Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello,
I am on a visit to japan and last saturday I went to the john lennon museum near tokyo.
If anybody has some questions about the guitars or anything let me know. the knowledge is still "fresh". I was not allowed to take any pictures though.
regards
ronald

Was it museum policy that no cameras were allowed?

yes that is correct, I asked anyway but it was not allowed. In the end in the museum shop you could by a catalogue with all the pics in it, that is probably why. The rics and casino were the real ones the les paul I believe also but the acoustic epiphone I had my doubts.
It was a nice museum though, well worth the visit.

I wonder why no picture taking was allowed unless it was to sell catalogues.

Probably one (or a combination) of three reasons:

1. Preservation concerns (i.e., ensuring the physical integrity of historically significant items-the major priority of any professional and reputable heritage organization). Light damage is a serious preservation concern to photos and textual records though I don't know how well this applies to the other artefactual materials that are housed in the museum. Handling of any collection items is also THE major preservation concern for any museum or archives. It is a slippery slope from allowing people to photograph from afar to giving access to magazines, promo companies, TV stations, etc. that want to come in and set up a special shoot that involve extensive handling and manipulation of the collection.

2. Intellectual property rights (copyright)- Copyright issues might be involved.

3. Donor agreements - Museums and archives negotiate donation agreements to acquire collections that stipulate ownership, terms of use, access to items, duplication permissions, copyright permissions, etc. A donor is free to impose any limitations on access and duplication that they see fit. Limitations that are too prohibitive or onerous are, of course, taken into account when a museum or archives acquires a given collection. So, the restrictions on photographing could also have been stipulated by the donor (who might impose such conditions for a number of reasons, such as ensuring they retain control over commercial copies).

If I were donating a significant collection of any kind, I would be highly suspect to give it to any organization that did not have policies in place that carefully defined copying of any kind. Any serious organization should have these. The fact that the JL museum in Japan takes its custodial responsibilities seriously makes me feel better that future generations will have access to this stuff. A good thing, no?

How is the "Miami" 325 displayed? Is it hung by the neck, supported under the body? There is some controversy that the headstock is in danger of coming off. Did you notice the break in the neck just near the nut at all? Can you see the jackplate serial number at all (DB122)?

I was at the museum three years ago. DB122 was in a glass case and you could walk around it and see it from all sides. The break behind the nut didn't look that bad, definitely not in danger of it coming off. The set list had a clear plastic cover over the tape to keep that from falling off. You couldn't get down to see the serial number on the jackplate. V81 you could see from the front but it also had mirrors allowing you to see the back and also you could clearly see number V81 on the jackplate. This guitar was in great shape with a lot of room for adjustment on the bow-tie bridge(it was set high). It was refretted not too long before Lennon retired it so the frets and fretboard were in great shape. Considering how much it was played from the fall of 1960 to spring of 1964, the condition looked excellent and it looked ready to rock for another ten years!

Thanks Larry! It must be an awesome experience to view the holy grail of guitars - both of them!

From a news story about the 24th anniversary of Lennon's death - finally a new angle on V81

Thanks for posting that Daniel, awesome! Thanks Douglas, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, thanks to a great friend in Japan(Manabu).

It gives me a bit of sadness to see V81 in this photo. It looks kind of out of context. I can remember watching him play it on Ed Sullivan when it was black and gold. Now it's a different color, with the wrong guard, sitting there, and John is long gone. The strong lighting is a bit odd, too.

Paul, I'm also stuck with an empty feeling as I look at her. To think of where she has been, and the music she made, to now sit abandoned on a rather pedestrian guitar stand, seems very sad.

Almost appears to have died and been embalmed.

Not to mention the fact that V81's half a world away in Tokyo.

She should take it out of that display (coffin) and send it on a world tour. Let people play it for about 5 seconds and charge them $10 a pop. The money could go to charity. Just don't let Pete Townsend play it!!!!!

Just imagine how much could be raised!

Then, it should be brought back to either England because that John's birthplace of to the USA because that the 325's birthplace.

Just a thought....but I'm not holding my breath.

There has to be a reason that Japan got the C-Series before we did!