• A Patrimony Tax Credit
  • A Whole New Industry






    A "family heirloom" is anything acquired from ancestors that stimulates memories or triggers an emotional response. When these family "treasures" are restored or preserved, they link the past to the present and usher us into the future.

    The narratives invoked by the presence of these items add not only to our personal worth - and indeed many of these items do have significant monetary value - but they also lend us an invaluable record of remembered images, escapades, occasions and even family legends.

    In reminding us of the past, these objects enable us to do a better job of chronicling the underpinnings of our culture. We better understand our own lives in this expanded tracery of history. Even the most insignificant item often reveals scenarios so steeped in memory that a special value and even a sense of "pricelessness" accrues.


    The "Patrimony Tax Credit", enacted into law, would fund tax credits for those who decide to conserve and restore their family's keepsake pieces. It offers an incentive in a context where all too often our family's heritage is been left to molder and decay, relegated to oblivion because the cost of repair is far too high. The Patrimony Tax Credit is a crucial step in insuring that this heritage will not slip into obscurity or oblivion.
    To be sure, the process of professional restoration can be expensive, requiring care and infinite patience. Delicate restorations cannot be executed haphazardly, but must be carried out in accordance with traditional standards, a careful eye for detail, and knowledge of and respect for the techniques of the period and the culture from whence the piece has come.

    When measured purely in dollars, many of the pieces requiring this work do not warrant the expenditure. Indeed, the necessities of daily life in our expensive world often stop families from making the investment required to preserve such items. Again, the Patrimony Tax Credit would enable citizens to make these investments by offsetting some of the expense entailed in professional restoration and preservation.

    This tax credit must, of necessity, be structured and limited to prevent abuse. It also should be graduated to make it accessible to people of all income levels.

    Such a law would make tangible a new set of ideas and create jobs. It would vastly stimulate an important service sector, and new taxable revenues from these businesses ultimately would offset any loss the credit might mean in government revenues. In a sense, the Patrimony Tax Credit would make perceived value real - and taxable.

    		 Because we live in a time of rapid cultural and technological change, it is more important than ever to fight to maintain our personal and cultural heirlooms. With the next millenium upon us and the world in the grip of the Information Age, we risk losing our pasts to the wildfire of disposability that is part and parcel of this modern era. We all have museums of the heart. It is up to us as a society to promote excavations of our cellars in an effort to stock the shelves of our homes with tangible remembrances of the histories that influence the present day - and the future.

    FOR MILLENIA

    Throughout history, monarchs and the noble classes have had public support for the preservation of their patrimonies, from stately residences to fabulous collections of art, antiques and family memorabilia. It is time for everyone in our modern, democratic society to enjoy these patrimonial privileges: After all, this sort of preservation plays an important role in reminding us of the connections that shape our lives and that will surround and support future generations.

    The Patrimony Tax Credit is good news for those concerned about passing on their family histories and the values they embody to children and grandchildren who will be forced to navigate through the turbulence of the coming age. Through this legislation, professional restoration and preservation will be made readily available to people of all income levels who are serious about investing in their heritage.




    A WHOLE

    NEW

    INDUSTRY

    IS WAITING

    TO BE

    DISCOVERED.

    PLAN ON

    BEING

    PART OF

    IT.

    		 Call it a rescue mission. Or call it recycling. Think of it as a way of preserving memories. Call it good news. Think of it as a way to stimulate demand and generate employment. Think of it as something almost all of us have in common.

    A fascinating universal trend is developing today: The reclamation of revered family heirlooms, keepsakes and personal mementos. Everyone cherishes at least one and gives it a place of honor as a way of keeping in touch with family tradition.

    It's refreshing because after years of accepting the throw-away mentality as normal, we now seem to be embracing an appreciation of things past. Maybe it's because they represent shared happy experiences.

    Treasured heirlooms need a helping hand to season gracefully; they just can't last forever without help. Professional restoration is a delicate art requiring special knowledge, patience and skills, including an awareness of the techniques and culture of the period to make sure the artifact will be preserved ethically and possibly reflect the way it was remembered. Proper restoration is considered an investment that yields the best interest to be cherished beyond a lifetime.

    J. Rickford's Poor Richard's Preservation Studio has been preserving and restoring valuable treasures and valued trinkets for more than 25 years. We ply our skills and artistry on behalf of modest families as well as for art and antique dealers, corporations and institutions.

    We have captured the essence of our art in an audio-visual presentation that has been seen by audiences as diverse as professional and business groups, clubs and civic organizations. Our mission is to create an awareness of the value of knowing the past and the satisfaction gained from passing family histories and treasures from generation to generation.

    The message is spreading. Hopefully it will encourage others, creating a desire and demand for restoration services and benefits on a national scale. The opportunities will occur on many levels. A need to train new artisans and technicians will be the first. As a result, manufacturers will benefit from the increased demand for specialty products used in the projects. And in the end the greatest rewards will belong to those who preserved their patrimony.