A mystery donation to the Musée Héritage Museum has added a welcome artifact to its current exhibit but it’s also facing a bureaucratic hurdle.

Museum staff got a surprise last Monday when someone left the old sign from Victor Post Studios during the facility’s off hours. The museum is in its final weeks of displaying Catching the Light: the Life and Photography of Victor Post, a renowned St. Albert photographer who died in 2001.

“One of our staff went out later in the afternoon and found (the sign) leaning against the door,” explained curator Joanne White.

While the sign is sizable, no one paid any attention to the individual who left the gift. White admitted that she hadn’t yet checked with security at St. Albert Place.

“The thing is, even if we knew what they looked like, we still wouldn’t necessarily be able to contact them.”

She further added that she is very pleased with the gift, especially since the sign is in very good shape. But there is one problem, one big, red-tape problem. The anonymity of the donor puts a snag in the process for formal acquisition of an artifact.

“It just makes it difficult for us because when it’s not signed over to us, technically we don’t legally own it,” White said.

She implored the mystery donor to call her back at the museum at 780-459-1528 to provide further information and get the ball rolling toward that formal acquisition.

The Victor Post exhibit features numerous images from a recently-acquired collection along with details from Post’s fascinating and extraordinary life.

The Victor Post Studio sign is already on the wall, making it the newest attraction at the museum.

The show runs until Sunday, March 31.

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