Dave Arneson's Personal RPG Collection For Auction

[Hal G]

Prediction: locked briefcase auctions for more than anything else in the collection, turns out to be empty.

Ok Geraldo!

 

[bergec]

A lot of that stuff ought to be in a museum or archive.

It would be cool if some of the stuff ended up at the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, NY.

 

[jmucchiello]

So, in short, Paul and Michael are not the bad guys you're looking for.

Perhaps not. But it would still be better to have scanned PDFs of the documents available on a public website BEFORE the auction to ensure these valuable documents are not lost to some private collector. The papers have value as physical documents and as RPG history. Treating them as "collectables" is what gets my goat.

[MENTION=1164]frankthedm[/MENTION] If I had untold wealth, I would purchase and release them myself.
But, technically only his family can grant those rights as the collection's copyrights transferred to them on his death. People acquiring the documents technically cannot republish them without their permission. Owning the documents would not make me the copyright holder.

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

Prediction: locked briefcase auctions for more than anything else in the collection, turns out to be empty.

Well, I don't know about that but I hear John Travolta and Sam Jackson are looking for it.

 

[Thanael]

I agree. Especially the unpublished manuscripts. I feel kinda sad that these are going to be scattered to the four winds. Too bad the Arneson Estate doesn't cherish Blackmoor as Christopher Tolkien did Middle-earth.

We need an Tabletop RPG Museum and Archive somewhere, with one priority being to gather Gygax's and Arneson's manuscripts.

The Museum of Role Playing Games

Knights And Knaves Alehouse - An RPG Museum?

 

[grodog]

Perhaps not. But it would still be better to have scanned PDFs of the documents available on a public website BEFORE the auction to ensure these valuable documents are not lost to some private collector. The papers have value as physical documents and as RPG history. Treating them as "collectables" is what gets my goat.

I agree with you completley in spirit, jmucchiello. That said, the last original copy of the Declaration of Independence (found by a family at the back of an old painting in an attic) sold for $2.42M in 1991. And while that's for a historical artifact of huge importance, it's also for a piece of content that we know word for word, already. Most of these D&D manuscripts and incunabula are not known outside of the small groups of folks who played in the Lake Geneva and Twin Cities circles---and that's precisely why, unfortunately, the mss. won't be distributed for free before they're sold.

[MENTION=1164]frankthedm[/MENTION]But, technically only his family can grant those rights as the collection's copyrights transferred to them on his death. People acquiring the documents technically cannot republish them without their permission. Owning the documents would not make me the copyright holder.

Absolutely true, and generally Paul's auctions list an IP disclaimer stating that the rights to the content belong to the author (or whoever the IP holder is).

The Museum of Role Playing Games

Knights And Knaves Alehouse - An RPG Museum?

There were a few different RPG museum efforts underway over the past 10-15 years or so, but I've never heard of any of them coming to fruition:

- GAMA was doing a National Game Museum c. 2006, but that seems to have fallen through (they did get as far as registering the domain http://www.nationalgamemuseum.org/ which you can see in the internet archive @ National Game Museum - National Game Museum (GAMA now owns .com but it's equally unused)

- A few years ago, Frank Mentzer posted to the Acaeum forums at
Copied Temple of Elemental Evil • Page 3 • Collecting General • The Acaeum about an effort that Harold Johnson was in the process of setting up; I just pinged them to see if anything had materialized or not

- One of the big D&D collectors on the Acaeum also had plans for
a museum in FL; he's not at the Acaeum any longer, but you can see
some samples that he and his team of collectors have accumulated at
A peek into Invincible?s Lair • Collecting General • The Acaeum and you can see some
of the Dwarven Forge setups he's done at
http://www.dwarvenforge.com/dwarvenforums/viewtopic.php?id=906 with
many more under his user ID search at
http://www.dwarvenforge.com/dwarvenforums/search.php?search_id=1677275670

I'm sure I'm forgetting at least some other recent-ish efforts, and none of those count the various collections donated to universities, libraries, etc. either. It would be a wonderful resource for gamers, collectors, and the hobby, if such a museum ever came to be.

 

[Aldarron]

There is indeed an up and running non-profit museum/archive dedicated to the collection and preservation of early RPG material.

The Aethervox Gamers collection

At the moment it's heavily EPT focused and still cataloging MAR Barkers donations, but it is a legitimate repository for any RPG material of a historic nature.

I don't think they have ever taken the time to make a website.

 

[Alphastream]

Yeah Duke should do something good and add it to their collection

The Escapist : RPG exhibit at Duke University

Mike

Unfortunately, I spoke to Duke's curator and they are not interested in adding more to the collection at this time. A real shame.

 

[Alphastream]

So, in short, Paul and Michael are not the bad guys you're looking for.

I'm curious whether they tried to find a single buyer that could have secured the memorabilia. WotC, Gen Con, etc. The real value of these items is often long-term and through study and access for fans, not as an e-bay investment for an individual.

 

[Ysgarran]

I've been in contact with the curator at the "Edwin and Terry Murray Collection of Role-Playing Games" and they have expressed an interest in the personal notes and correspondence that is in the collection.
"We are especially interested, as I said, in the unique and rare materials in the collection: Arneson’s own papers; rare newsletters and fanzines; homemade RPGs and drafts of games and campaigns. We are less interested in the published materials in the collection, most of which is already held here. "

I will try to selectively bid on some of the items of interest. If anyone wants to chip in please contact me via private message and I will share my personal information. Anything I do manage to win in these EBay actions I will donate to Duke. I suspect that the prices on these items will quickly rise above my ability to continue bidding. Regardless, I will make the effort.

Ysgarran.