of digest-sized TV Guide. I'd love to have them myself, but I am running out of room. I'm limiting future purchases to NYC, Los Angeles or Michigan editions as much as possible because NYC and LA stations had full network schedules in pattern 99.9% of the time and Michigan is my home. Maybe Google Books can work out an agreement with the copyright holder and digitize them for posterity with the click of a mouse.[/quote]

Very, very unlikely. The copyright is currently held by a venture capital company with no sense of their history. They had little sense of their history when we still owned TV Guide, I couldn't find anyone to, ahem, let me see the vault.

There's almost enough in Google News now to slap together schedules as necessary, although I would still like to have a set. Just not for $3,200.

--Mike

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #18 on:** June 19, 2010, 10:49:07 PM »

Well, I'm sure collectors have more in their "archives" than the actual copyright holder, but at least they could give permission to Google to digitize and it would be up to private collectors to provide the actual issues. As you may know, the Undergrad Library at U of M A2 had a few reels of the '70's-'80s Detroit Edition on microfilm. Whether that still exists, I don't know.

mmb5 · « **Reply #19 on:** June 19, 2010, 10:52:46 PM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'242776\' date=\'Jun 19 2010, 10:49 PM\']Well, I'm sure collectors have more in their "archives" than the actual copyright holder, but at least they could give permission to Google to digitize and it would be up to private collectors to provide the actual issues. As you may know, the Undergrad Library at U of M A2 had a few reels of the '70's-'80s Detroit Edition on microfilm. Whether that still exists, I don't know.[/quote]

If they still have it, they're hiding it well. Eastern's library has an 80s-90s collection.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #20 on:** June 19, 2010, 10:56:02 PM »

[quote name=\'mmb5\' post=\'242777\' date=\'Jun 19 2010, 10:52 PM\'][quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'242776\' date=\'Jun 19 2010, 10:49 PM\']Well, I'm sure collectors have more in their "archives" than the actual copyright holder, but at least they could give permission to Google to digitize and it would be up to private collectors to provide the actual issues. As you may know, the Undergrad Library at U of M A2 had a few reels of the '70's-'80s Detroit Edition on microfilm. Whether that still exists, I don't know.[/quote]

If they still have it, they're hiding it well. Eastern's library has an 80s-90s collection.
[/quote]
Circa 1981 when I was there, they were on the ground floor behind the elevator wall leading to the reference section.

trainman · « **Reply #21 on:** June 20, 2010, 01:59:53 AM »

I know from my Pittsburgh days that the main Carnegie Library there has the Pittsburgh edition on microfilm.

Just checked their online catalog, and it claims they have the entire run, 1953-2005, except 1984.

mmb5 · « **Reply #22 on:** June 20, 2010, 09:37:31 AM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'242778\' date=\'Jun 19 2010, 10:56 PM\']Circa 1981 when I was there, they were on the ground floor behind the elevator wall leading to the reference section.[/quote]
It's an entirely different building now. I don't even think they have books on that floor anymore.

Checking their catalog, they have 1992-1993 and 2001-through mid 2009. There's also a search only version from 1980-, but that's only available to students/faculty. The full-text version is searchable only through a library computer, and I'm not there right now, so I don't know their ranges.

I would assume the search only version is available at many universities.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #23 on:** June 20, 2010, 10:11:32 AM »

[quote name=\'trainman\' post=\'242780\' date=\'Jun 20 2010, 01:59 AM\']Just checked their online catalog, and it claims they have the entire run, 1953-2005, except 1984.[/quote]
I know that a lot of us would like to pretend AfterMASH never existed, but that's going a bit far, don't you think?

Don Howard · « **Reply #24 on:** June 20, 2010, 01:26:24 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'242785\' date=\'Jun 20 2010, 10:11 AM\'][quote name=\'trainman\' post=\'242780\' date=\'Jun 20 2010, 01:59 AM\']Just checked their online catalog, and it claims they have the entire run, 1953-2005, except 1984.[/quote]I know that a lot of us would like to pretend AfterMASH never existed, but that's going a bit far, don't you think?[/quote]Not in the least. That program was an aberration of the franchise from start to finish. It was a heaping mound of piss on its best day. If that means wiping out an entire year, I support the move....even though that was the year which brought us Celebrity Hot Potato.

I am sorry about the closing of the museum.

