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Why are items missing from the MNHS Collections?
With a collection as large and old as the one managed by the Minnesota Historical Society, it is not surprising that items have been lost over the years. MNHS makes active use of its collections in exhibits and programs. We also loan items to other institutions, provide specialized access for researchers, conduct conservation treatments, and photograph items in the studio. With such regular use, items are at times misplaced.
Some items have been stolen from MNHS over the years. A number of missing items have been absent from the collection for so many years that the staff has concluded that they are likely no longer in our holdings, although we cannot say with certainty that they were stolen.
Why are these missing items listed on this website?
The items on this list are ones that we believe might be recovered. These items are clearly identifiable and could be positively identified as belonging to MNHS if they were to show up for sale with a dealer or at an auction.
Have all the items listed on the website been stolen?
Some of the items on this list have probably been stolen, most likely many years ago. Others are missing, but we cannot definitely determine how they were lost.
What are you doing to minimize future lost or missing objects?
Collections management practices have improved significantly over the past few decades. When MNHS moved to the Minnesota History Center in 1992, the collections were consolidated in one location allowing better physical control and improved security.
Since 2003, MNHS has managed its more than 250,000 museum objects in a modern, computerized Collections Management System. This system significantly enhances our ability to create and maintain full documentation of the museum objects and manage their physical location and movement.
MNHS staff members routinely inventory the collection, comparing the database record with the item in its storage location. Misplaced items are regularly recovered and new discrepancies are occasionally found. This is routine collections management practice at MNHS.
How can I know if an object in my possession came from the MNHS collections?
There are many ways to identify that a specific item came from the MNHS collections.
- A museum object may have a number written on it that can be compared with the catalog record in our Collections Management System.
- A book from our collections will often include a stamp or imprint indicating that it belongs to the Minnesota Historical Society.
- Manuscript and State Archives items will likely not have a mark or stamp, but usually a description is detailed enough to identify the item from our collections. Many of our paper collections were microfilmed over the years, and the fact that an item appears on the microfilm version of a collection is usually proof that the item belongs in the collection.
- Photographic prints may have an identifying number written on the reverse or may have been digitized before being lost.
What if I have an item I’d like to donate to MNHS?
Please see our How to Donate page