For history's sake I would say your trip was not a bust at all.
Indeed.
Of course we still don't know whether the print will yield new information but the way we were able to track down and get access to the best existing image is a classic example of TIGHAR's research capabilities.
• A TIGHAR member and Forum lurker, entirely on his own initiative, spotted the Leonard Albasi/Gill Family collection of photos in the University of Miami archive during an on-line search for anything relating to Earhart in Miami.
• Another TIGHAR member and active Forum contributor, entirely on his own initiative, hired a student at the university to look at the collection. The student took some photos from which we were able to see that the photos were of interest. The TIGHAR member then paid to have the university send hi-res copies of the photos.
• From the hi-res photos it was apparent that one of the photos showed the freshly installed patch on a day prior to the June 1 departure but it was also apparent that the negative had been scanned incorrectly and it was not all clear whether the university had original material or copies.
• A research trip to Miami was clearly needed and TIGHAR members responded with contributions that made the trip possible.
• The trip to the archive revealed that the best the university had was a copy-negative of the original print. The resolution of this 3rd generation image was not sufficient to extract new information.
• The research team correctly reasoned that the name of the collection implied that a married daughter of Leonard Albasi held the original photos.
• Forum researchers quickly located the daughter. A phone call from TIGHAR's executive director connected with the daughter's husband who said that the daughter had given the photos to her own daughter. He agreed to pass along the TIGHAR phone number and a request that his daughter, Mr. Albasi's grandaughter, call us.
• The daughter/grandaughter phoned that same day. She confirmed that she has the original prints and she was familiar with TIGHAR's investigation. TIGHAR's credibility led her to agree to loan this treasured family item.
None of us could have done this on our own but the combination of TIGHAR's network of talented volunteer researchers, our willingness to follow up on hunches, our members who are willing to fund needed on-site research, and TIGHAR's high and credible public profile combined to give us access of never-before tapped resources.