index > publications > mohonk courier 10

Note:
This newsletter plus attachments is sent by electronic means to all members of whom we have an email address. It is in Word ‘doc’ format. If you have any problems with the format, please contact the IAMAM website (see address on p.12). The newsletter and the attachments are sent by regular mail to all members who have no email address.


The newsletter’s title is taken after the Mohonk House (1869), a hotel along the Hudson river in upstate New York, where in 1981 an IAMAM conference took place. In our next newsletter we will give you more details about the house and try to explain what is so special about it that made IAMAM choose it to work into the title for its newsletter henceforth.



1. Foreword by the Secretary General

IAMAM XVI Norway
Our triennial congress which took place in Norway during Week 24 was a resounding success. We could meet with a relatively large number of old and new IAMAM friends. The congress was attended by over one hundred delegates including the representatives of sixty institutional members of our association. What we saw, heard and learned in Norway was truly memorable and we would like to thank the organiser of the congress, Rolf Scheen, General Director of the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum, the Forsfarsmuseet (colloquially known after its location as the ‘Akershus Museum’) in Oslo, for his incomparable hospitality and all his efforts to make the congress a successful one. Our special thanks in this are extended to his Chief of Staff, Carl Olsson, and a number of other colleagues from the Akershus Museet who did all they could to make us feel at home.

Besides the main congress, which took place from June 10 to 12 inclusive, two post-congress tours had been organised, one going all the way to Svalbard (Spitsbergen), the other to fortresses round about Olso. These post-congress tours, too, were enjoyed by all who participated in them.

During the congress, the Executive Committee had a meeting on the 11th. The General Assembly of all IAMAM delegates in Oslo took place on the 12th. Most of the discussions that took place as well as all decisions taken are reported in this issue of our magazine. A number of the issues are very important for the future of our organisation.

Some misgivings were expressed by a number of French-speaking colleagues about our failure to produce our mailings bi-lingually, that is both in English and in French. This has prompted me to compose the following notice for them and other Francophones:

Avis à nos membres francophones
Les langues officielles des réunions internationales dans le monde occidental sont l’anglais et le français. Cependant, en l’absence d’un secrétariat permanent au sein de L’IAMAM, Il s’avère totalement impossible pour le secrétaire général de traduire lui-même en français nos avis, courriers et bulletins d’information. Il est bon de rappeler que, pour lui aussi, l’anglais est une langue étrangère et que le fait de rédiger et de traduire dans un anglais correct absorbe déjà une bonne partie de son temps.
Malgré le fait que le nombre relatif de francophones dans le monde a tendance à se reduire, le Comité exécutif continue de penser que L’IAMAM doit, chaque fois qu’elle le peut, continuer à utiliser le français, parallèlement à l’anglais. A preuve de cette volonté, la liste des membres est bilingue: anglais et français. Plus tard sans doute, lorsque nous serons devenus ‘Icomam’, nous pourrons nous permettre d’utiliser les services d’un responsable du secrétariat à même de réaliser la plupart de nos écrits dans les deux langues.

(translation)
‘Notice to our French-speaking members
The official languages for international meetings in the western world are English and French. However, since IAMAM lacks a professional secretariat it is absolutely impossible that the secretary general can be expected to translate himself all our announcements, mailings and our newsletters into French. Please do not forget that for him English is a foreign language, too, and that also to write and translate proper English already consumes a large amount of his time.
Despite the undeniable fact that the number of Francophones in the world is relatively declining, the Executive Committee is still of the opinion that whenever possible French has to be used by IAMAM next to English. To show our good will, the List of Members is bi-lingual: English and French. Maybe later, when we operate as Icomam we can afford a secretarial worker capable of composing most of our texts both in English and French.’

I can only add that I would be delighted if – for the time being - our French colleagues could offer assistance in translating our newsletters and other important IAMAM mailings.

Jan Piet Puype, IAMAM Secretary General.



2. Greetings by the new President

Welcome to our new members, welcome back to our old. As your new President I have three main things to say.

First, thank you for doing me the honour of electing me as your president. I will do the best I can to lead, develop and promote our organisation.

