The Doctor Who Merchandise Museum
Wednesday, 2 November 2016 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who historian David J Howe has launched a project to raise money for the establishment of a Doctor Who Merchandise Museum. Since the seventies, David J Howe has been collecting merchandise, magazines, original costumes, artwork and props and now arguably holds the biggest collection of 'Doctor Who' merchandise and memorabilia in the world. His dream is to launch a museum in which to display and share his collection.
Howe already has premises just outside Sleaford in Lincolnshire, but now needs to raise money via an Indiegogo fundraiser to equip and display the items in the museum.
Since I was young, I've always wanted to be able to display and share my collection with others. And a couple of years ago, we got the opportunity to buy the premises, which was always the sticking point ... where to house the items! Now we have that, we need to pay for the floor, walls, ceiling and electrics to be sorted out, as well as some groundworks outside, security, and fixtures and fittings. There's a lot to do, but hopefully, with everyone's help we'll be able to get it done!
Howe aims to be able to launch the Museum in the summer of 2018. It's a private museum, so people can't just turn up unannounced. But we intend to hold open days, and special events where folks can book to come and see the collection. We may also be able to accommodate pre-booked showings as well. If this all goes well, then who knows what opportunities might be afforded going forward. I'd love to see merchandise launches taking place at the Museum, and talks by the people who produce the toys and games ... there's all sorts of things we could do.
As part of the fundraising there are a number of perks which people can buy, which include: exclusive invitations to the Launch Day, private dinners with Howe and his wife, the novelist Sam Stone; dinner with Doctor Who actor Frazer Hines; and lunch with Star Trek's Chase Masterson in LA. Other perks include special signed proof pages from one of Howe's books and bundles of goodies donated by Doctor Who Author Richard Dinnick. At the end of the day, Doctor Who and its merchandise are intrinsicly linked together. They have run hand in hand for fifty three years now, and there have been many tens of thousands of items produced and released tying in with the show. I have a great many of these items and I enjoy sharing my love and passion for the merchandise with others, so being able to have a permanent exhibition is a dream come true!
The Indiegogo runs until the end of the year, and full details can be found online 
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