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #25 on:** June 20, 2010, 03:45:47 PM »

Quote

As I recall, he had every issue of digest-sized TV Guide. I'd love to have them myself, but I am running out of room. I'm limiting future purchases to NYC, Los Angeles or Michigan editions as much as possible because NYC and LA stations had full network schedules in pattern 99.9% of the time and Michigan is my home. Maybe Google Books can work out an agreement with the copyright holder and digitize them for posterity with the click of a mouse.

If the winning bidder got the entire run of the digest-sized TV Guide for $3200, he got a steal ... either that or the value of old TVGuides has gone way down from where it was just a few years ago. Maybe that's what happens when the magazine goes the way it has since the digest-size version ended.

If I'd known that's all they would have gone for I might have tried to bid for them myself. It's still a lot of money, but I'm missing many issues from '53-63 and it would probably cost me that much trying to get them individually. Some issues from that time period still go for big bucks on e-bay and are hard to acquire. To be honest, I really haven't been looking at older issues recently...not that I've lost interest, but I haven't really been pursuing it for a few years now. I have every issue from '63-05 when the larger-format version was introduced.

Maybe one day I'll have a complete run

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #26 on:** June 20, 2010, 05:03:12 PM »

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'242795\' date=\'Jun 20 2010, 03:45 PM\']If the winning bidder got the entire run of the digest-sized TV Guide for $3200, he got a steal ... either that or the value of old TVGuides has gone way down from where it was just a few years ago.[/quote]
The latter is certainly true. Go on Ebay right now and search "tv guide" and 1953, and you'll see dozens of issues with a 'Buy It Now' price of less than $20, some around $10. And they're available, meaning no one is buying them even at that price. Meanwhile, I keep an old 1993 dealer catalog I use for reference, and those prices -- from nearly twenty years ago -- are at least two or three times higher.

Now sure, even at $10 each, it doesn't take long to get to $3200, so if you wanted an instant, complete collection, this was a great deal. If you're buying them to resell, though, it's probably going to take quite a while to get your investment back.

Mr. Armadillo · « **Reply #27 on:** June 21, 2010, 02:04:43 PM »

[quote name=\'trainman\' post=\'242780\' date=\'Jun 20 2010, 12:59 AM\']I know from my Pittsburgh days that the main Carnegie Library there has the Pittsburgh edition on microfilm.

Just checked their online catalog, and it claims they have the entire run, 1953-2005, except 1984.[/quote]
That's ungood.

Tim L · « **Reply #28 on:** June 21, 2010, 02:19:58 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'242799\' date=\'Jun 20 2010, 05:03 PM\'][quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'242795\' date=\'Jun 20 2010, 03:45 PM\']If the winning bidder got the entire run of the digest-sized TV Guide for $3200, he got a steal ... either that or the value of old TVGuides has gone way down from where it was just a few years ago.[/quote]
The latter is certainly true. Go on Ebay right now and search "tv guide" and 1953, and you'll see dozens of issues with a 'Buy It Now' price of less than $20, some around $10. And they're available, meaning no one is buying them even at that price. Meanwhile, I keep an old 1993 dealer catalog I use for reference, and those prices -- from nearly twenty years ago -- are at least two or three times higher.

Now sure, even at $10 each, it doesn't take long to get to $3200, so if you wanted an instant, complete collection, this was a great deal. If you're buying them to resell, though, it's probably going to take quite a while to get your investment back.
[/quote]

Over the last several months, I bought 9 Cleveland area TV Guides from 1954-56 for a total of about $35.00 off Ebay..If I had interest (and the money) in buying that entire collection, I would have..Thing is, my interest is primarily Cleveland programming listings..

The Akron/Summit County Library has most of the issues in paper form from 1959-2005 stored in their basement..I've told them I'd take the issues through at least the 1980's off their hands if they ever got TV Guide in Microfilm..They told me that would be unlikely with Ohio Library budget cuts in recent years..The Cleveland Public Library has all the small-digest issues from 1953-2005 in Microfilm..

One more thing I wanted to mention..If anyone here sells TV Guides on Ebay..Please mention the name of the City/Regional edition you are selling..So many dont include that info..Unless they include an image of a programming page, its hard to guess..

tvmitch · « **Reply #29 on:** June 21, 2010, 02:57:56 PM »

The news that the entire TV Guide run went for $3,200 is a bummer, although there are some caveats...serious collectors would want to see the condition of each issue, no opportunity for inspection, delivery questions, etc.

I have a few complete years from the '80s, Nebraska edition, in good shape, that I am planning to list on eBay in the next few weeks. I wonder if they are even worth selling anymore, other than to clear shelf space.