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This switcher only changes the instructions — the reading is always in English.
In bold: key vocabulary. Tap any word in the text to see its definition.
Ms. Eleanor Okonkwo, Director, Hartwell Maritime Museum, 12 Quay Street. 14 September. Dear Ms. Okonkwo, I am writing to apply for the position of Head of Collections, advertised in the Museums Journal on 2 September. I enclose my curriculum vitae and the names of two referees, as requested.
My professional qualifications are set out in the attached document, but I would like to highlight three points. First, I hold a master's degree in conservation and have spent eleven years working with fragile objects, including charts, instruments, and ship models. Second, I have managed small teams and a limited budget, and I am accustomed to the discipline that both require. Third, I can write a catalogue entry in which every date is correct, which, in my experience, is rarer than it should be.
I should also be candid about the ways in which I am a less conventional candidate. I have never held a title more senior than Assistant Conservator, and I recognize that there may be applicants with longer lists of publications. If the committee is seeking a prominent figure, I am not that person. If it is seeking someone who would care for the collection with an attention that cannot be taught, I believe I am.
I should also declare an interest. For the last nine years, I have been the night guard at your museum. I have walked the galleries between ten and six, and there is no person alive who has spent more hours with the collection in silence. I know which display case hums when the heating comes on, and which painting looks different in the light of a full moon. I know that the brass sextant in case fourteen has been losing two minutes a week since March, and that nobody has noticed.
I do not write this to claim a privilege. I write it because it would have felt dishonest to hide it, and because I hope that nine years of close observation might be considered a form of qualification. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss how the museum's collections might be better cared for, and I am available for interview at any time that suits the committee.
Yours sincerely, Tomás Varga, Night Guard. P.S. The third window in the east gallery sticks in wet weather. I have never reported it, because it is the one I open, on the last night of each month, to listen to the harbor.
