Master dissertation topic!

[LizardKing]

Hello all!

I am currently a student here in the UK for my Master's course...
Time has come for me to pick my dissertation topic and of course it will be something related to the Second World War as my course is Museum Studies.
For my last assignment the topic was 'An acquisition proposal' done for the Imperial War Museum which hypothetically was about to buy a Me109 Hispano, the one used in the movie 'Battle of Britain' and the last one that Adolf Galland flew with.
It was marked with a very high mark and I got a distinction for that proposal.
My tutors told me that I could do something similar for my dissertation so I would like some ideas...

- I would love some directions as to where to search for really special WW2 items on sale (unique ones someone might say)
- Any other ideas regarding the topic of the dissertation (the contributors will be acknowledged if they agree)
- I wouldn't like to write about the red phone...
- An acquisition proposal for a Victoria Cross sounds good...
- I am looking for items that can be researched in depth in every aspect (use, materials, meaning, units, battlefields used, development, conservation, display etc etc)


Any and all ideas would be highly appreciated and as I mentioned before the one/ones that contribute would be acknowledged in my 'thanks to...' page!


Thank you very much people!!

Mike

[37Webbing]

Well, hello fellow master student!

There is several things I might consider, if I was in the same situation:
1) Personal items?
E.g. Churchill's snuffbox sold for more than £14.000 and Mussolini´s "Order Of Courage" sold for more than £74.000. I remember that items from the hands of several WWII generals and dignitaries have been sold in recent years, and with the help of a little "google-fu" you might be able to dig something up.
2) If it is VC´s you are looking for, the VC of Private Edward Kenna of the Australian 2/4th Battalion sold for £335.000 in 2011. A quick Google search should turn up a lot of information.

Contact high-end auction houses. They might turn you down, but the worst answer you can get is "no" - and in recent years, most of the more expensive items have been sold at auction houses in North America and the UK.

Good luck!

[robin morley]

Hi Mike, Just finished my Ba Hons in history and beginning my Masters after the summer.

I believe a thesis based on the sale of high end items attributed to important personalities but with dubious/scurrilous provenance would be of interest. Consideration could be given to why despite their disputed provenance collectors and museums still purchase said items. A search of this and other forums should provide suitable examples.

[LizardKing]

Sorry for the late response people! After a discussion I had with my tutor we decided to go for the connection between the city of Leicester and the Battle of Crete. Two very important places for me since the first one is the city where I'm currently studying and the second is where I'm from! I decided not to go for the acquisition one since I already did something similar in the past and I wanted to explore something new!
But thank you for your ideas!!!