Second, a very big and heartfelt thank you to our former president Claude Gaier who has served us all so well that he is an impossible person to follow. No one outside of the Executive Committee really understands how much work our former president and our current secretary general have put into IAMAM during their terms of office. That we are still together and flourishing is largely due to them. We should all thank them.

Third, I am fully committed to the decision taken in Oslo to change IAMAM to ICOMAM, a full affiliate of ICOM and to all that goes with it. This will mean changes. The task of your new Executive Committee is to see these changes through, to create a stronger organisation that can better meet the challenges ahead, without losing the unique friendliness and informality that makes our international organisation so refreshingly different from others. I believe that the future of our subjects and our museums will be best served if we have a strong and united international voice. That means coming closer to ICOM; and it also means, in the longer term, establishing some sort of paid secretariat. In Britain we have what is called the ‘National Museum Directors Conference’. Until a few years ago it was for all practical purposes useless – we talked a lot, rarely agreed and never did anything. Then we decided to pay for the establishment of a full-time secretariat. The organisation was transformed.

Already this year we have published two major studies for our government to consider and are working on others. Suddenly the potential of that organisation has been realised. That is my vision for IAMAM/ICOMAM, that we realise our potential and start punching our weight. If we do not each of our individual museums will suffer as more and more decisions are taken internationally and less and less resources come our way. I know that by working together we can succeed, though it will not always be an easy road.

Those who do not know me may be wondering by now who this person is who is now serving as your president. Well, very briefly, I have worked in the Royal Armouries for all the thirty years of my museum career, for 21 years in senior management positions, and for the past 14 years as its Master (Director). In that time it has been my great privilege to work for some great scholars – men like Howard Blackmore – as well as to lead the present generation of colleagues who you know. I have also had the opportunity to guide the development of our museum from a one-site (the Tower of London) to a multi-site (the Tower, Leeds, Fort Nelson) museum. Now we are embarked on a unique collaboration with the new Frazier Arms Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, that should give us a permanent presence in the USA from 2004. In the course of all of this I have found that we have been both criticised and praised rather too much for what we have been trying to do, and I have learnt to live with both. I have also found that it is sometimes possible to do what everyone else says is impossible. The key is to harness the talent and enthusiasm there is all around us and to try to keep cynicism at bay.

So, there is much to do, but let us enjoy the journey together.

And speaking of journeys I cannot end without mention of the wonderful journeys we all recently experienced to and in Norway. The Oslo Congress was a wonderful occasion (those who did not attend please take special note!) and on behalf of the whole membership I should like to take this opportunity of thanking our colleague Rolf Scheen and all those who worked with him. They did us proud.*

Guy M. Wilson, President of IAMAM

* Our Norwegian friends are preparing a printed Proceedings of the Oslo conference. It will be sent to all who attended the congress. At a later stage it may also be available through electronic means, perhaps via the IAMAM website.

3. Present and excused members of the Executive Committee in Oslo

Present: Claude Gaier (president)*, Jan Piet Puype (secretary general)*, Walter J.
Karcheski, Jr., Markku Melkko, Leif Törnquist, Guy Wilson, Rolf Wirtgen,
Stephen Wood
Absent: Bernard Devaux, Georgij Vilinbakhov, William Reid (honourary life president),
Zdys_aw Zygulski, Jr. (honourary member)

* were chairing the congress sessions together with Rolf Scheen, General Director
of the Akershus Museum and Carl Olsson, the A.M.’s chief of staff.



4. New members:

The following new members who had applied for membership since the last congress in 1999, were approved by the Executive Committee and we all bid them a hearty welcome:

A. Regular Institutional Members
1. Royal Australian Air Force Museum, Point Cook, Australia
2. Maritime Command Museum, Halifax, Canada
3. Firepower! The Royal Artillery Museum, London, U.K.
4. The Mary Rose Trust, Portsmouth, U.K.
5. The Army Museums Ogilby Trust, Salisbury, U.K.
6. Waffenmuseum Suhl, Suhl, Germany
7. Marine Museum (Naval Museum), Den Helder, Netherlands
8. Museum Bevrijdende Vleugels (‘Museum of Liberating Wings’), Best, Netherlands
9. Norwegian Aviation Museum, Bodo, Norway
10. Fundação da Casa de Bragança, Villa Viçosa, Portugal
11. Schweizer Armeemuseum, Thun, Switzerland
12. Owsley Brown Frazier Historical Arms Museum Foundation, Louisville, U.S.A.

