Profit over Preservation

We've run into all sorts of barriers when it comes to convincing the public that we want to preserve their photographs as part of Greenville's historic record--some understandable concerns, some irrational. Apparently profit is one of them too. Found a collection of great photos of old Greenville in a consignment shop for sale ($100+ each!). 

Also, there's another issue with this particular photograph. You can't retroactively actively apply copyright to an image or take a photo of a photo (aka "slavish copy") and claim a new copyright. The (c) 1980 is most likely invalid. Mostly likely the copyright expired, at the latest, 2010, if the circa 1890 is to be believed.