Donate Artifacts

Yes, public donation of historic items enables us to tell the Mueller story with the enrichment of multiple perspectives. Hieronymus Mueller Museum actively accepts objects into the collection within the scope of its mission, and we invite you to contact us about prospective donations.

We collect items considered historically significant to the Mueller family, Mueller Co., and Mueller employees. Other criteria includes:

• Must assist in interpreting Mueller history
• Must not already have multiple representations in the museum collection
• Must be in better condition than similar items currently present in the collection
• May have unique attributes
• The museum must be able to properly store and care for the material.

Ideally, we would like to know where, when, and by whom the item(s) were used.

For example, the museum has multiple unused copies of the W96 Mueller Catalog in excellent condition, so another new-from-box copy of W96 would not be accessioned into the collection. However, a copy of W96 with a named salesmen’s additional notes and addendums would be considered for the collection.

Some items the museum is currently seeking include a Mueller/Crown roller skate, 50 year service pins, Mueller Soda Fountain Fixture catalog, and non-English Mueller catalogs.

It is best to contact museum staff about items before mailing or leaving them on museum property, especially if you have concerns or requirements for the object being part of the museum’s collection. The museum is not obligated to return, keep, or accession potential donations not formally accepted by museum staff.

Unsolicited donations will be reviewed and possibly removed from the museum as best determined by staff.

We wish we could accept any and all donations, however the museum must balance storage capacity, staff, and resources to maintain the collection.

Formally accepting/accessioning items into the museum’s collection is a legal and ethical commitment the museum makes to preserve and care for an item for the duration of the museum’s existence. Except for a deaccession process, the museum dedicates time, effort, and money to fulfill this mission so that history may be preserved for countless years to come and so donors feel secure that items will be well cared for.

To make the best use of our resources, we are selective in adding to an already extensive collection. Our focus is on filling gaps in our collection. Of course, we are always happy to have anything new that helps us tell a more complete story about the Mueller family and company they founded.

Once everyone agrees to accession an item into the collection and it is at the museum, the donor and museum staff do a final review of the artifact, make note of its historical information, and complete the necessary paperwork for the accession. All of this typically takes less than 15 minutes.

The donor will complete a Gift Agreement which certifies the item(s) is theirs to give to the museum and transfers all right, title, and interest in the item to the museum.

No. Items that have been formally accepted into the Hieronymus Mueller Museum cannot be returned to the donor or their descendants. At the end of the donation process, donors sign a Deed of Gift, which legally transfers ownership of the item(s) as well as all associated rights and interests, to the museum. This is standard best practice for museums.

While the museum may solicit loaned items for specific temporary and short term exhibit projects, we do not accept long term or permanent loans.

Long term and permanent loans impose a significant administrative burden on the museum, and it is contrary to best practices as advocated by the American Alliance of Museums.

The museum accepts restricted donations on a case-by-case basis. Feel free to discuss possible restrictions with museum staff. Some common restrictions include:

Acceptable

• Including donor’s name when exhibited
• Personal information (social security numbers, current address, etc.) not be visible when presented publicly

Not acceptable

• Must always be on display
• Keep a collection together in perpetuity
• Never deaccession
• Return object to donor’s heirs if deaccessioned

The museum collects for many different purposes.

• It professionally preserves material for future generations.
• It presents donations in current or future exhibits – however items may not always be on display.
• It makes material available for research or for loan to other qualified institutions.
• It uses some material for hands-on education or demonstrations. Any handling of objects by the public is limited to a specially designated Educational Collection.

What visitors don’t see on display is just as important as what they do. Items in the museum collection enrich our understanding of Mueller history, even if they are not on permanent display.

The Museum allows, within reason, individual donors to include what they want the credit to read. For example, “Gift of Mr. Bob Smith, Jr.” or “Donated in Memory of Bob Smith, Sr.”

No. The Internal Revenue Service considers such activity by a 501c(3) a conflict of interest. 

Deaccessioning is the process of formally removing an object from the museum’s permanent collection. Deaccessioning is only performed if an item is found to be outside of the museum’s mission, redundant, or reasons surrounding physical integrity of the object. Because we work so hard to ensure an item is fit for the museum before accessioning, deaccessioning is a very rare process.

Museum policy requires that more than one person is responsible for the process of deaccessioning, and deaccessions must be approved by the museum’s board of directors.

As per best practices in museums and to prevent bias, deaccessioned objects may not be given or sold to museum staff, volunteers, board members, or their representatives.