B. Individual IAMAM Members (all, except No.3, came via ICOM)
1. Bragin, Vyacheslav Ivanovich, director, Central Museum of the Great Patriotic
War, Moscow, Russia
2. Correia, Paula Guerra, conservation & restoration specialist, Rio de Mouro,
Portugal
3. De Lee, Martine, translator/museum specialist, Sandhurst, U.K.
4. Kotsaki, Alexandra, textile conservator, Winchester, U.K.
5. Manga, Alexis, curator, Musée des Forces Armées, Dakar, Senegal
6. Saeland, Frode, curator, Norsk Bergverksmuseum, Kongsberg, Norway
7. Sælebakke, Per Halvor, technical manager, Norsk Bergverksmuseum, Kongsberg,
Norway

C. Friends of IAMAM
1. HMS Belfast Trust, London, U.K.
2. ICOM, Paris, France
3. Phillips, Colonel Michael J., Guildford, U.K.


5. List of IAMAM members

This list has been updated since the one which was distributed with the Mohonk Courier No.8. The new list is attached to this issue of our newsletter. You can always download the list from IAMAM’s website: www.klm-mra.be/ICOMAM/index.htm

The List of Members has been subdivided into Active Members and ‘Dormant’ Members. We consider those members as ‘dormant’ who have had no contact with IAMAM for more than six years. Another section of the list gives the names of IAMAM’s individual members as well as those of the members of the Executive Committee. There is also a small section of ‘Friends of IAMAM’ meaning institutions or individuals who are not IAMAM members but which/who have indicated that they want to receive IAMAM mailings (and which for various reasons IAMAM has consented to).

Note:
The special statuses of the different member groups are defined on the List itself. When you have any changes, corrections or remarks to make on the way you or your institution is mentioned in the List, please do it by email only to: jppuype@hotmail.com and send a Bcc to: piet.de.gryse@klm-mra.be



6. IAMAM’s future status and the results of the vote amongst the membership

A total of 60 voting forms were returned to the secretary general, per surface mail as requested. Six additional forms were completed and handed in during the conference in Oslo. Of this total of 66 forms, three were incomplete inasmuch the principal question of the vote, namely if IAMAM should, or should not, join ICOM, was not answered.

All remaining 63 forms were regular and so counted in the vote. Of these 63, only three voted against IAMAM joining ICOM. This means that an overwhelming majority of the active membership is in favour of IAMAM becoming a full-fledged International Committee of ICOM.

The new name of IAMAM will be ‘Icomam’, which is an acronym for ‘International [ICOM] Committee of Museums of Arms and Military History’.



7. The transitional period : from IAMAM to Icomam.

The president and the secretary general are now working hard to adapt ICOM’s Model Rules for International Committees into a new Icomam Constitution. Only after ICOM in Paris (1) has approved of our Constitution in which these rules have been worked, (2) has been handed the updated List of Members and (3) has been informed of the outcome of the members’ vote, we can call ourselves ‘Icomam’. We will try to bring this process to a conclusion by the end of 2003.

The forthcoming congress in 2005 in Canada, which will be known as ‘Icomam XVII Canada’, will be the first to be held under ICOM Rules. Prior to this congress, IAMAM’s Executive Committee will have to be chosen by the membership and it will be known as the ‘Executive Board of Icomam’ henceforth. Finally, the general assembly of the members in Canada will have to formally approve the composition of the new Executive Board and adopt the new constitution incorporating the ICOM rules.

Summing up, the following steps will have to be taken:
1. Renewal of the Executive Committee under IAMAM rules so long as these are in force
2. Adapt the ICOM Model Rules for the new Icomam Constitution
3. Establish a subscription for all members of Icomam
3. Submit to ICOM Paris:
(a) IAMAM’s official application to become an International Committee of ICOM
(b) for approval, the Icomam Constitution
(c) as justification, the voting results
(d) for information, the latest List of Members
4. Designate representatives to various ICOM ruling committees (a demand of ICOM)
5. Distribute a Newsletter to keep the membership informed
6. Hold (at the ‘ICOMAM XVII Canada’ conference) a general assembly of the members for final approval all proceedings and elect the new members of Icomam’s Executive Board including a new president (‘chairman’ in ICOM parlance) and a new secretary general (‘secretary’).



