Sure they can. If all the Craftsman collectors with catalogs and regional variations and Christmas supplements etc etc etc uploaded scans to a centralized location, then everyone would have access to everything, including the publications they did not have in their personal collection. And serious collectors and other marginal researchers (such as me) could collectively conduct research and analysis from the same baseline.
Have you ever been to
www.collectingsnapon.com? It has scans of pretty much every known Snap-on catalog or supplement or brochure etc from 1925 to the late 1990's, and it's cross-referenced by part number for querying. Frank Murch, who established the website, did not own them all. Many Snap-on collectors contributed scans of their catalogs. They all still own the original catalogs as collector's items, retaining the monetary value in the actual paper publication, but sharing the digital versions for information purposes.
Just an idea.
Going back to the video topic. I'm not a video guy (watching or creating), so I am not your target audience, GW, but I agree with you that the state of antique and vintage tools research has never been more vibrant, in my experience, than the last few years.
As you may or mat not know, I'm notoriously hard on AA (for not sharing the catalogs in their library, so that many minds could converge on their analysis in conjunction with catalogs they do
not have in their library, and for not accepting outside research that would improve their analysis and the accuracy of their information), but it was real shot in the arm to the entire community, and deserves credit for that.
The original Tools Archive attempted to remedy the catalog access issue by providing open and free access to scanned versions of all its catalogs, generously donated by members, many from right here on GJ, by providing studies that Todd or I or others published on a variety of subjects, and by providing an interactive comments field where collectors and research could collectively dialogue on topics of mystery or debate. Alas, it's a tough thing to keep going as a sideline, and TA 2.0 has been even tougher.
I wish we had a
www.collectingsnapon.com type site for Craftsman.
To be honest, though, by hook and by crook, despite the forum-based topology, and with the help - I like to think, of the Stickie Index, GJ is still the best source for tools research information, in my opinion. It has a bunch of active, helpful collectors (for empirical examples), it's the only place to find the stuff you can't find on AA, it acts as a sort of nexus and conduit to outside sources, including sites where catalogs are uploaded, and several members are doing studies and deep dives right here now.
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