Somewhere in my association with various Rootsweb mailing lists I have seen a mail where it advises us most imploringly to please not touch gravestones with even water to help conserve them. Unfortunately I cannot find this mail in my folders but I thought it extremely sensible advice even if a bit frustrating when we find a gravestone we really want to be able to read. I believe there is a site with advise about this too which may be worth trying to find before you start spraying stones with shaving cream. My thoughts are it would be a better idea to simply spray, lightly with water or wait for a shower of rain ~ the stones are easier to read when wet. Terry Jackson in Oxfordshire Researching: Lancs: SMITH, HATTON, FISHER,HAYES, JACKSON, GOLDSMITH, MCDONNELL Ches. MCDONNELL, HOOLEY, GARNER, HUDSON, Staffs: GARNER Surrey: WILKINSON, PUNTER, PARROTT, BINFIELD, LITTLE, FRY, ARNOLD, EARLE, ELKINS, ==== FreeBMD-Admins Mailing List ==== Looking to volunteer? http://FreeBMD.RootsWeb.com/Vol_instructions.html ----- Original Message ----- From: alberta callender <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 11:25 AM Subject: [IP] Re NAntinan Graveyard Inscriptions > These are very hard to read. Graveyard researchers > might like to know that if they spray the wording with > Shaving Cream and then wipe it off - say with a > handful of grass - the white will stay in the wording > and they can be read. The next shower of rain cleans > it away. It really works - try it! Berta Callender > > ____________________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk > or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie > > > ==== IRL-PALATINE Mailing List ==== > List Administrator: > Susan Laursen Willig > [email protected] >

Hi, List... regarding the reading of headstones in old graveyards... take a flashlight - high powered if you have it - and shine it on the headstone creating a shadow that is perfectly legible. We did this in the graveyard at Carrying Place and it worked perfectly. Too bad none of the stones we checked were related to us, though. -----Original Message----- From: Terry [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 9:22 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [IP] Re NAntinan Graveyard Inscriptions Somewhere in my association with various Rootsweb mailing lists I have seen a mail where it advises us most imploringly to please not touch gravestones with even water to help conserve them. Unfortunately I cannot find this mail in my folders but I thought it extremely sensible advice even if a bit frustrating when we find a gravestone we really want to be able to read. I believe there is a site with advise about this too which may be worth trying to find before you start spraying stones with shaving cream. My thoughts are it would be a better idea to simply spray, lightly with water or wait for a shower of rain ~ the stones are easier to read when wet. Terry Jackson in Oxfordshire Researching: Lancs: SMITH, HATTON, FISHER,HAYES, JACKSON, GOLDSMITH, MCDONNELL Ches. MCDONNELL, HOOLEY, GARNER, HUDSON, Staffs: GARNER Surrey: WILKINSON, PUNTER, PARROTT, BINFIELD, LITTLE, FRY, ARNOLD, EARLE, ELKINS, ==== FreeBMD-Admins Mailing List ==== Looking to volunteer? http://FreeBMD.RootsWeb.com/Vol_instructions.html ----- Original Message ----- From: alberta callender <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 11:25 AM Subject: [IP] Re NAntinan Graveyard Inscriptions > These are very hard to read. Graveyard researchers > might like to know that if they spray the wording with > Shaving Cream and then wipe it off - say with a > handful of grass - the white will stay in the wording > and they can be read. The next shower of rain cleans > it away. It really works - try it! Berta Callender > > ____________________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk > or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie > > > ==== IRL-PALATINE Mailing List ==== > List Administrator: > Susan Laursen Willig > [email protected] > ==== IRL-PALATINE Mailing List ==== Great minds talk about ideas. Average minds talk about events. Small minds talk about people.

Terry - This may not be the exact article you had in mind, but it does explain the problem. It is found on the following site - The Association for Gravestone Studies - http://www.gravestonestudies.org/preservation.htm "Why can't I use shaving cream to highlight inscriptions on difficult to read stones? Our professional conservators tell us it is definitely not a good idea to use shaving cream on porous gravestones because there are chemicals, greasy emolients, in shaving cream that are sticky and very difficult to remove from the stone with a simple washing. Indeed, even with vigorous scrubbing and lots of rinsing, the cream fills in the pours of a porous stone and cannot all be removed. The result of leaving it there is that in time it may discolor or damage the stone. Instead, use a mirror to shine sunlight across the face of a stone, making the lettering stand out. For an explanatory leaflet on this technique, see Store Directory, Kits, "Photographing Gravestones” and "Making Photographic Records of Gravestones." They may be ordered separately from the kits. Always prefer a non-invasive method on gravestones just as we do on medical tests on our own bodies." Sharon Kingston, Ontario Terry wrote: > > Somewhere in my association with various Rootsweb mailing lists I have seen > a mail where it advises us most imploringly to please not touch gravestones > with even water to help conserve them. Unfortunately I cannot find this > mail in my folders but I thought it extremely sensible advice even if a bit > frustrating when we find a gravestone we really want to be able to read. I > believe there is a site with advise about this too which may be worth trying > to find before you start spraying stones with shaving cream. My thoughts > are it would be a better idea to simply spray, lightly with water or wait > for a shower of rain ~ the stones are easier to read when wet. > Terry Jackson in Oxfordshire > > Researching: > Lancs: SMITH, HATTON, FISHER,HAYES, > JACKSON, GOLDSMITH, MCDONNELL > Ches. MCDONNELL, HOOLEY, GARNER, HUDSON, > Staffs: GARNER > Surrey: WILKINSON, PUNTER, PARROTT, > BINFIELD, LITTLE, FRY, ARNOLD, EARLE, ELKINS, > > ==== FreeBMD-Admins Mailing List ==== > Looking to volunteer? > http://FreeBMD.RootsWeb.com/Vol_instructions.html > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: alberta callender <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 11:25 AM > Subject: [IP] Re NAntinan Graveyard Inscriptions > > > These are very hard to read. Graveyard researchers > > might like to know that if they spray the wording with > > Shaving Cream and then wipe it off - say with a > > handful of grass - the white will stay in the wording > > and they can be read. The next shower of rain cleans > > it away. It really works - try it! Berta Callender > > > > ____________________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk > > or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie > > > > > > ==== IRL-PALATINE Mailing List ==== > > List Administrator: > > Susan Laursen Willig > > [email protected] > > > > ==== IRL-PALATINE Mailing List ==== > Great minds talk about ideas. Average minds talk about > events. Small minds talk about people.