8. Annual Icomam Service Fee

As far as the aforementioned Icomam subscription is concerned, the secretary general will submit a written proposal to all members of the Executive Committee so that it may be discussed and decided upon at the next ExCom meeting in Stockholm in March 2003. The secretary general will also submit the adapted ICOM Rules for International Committees as soon as possible, preferably during the fall of 2002. Hopefully, these rules can get the blessing of the ExCom so that they can be submitted for approval by ICOM Paris.

Note:
ICOM forbids us to raise a special membership subscription in addition to the membership fee which is already levied by ICOM. However, ICOM does allow us to raise a subscription ‘for specific services’. The largest amount of ‘specific services’ is done by the secretary general since a proper professional secretariat is lacking. By raising an Annual Icomam Service Fee we could pay for the expense of making and mailing our Newsletters and also for the hiring of a professional secretarial worker for a number of weeks prior to each triennial congress. The exact amount of money of the fee will be worked into the aforementioned proposal by the secretary general.



9. Adjustment of IAMAM’s Executive Committee

As mentioned under 6.1 above, we have had to elect new members for our Executive Committee because three ExCom members are retiring, or have already retired, from their museum profession during the coming three-year period: Jan Piet Puype, Markku Melkko and Leif Törnquist.

Jan Piet Puype and Leif Törnquist have expressed their desire to continue serving on the Executive Committee until the congress in Canada in 2005 when they will step down. The ExCom approved of their request which was confirmed by applause by the members present at the general assembly in Olso.
At the assembly it was announced that Markku Melkko had decided to step down immediately. Markku’s very long contribution to IAMAM since the 1970s, which included many years of service in the ExCom, was duly recognised by the president and met with much acclaim by the audience. He is succeeded by Piet de Gryse (curator at the Royal Army Museum in Brussels, Belgium). All (but one) of the voters who had sent back their forms had indicated that they agreed with the Executive Committee’s suggestion to appoint Mr de Gryse. The audience at the meeting once again approved with applause.

Besides Piet de Gryse, the Executive Committee had brought forward Dr. Àlvaro Soler del Campo, curator at the Real Arméria in Madrid, Spain, as a second candidate. Unfortunately, Dr Soler, notwithstanding the fact that he turned out to be approved by all members who sent back their voting forms, was denied a seat in our ExCom by his authorities. Since we were convinced that IAMAM was still in dire need of a representative from southern Europe, we are fortunate in having secured as a member for the Executive Committee Mr Michael Stroud (director of the Palace Armoury at Valetta, Malta). In view of the forthcoming Canadian venue, we have also made Dr Serge Bernier a member of IAMAM’s Executive Committee. Dr Bernier is Director of the Directorate of Heritage and Military History of the Department of National Defence, and President of the Organisation of Military Museums of Canada.
Both Mr Stroud’s and Dr Bernier’s appointments were approved of with applause by the members present at the general assembly in Oslo.

Voting members aspiring ExCom membership
No less than ten members have indicated on their voting forms that they aspire a seat in our Executive Committee. The Committee appreciates this demonstration of their commitment. It feels strongly, however, that in these important times of change it is better that there are as few changes as possible among the ExCom members. The Committee therefore recommends the membership to only consider appointing those candidates who have already had, or are likely to have soon, an intensive involvement in the business of the ExCom and who had already been brought forward by the Committee as possible candidates. The President personally explained this to several of the voting members who were present in Oslo and thanked them for presenting their candidacies. It is possible that some of them might be considered at a later date.



10. Our new President

Finally, the general member’s assembly at Oslo also approved our candidate for the new IAMAM President: Mr Guy M. Wilson, director of the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, U.K. To people working in museums like ours a person like Guy Wilson really needs no introduction. His modest introductory text at the beginning of this newsletter already reveals enough.

Dr. Claude Gaier, IAMAM’s president from 1993 until 2002, was appointed, with general approval, a Honorary Member of the Executive Committee, following the suggestion by Leif Törnquist. Also at Leif’s suggestion both Claude and Markku Melkko were appointed Honorary Life Members of IAMAM.



