I'll go for it, Rob, but not until I get down to Florida for good. I already have too much stuff to ship. You can get an idea of what my photographic library is like by going to http://www.russ-lewis.com/Bib/Bib.html. (I know you've already been there.) There are a bunch of books not in that bibliography because they cover the same ground as the ones I've listed. Then there's my complete Winston Churchill, starting with A Roving Commission and including his not all that great novel, Savrola. Plus a huge set on the U.S. Civil War, plus a huge set on the Vietnam war. Plus a couple shelves of poetry.
The logistics of horror, Russ!
I remember our similar situation coming here, and we did it all by air, over several trips using and reusing five suitcases. It's good to have one or two travel company clients sometimes! Excess baggage? Us? Of course not!
Our pooch came the same way, not in a suitcase, but in a huge wooden crate built to RSPCA specs. The dog being an alsabrador, the cage was not small; she was put into the heated and pressurised (forward?) hold. When she arrived in Palma, where my wife was waiting, they put the crate onto the baggage conveyor belt, and the entire wooden zoo arrived in front of all those people awaiting luggage. My daughter was on the flight too, not in the hold, of course, and she obviously couldn't lift the thing off the belt, so staff took it down and released the dog into my daughter's care, nobody willing or able to tackle the cage itself.
Offspring and pooch duly arrived at the customs desk, where papers were clearly required. We had all of these, of course, but on seeing my wife standing a few metres beyond the customs desk, she barked, squatted and started to pee with excitement (it had been an unusual experience for the dog, you know) and the
guardia civil, expecting worse to come from the pooch, shooed daughter and dog through without looking at any papers at all.
We have no idea what became of the beautifully-made cage; someone suggested it may have found its way to one of those 18-30 holiday companies as bargain accommodation; who knows?
Fortunately, I was still behind in Britain working on something, and the ladies handled everything far better and more smoothly than could I.
Rob C