Rediscoveries proposal.

[John Green]

Over the last few weeks or months,the following have been rediscovered:
23 watercolours by Welsh artist Gwen John.Found in the archives at Princton University.
An early version of Francis Frith's painting 'Derby Day'.Kept in an unlocked beach-house for half a century,it's just sold for half a million pounds.
A short sketch by Harold Pinter,written for a review in 1960,and unseen since.
2 missing Doctor Who episodes returned to the archives.


Surely there's a TV show in this,even if only monthly,like the Sky at Night? Not just about specific TV shows,such as Dad's Army and Who,but anything which arouses interest?How about roadshows similar to Antiques Roadshow,with the focus less on value,and more on those things which the experts call 'of very little actual value,but certainly very interesting''.
Surely someone could be employed to actually search through the archives for gems? Appeals could be made for specific things-I'd love Orwell's typescript for Nineteen-Eighty Four to turn up.It was auctioned off for charity in the 59s and has vanished-with lots of fanfare when they turn up.
No reason the BBC couldn't do this,and the sooner the better.

[Ian Watlington]

jgree said:

No reason the BBC couldn't do this,and the sooner the better.

Write up a formal proposal and send it to them... we can't commission TV programmes here...

[John Green]

Thanks.I'm hoping to hear what other people think.
I'm sure I should have said that a section would cover television shows.

[Simon B Kelly]

This page appears to give more information on how to go about submitting your proposal:

www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/pitching-ideas/ideas-from-the-public.shtml

Sounds like a great idea. If it was just about TV shows then I guess it could be called "Missing Episodes"... or if, as you suggest, it covers a wider selection of recovered items, them how about "Lost and Found"?

[John Green]

There is (or was.It looks moribund) a website called The Museum of Missing History dedicated by retreiving lost artifacts.No sign of Pekin Man though,a fossil that got lost between China and the museum.Reminds one of Doctor Who.At least it's not Piltdown Man,which was a fake.
Wouldn't it be great to have a synergy,with fans supporting each other,so that for instance if a loco fan (if you see what I mean) found footage from one of the early TV Railway Children,he wouldn't discard it because it had featured no engines.One man's meat and all that.
I'm sure a lot of this already goes on,I just wonder if there's a more formal way of going about it such as the exchanging of 'wants' lists?

[Ash Stewart]

Dec 24, 2011 21:46:21 GMT John Green said:

I'd love Orwell's typescript for Nineteen-Eighty Four to turn up. It was auctioned off for charity in the 59s and has vanished.

Then prepare to be happy; it hasn't vanished. A facsimile of it was published in the 80s. It's not that tricky to get hold of. I've got one (bought in the last year) just a few feet from me right now.

[Now pulled down from shelf...]

Originally auctioned by Orwell's widow on June 11th 1952, for £50. Changed hands a couple of times, and ended up in 1969 with its owner [at least in 1984 itself], Daniel G Siegel, who paid $5,000 for it.

Edit; now housed in the Brown University Library, Providence.

[John Green]

Yes,but really.Well.I mean...
Wow.No,I didn't know that.My information came from (I believe) a recent article in the now-defunct Book and Magazine Collector.Not scholarly by any means,and I thought it was getting pretty second-rate before it was cancelled.
Thank you for telling me.I've recently been reading Orwell's last volume of Letters,etc.,including his statements about having to type the ms. himself.
Now,if there'd been proper coverage in the media,perhaps a TV show covering rediscoveries...
Seriously,I'm a Who fan,of course,but missed coverage about The Day of Armeggedon being found.I thought The Lion was the most recent find.There does seem to have been much more attention paid this time.
I must see if I can find a nice second-hand copy of the 1984 script.
Perhaps this means that Dickens' notes on the ending of Edwin Drood (if he made any) will surface.
Or have they already?