11. IAMAM’s Executive Committee as per 12 June 2002:

President: Guy M. WILSON, Director,
Royal Armouries Museum, LEEDS (U.K.)
Secretary General: Jan Piet PUYPE, Senior Curator,
Koninklijk Nederlands Leger- en Wapenmuseum, DELFT,
(Netherlands)
Members: - Dr. Serge BERNIER, Director,
Directorate of Heritage and History, OTTAWA Canada)
- Piet DE GRYSE, Curator,
Koninklijk Legermuseum / Musée Royal de l’Armée,
BRUSSELS (Belgium)
- Général Bernard DEVAUX, Director,
Musée de l’Armée, PARIS (France)
- Walter J. KARCHESKI Jr., Chief Curator of Arms and Armour,
Owsley Brown Frazier Historical Arms Museum Foundation,
LOUISVILLE, KY (U.S.A.)
- Michael STROUD, Director,
Palace Armoury, VALETTA (Malta)
- Leif TÖRNQUIST, Superintendent,
Statens Forsvarshistoriska Museer, STOCKHOLM (Sweden)
- Dr. Georgij VILINBAKHOV, Deputy Director,
State Hermitage Museum, ST. PETERSBURG (Russia)
- Dr. Rolf WIRTGEN, Curator,
Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung, KOBLENZ (Germany)
- Stephen WOOD, former Keeper, Edinburgh Castle,
SOUTHSEA, Hampshire (U.K.)

Honourary life president: William REID, CBE, FSA, RICHMOND, Surrey (U.K.)

Honourary life members: Dr. Claude GAIER, Director, Musée d’Armes de Liège,
LIÈGE (Belgium)
- Markku Melkko, Director, Sotamuseo, HELSINKI (Finland)
- Col. (Rtd.) Franklin Brooke NIHART, McLEAN, VA (U.S.A.)
- Prof.Dr. Zdzislaw ZYGULSKI Jr., CRACOW (Poland)



12. The former President’s report on past activities since 1999

The President, together with the Secretary General, visited ICOM in Paris in August 2000, to discuss IAMAM’s transition to ICOM. At the Executive Committee meeting in Amsterdam, in January 2001, it was decided to consult the membership over this and other questions by means of a voting form. The President entertained frequent contacts with regard to the question of IAMAM’s stand in the matter of the international legislation with regard to small arms and its possible consequences for museums (see paragraph 14 further down). To this end he took part in a seminar in London in March 2001. He also sounded the possibilities over an IAMAM congress with the Canadians. He had several meetings and exchanged many emails, letters, faxes and telephone calls with the Secretary General over various IAMAM matters including letters of support in behalf of member institutions under threat of closure or denial of funds. Together with the Secretary General he visited Oslo in October 2001 to discuss various items regarding the congress of 2002 there and he continued to remain in frequent touch with the Norwegian organisers.



13. Future IAMAM and Icomam activities

(a) The Malta Seminar on the conservation and restoration of arms and armour,
23-25 October 2002
A public announcement on this seminar was given by Robert D. Smith of the Royal Armouries Museum, who are organising it with the Malta Centre for Restoration. He also said that he was pleased to announce that the seminar was to be held under the auspices of IAMAM. This means that it counts as one of the IAMAM annual symposia.
The deadline for registration is: September 1, 2002. Bob Smith also announced that an official
brochure or folder will be, or has already been, sent to all IAMAM members. You may also ask for the brochure per email, to: robert.smith@armouries.org.uk

(b) The Stockholm Symposium on the history of ancient armouries/arsenals, 20-22
March 2003
Mrs. Eva-Sofi Ernstell, Head of the Collections and Research Department at the Livrustkammaren, announced that all IAMAM members will receive a brochure per regular surface mail. You may also ask for the brochure per email: eva-sofi.ernstell@lsh.se

(c) The 2004 Symposium
We do not yet have a definitive subject nor a definitive location.
However, there are several options as mentioned in the Mohonk Courier No.8. As soon as we have more precise announcements, we will send them to in our next newsletter. You can also look at our website: www.klm-mra.be/ICOMAM/index.htm

Note: The President pointed out that there seems to be a broad consensus about the need for an organised discussion on the subject of the display of arms and armour in museums. We do no mean the technical and artistic side of the display (a serious subject in itself), but rather the choices and limitations of displays in relation to museum policy in these times of change. The president said he hoped this could be worked into a yet to be organised seminar or in the 2005 congress, see (d). It may also be the main subject of the 2004 symposium, we cannot tell yet.

