Virginian Calendar

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

The suggestion that we do an all-VGN calendar is a good one, but there are several considerations, including those mentioned by Mason Cooper. The first is the size of the potential market. We have to print a significant number of each calendar to bring the unit cost down while still meeting sales expectations. It is very doubtful that the market for an all-VGN calendar would be large enough to make such a project viable. Unfortunately, when the Society has done VGN projects, the response has been relatively weak. So our belief is that while VGN fans are passionate, the market for VGN material is relatively small.

The second factor is the size and scope of the VGN photo collection. Having been through the Society's collections several times in putting the calendar projects together, I do not believe there are enough distinct VGN B&W images available to us to sustain a 15-image product each year. Many of the photos in our collection came from the Bob's Photos collection and Bob has been doing his own series of booklets on the VGN with his collection. While Bob has permitted us to use selected photos from his collection from time to time, I don't think he would let us use a lot of them to produce printed material. 

No one would like to see VGN projects more than me, but the practical issues are real. Perhaps we might do a few VGN photo sets if there is sufficient interest.

Bill McClure