[KS] Terry Bennett's Photo Collection

[Brother Anthony]

Part of the problem is the size of the collection, which TB wishes to sell complete. This takes us into the several millions of dollars which is hardly feasible in today's world. As for his collection related to Indochina, which is so much larger and much more complex, from what I hear, one dares not even think of what a possible price might be or who might pay it. For Korea, part of the difficulty is the amost complete lack of national awareness or interest when it comes to archiving materials of any kind, anywhere. I have not heard that there is a Korean National Archive which would be the obvious place for such a collection. I was quite surprised when recently the pack of 94 photographic negatives by (?) Carlo Rossetti found a buyer in Korea (I do not know who) at a high price at K Auction after failing to find a buyer ar auctions in Europe, etc. If TB wishes to sell, he would be well advised to take the same route (auction in Korea, probably preceded by an exhibition) but I doubt if he could sell the complete collection as such. It is bound to have materials with varying levels of rarity / interest / value. There are other considerable collections of archival material related to Korea I know of that face the same problem, for even should someone wish to make a donation, I do not really see any institution in Korea qualified and adapted to receive fragile materials such as photos, maps, account books, personal letters, transcribed interviews, diaries . . . . with no immediate purpose other than long-term preservation. 

The other side of the coin is the considerable amount of older printed material held in certain university libraries in Seoul to which absolutely noobody seems able to gain access. It is only quite recently that Korean academics seem to have realized the interest of the older photographic record. The use made by Korean scholars from Sungyungwan of the photographic materials in the Griffis archive at Rutgers in preparing last year's massive volume 'Photographs of Korea in the William Elliot Griffis Collection' marks a new departure.

Brother Anthony
President, RAS Korea