(d) The 2005 congress, ICOMAM XVII, in Canada
(Details provisional, until further info)
The Icomam XVII Canada congress will be hosted by Dr. Serge Bernier, Director, Directorate of History and Heritage, National Defence, Canada, and the Organization of Military Museums of Canada. The Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Aviation Museum will also participate fully. At the Oslo conference last June, Lt.Col. Donald S.C. Mackay, Dr Bernier’s Deputy, made an announcement on the organisation of the congress in Canada in 2005.
The congress will last 6 days. The intention is to visit the new Canadian War Museum scheduled to open on the anniversary of D-Day, 6 June 2005; the congress will take place in a week in mid-June, probably from the 12th (Sunday) to the 18th (Saturday). Registration will take place on the Sunday prior to the congress. The congress will finish on Friday thereafter.
The two main locations of the congress are Ottawa (Sunday to Tuesday) and Quebec. On Wednesday we will travel to Quebec City via Montreal (Fort Chambly). We will be in Quebec City on Thursday and Friday. Then the congress ends; return home on Saturday. The congress languages will be English and French. The cost is said to be reasonable, mainly thanks to the low rate of the Canadian dollar. Further and more precise announcements will be
made during the next few years.
Note:
In Oslo Don Mackay issued pre-registration forms for the Congress in Canada. Many delegates have already completed these forms and handed them to the secretary general. For those members who stayed away we have attached a blank form to this issue of our newsletter. Please complete the form at your convenience and send it to the Don Mackay by email, fax or regular mail. His addresses are on the form.



14. Other activities by IAMAM’s member institutions

Russia, Borodino, the State Borodino War and History Museum and Reserve
From September 6 until 12, 2002: Military History Festival ‘Borodino Day’, devoted to the 190th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino: opening of a new exhibition ‘Borodino – the Battle of Giants’ (Sept. 7), a battle re-enactment by 1200 infantrymen, 100 cavalrymen and 20 cannon (Sept. 8), and an international conference ‘Borodino and Napoleonic Wars, Battles, Battlefields, Memorials’ (Sept. 8-11).

Denmark, Copenhagen, the Royal Danish Arsenal Museum (Tøjhusmuseet)
From October 5, 2001 until November 2, 2003: Special exhibition ‘Vaagden Mand Er Ond At Vække’ on the Danish-Swedish wars, 1563-1720.

United Kingdom, Leeds, The Royal Armouries Museum
From September, 2002 until January, 2002: Special exhibition ‘The Knight is Young’ on (Royal and other) children’s arms and armour. The same exhibition will be held:
from February until May, 2003: at the Royal Armouries Museum at Fort Nelson, Portsmouth, and
from July until November, 2003: at the Royal Armouries Museum at the Tower of London.

Switzerland, Morges, Musée Militaire Vaudois
From June 22 until December 15, 2002: Special exhibition ‘Au fil de l’Épée : art et armes blanches : collection Carl Beck – Sursee’ on a private collection of antique swords and some firearms and polearms shown in public for the first time. Catalogue (bi-lingual in German and French).

Russia, St. Petersburg, Military-Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps
From September 8 until 12, 2003: International Forum commemorating the 300th anniversary of the museum.

There is a lot more going on, but the above-mentioned projects are the only ones we have actually received documentation of. If your museum wants any future activities to be published in the Mohonk Courier, please send a text to the Secretary General (addresses: see at the back of this issue).
The next (No.11) issue of our newsletter will be published in April 2003.



15. The Justus Lipsius Award

Although it has formally been in existence since 1996, the Justus Lipsius Award was for the first time bestowed on recipients during the Oslo congress. It is intended that the next award will be presented at the Icomam XVII Canada congress and prospective authors are invited to join in the competition. The rules for participation are attached to this newsletter.

