Electric Map Sold

[Rob9641]

The electric map has been sold at auction for $14,000: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/09/14/us/ap-us-gettysburg-electric-map.html?hp

 

[pamc153PA]

Wow, it's about time! Wonder who bought it, and what they do with it next?

 

[reading48]

Thats great....but now what are they going to do with it. being a health hazard....

 

[prroh]

It sis a joke. When I first saw it in 1962 it was laughably outdated. It is also loaded with asbestos.

 

[CivilWarTalk]

I actually enjoyed the map, and I miss it. It wasn't perfect, and asbestos an issue, but still a good educational tool.

 

[Dugger]

I thought it was cool but it was a already relic years ago when I first saw it.

 

[Bonny Blue Flag]

I saw it and was quite taken with the "aerial view" of the battlefield and troop positions.

The lighting for the camp fires was neat.

Cheesy? Yes. Informative and educational? You bet.

--BBF

 

[pamc153PA]

The asbestos was only really an issue when it was taken apart. Asbestos when encapsulated and not floating around in the air to be breathed in is not really an issue. I know--our house was built in 1923 and until this summer had asbestos composite shingles on it.

The map was cheesy and old. But so was the old VC. I still miss them both!

 

[hoosier]

$14,000 is a lot more than I thought it would go for.

I heard that less than 24 hours before the deadline for the end of the auction, the high bid was $10. That's right - one measly sawbuck.

 

[Dugger]

It deseved a soldiers death. They shoulda put it out in the middle of the field of Picketts charge and destroyed it honorably with artillery fire. Hmmmmm....erase! Asbestos would have gone flying everywhere. Bad idea. Sorry.

 

[JRJ]

Having seen this as a child I loved it. I think I dated my visit as 2003, which wasn't a super long time ago. This and the diorama were probably my favorite "indoor" attractions.

 

[Pvt.Shattuck]

I grew up in Baltimore and probably first saw the Electric Map in 1959 or 60 with my family, then on school field trips, and finally as an adult on occasional visits to Gettysburg. The map was a familiar old friend and I was sad to hear of it's demise. A relic? Absolutely, but it definitely played a part in my lifelong interest in the Civil War. The map captured my imagination in a more innocent era, that is no more.

That's me with Mom and Dad.

 

[unicornforge]

Well, the new owners are planning on installing it a couple of towns over in Hanover, into an old bank building just off the town's square. Just ignore the town characters.... er, ah what I mean is the actors portraying homeless, drug dealers and other creative personalities that would add character to the town if they were real and not actors. ;-)