Joint winners
For 2002, the following joint winners were announced: Jan Piet Puype and Rob J. de Stürler Boekwijt, who co-authored a book entitled Klewang : catalogus van het Legermuseum / catalogue of the Dutch Army Museum, published in Delft (Netherlands) in 2001 by Eburon; and: Walter J. Karcheski Jr. and Thom Richardson, authors of the book The Medieval Armour from Rhodes, published in 2000 in Leeds U.K. by the Royal Armouries Museum and in Worcester (MA) U.S.A. by the Higgins Armory Museum.

Both publications have received very favourable reviews in relevant international journals. In the judgment of the jury (see below) of the Justus Lipsius Award, these books are excellent examples of how proper and original research on arms and armour should be carried out and published. The quality of the contents and the way in which both were produced justifies the J.L. Award to be shared ex aequo by all four authors. It is hoped that these publications can set an example for researchers and future authors.

A prize of 2.000 Euros is connected with the award. This amount will be shared among the four authors.

The jury of the Justus Lipsius Award comprises the board of the ‘IAMAM XIV 1996’
organisation. It consists of the following people:
- Dr. J. Peter Sigmond, Director of Collections, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Secretary,
- Piet de Gryse, Curator, Royal Museum of the Army and of the History of War, Brussels
(Belgium), Treasurer,
- Jan A. Buijse, General Director, Royal Netherlands Army and Arms Museum, Delft
(Netherlands), Member,
- Dr. Claude Gaier, Director, Musée d’Armes de Liège (Belgium), Member,
- J. Bas Kist, former curator, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Netherlands), Member.

At the general assembly, the Award was handed to Jan Piet Puype and Walter Karcheski (their co-authors being absent in each case) by Dr Sigmond and the President in the form of a diploma.



16. International legislation on small arms

(see also the Mohonk Courier No.8 paragraph 13
and the Mohonk Courier No.9 para 8)

Guy Wilson and David Penn spoke to the tabled paper (an further up-dated version of which would be circulated to members) and spoke about the possible threat to museums of well-meaning but ill-thought through legislation, threats that included de-activation, permanent marking marking and limits on size of collections. They outlined the lobbying work undertaken at the United Nations and in the United Kingdom and recommended the adoption of the tabled policy and its vigorous use by all members to alert their governing bodies and governments to the needs of museums and the potential threats to their collections and work posed by these international moves. The policy was formally adopted by acclaim. Guy thanked the membership and said that the Executive Committee would now work to achieve ‘Non-Government Organisation’ (NGO) status for IAMAM so that the museum voice could be separately heard at the UN.
Note: The policy paper mentioned above is attached to this issue of the newsletter.



17. Papers and announcements given in Oslo

Papers mentioned with an * were announced in the congress papers. Some of the announcements have been slightly edited.

Monday 10 June:
* ‘Conservation, restoration and museum ethics’, paper read by Rolf Scheen, general
director of the Akershus Museet, for the author Prof.Dr. Ragnar Pedersen, who was
absent.
* ‘Conservation and restoration in Norwegian museums’, by Tanja Røsgård Reed, head
of the Advisory Board on Conservation in Norway.
* ‘Restoration of a Junkers Ju 88 airplane [salvaged from a fjord]’, by Lt-Col. Roar
Glenne, director of the Norwegian Aviation Museum, Bodo.
Tuesday 11 June:
* ‘The military history of the Nordic countries with an emphasis on the development of
arms and armaments through prehistoric times’, by Dr. Johan Engström, director of
the Swedish Army Museum, Stockholm.
* ‘The relations between the Dutch army in Holland and the Dutch colonial army during
the 19th century with regard to firearms’, by Mathieu Willemsen, assistant curator of
the Royal Netherlands Army and Arms Museum, Delft.
* ‘Digital photography and its uses in creating a Web-based database of armour
decoration’, by Karen Watts, senior curator of armour at the Royal Armouries
Museum, Leeds.
* ‘Conservation and collection maintenance in three Swedish museums : the Royal
Armoury, Skokloster Castle and Hallwyl House’, by Lisen Tamm.
* ‘A bug’s life : why small animals live in big museum objects – and what to do’, by
Eva-Sofi Ernstell, head of the Collections and Research Department at the Royal
Armoury, Stockholm.
* ‘The Military-Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps [St.
Petersburg]: the oldest military museum of Russia’, paper by Dr. Valery M. Krylov,
director, read by Svetlana Uspenskaya.
* ‘Arms and equipment of the Viking Age’, by Prof.Dr. Irmelin Martens and Prof.Dr.
Evabeth Astrup, archaeologists, University of Oslo.

Note:
These presentations were alternately chaired by Rolf Scheen, Dr. Claude Gaier, Jan Piet Puype and Carl Olsson. Our Norwegian colleagues tell us that they are now preparing the official Proceedings of the Oslo conference in which all these papers will be printed. An adapted version of this newsletter has been sent to Mr Carl Olsson.

Announcements (Tuesday 11 June)
- ‘The involvement of the Imperial War Museum and the Royal Armouries Museum in the discussions about the international legislation of small arms, and the future involvement of IAMAM/Icomam in this’, by David Penn (IWM) and Guy Wilson (RAM). (see paragraph 14 above)
- ‘An outline of the developing partnership between the Royal Armouries Museum and the new Frazier Arms Museum due to open in Louisville, Kentucky (U.S.A.) in April 2004’, by Guy Wilson (RAM) and Walter J. Karcheski, Jr. (FAM).
- ‘An outline of the (federal) Swiss Army Museum, due to open soon’, by Rudi
Roth, curator of technology (SAM).



18. Final goodbye by Dr. Claude Gaier

In his final goodbye speech, the former president stated among other things that he had always found it a privilege to work for IAMAM and that he hoped that it could, as ‘Icomam’, continue its important work. The new president Guy Wilson thanked Dr Gaier for all he had done and in particular for his presidency which he has always carried out with style and amicability.

(The general assembly was formally closed by the former president.)


POSTSCRIPT
During the Oslo congress the idea came up to honour Claude Gaier with a suitable award for his many years of unflinching leadership. The new president suggested that a sword of honour
be commissioned with a fitting inscription on it. This sword is now being produced under the supervision of the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. It will be ready during the fall of 2002 and will be officially presented to Dr. Gaier at the Stockholm symposium in March 2003. During the Oslo congress a collection was held among the delegates to bring together the amount of money needed for the manufacture of the sword. We are happy to acknowledge that their generosity produced an impressive amount of money, but it was unfortunately not enough to pay for the sword.

Therefore we suggest each of you who were not present in Oslo, but who are sympathetic to this idea, to contribute and send an amount of 10 Pounds Sterling, or the equivalent in U.S. dollars or euros, to the secretary general (address, see below). To avoid bureaucracy and extra cost, the easiest way is to send the money in an envelope and make sure that it consists only of bank notes.
If you must pay via the bank, then send the amount in Euros to the account number
35 81 696 of: J.P. Puype, address: Frans Halskade 199, NL-2282 TX Ryswyk, Netherlands. Bank: Postbank, address: P.O.B. 1800, NL-1000 BV Amsterdam, Netherlands. SWITCH code: IGB NL 52A. Please mark the transfer: ‘Present Claude Gaier’.



Important addresses

President: Mr Guy M. WILSON, Director, Royal Armouries Museum, Armouries Drive, Leeds, LS10 1LT, U.K. Tel.: ..44-113-220 19 03 (general No.: …44-113-220 19 99), Fax: …44-113-220 19 95.
E-mail: guy.wilson@armouries.org.uk

Secretary General: Jan Piet PUYPE, Senior Curator, Legermuseum, Korte Geer 1, NL-2611 GA Delft, Netherlands. Tel.: …31-15-215 05 75 (general No.: …31-15-215 05 00) or …31-70-319 39 92 or …31-6-534 30 710.
E-mail: jppuype@hotmail.com or j.puype@legermuseum.nl

IAMAM Website: www.klm-mra.be/ICOMAM/index.htm
IAMAM webmaster: Piet de GRYSE, Curator, Royal Army Museum, Jubelpark 3, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.
E-mail: piet.de.gryse@klm-mra.be



Attachments to this issue:
(1) Regulations of the Justus Lipsius Award
(2) IAMAM Policy for Safeguarding the World Heritage of Small Arms and Light Weapons
(3) IAMAM List of Members
(4) Pre-registration form for Icomam XVII Canada.