The keywords for documents (paper or vellum), letters, newspapers, photos, slides, negatives, fabrics and a good deal more - are" COLD, DARK, and DRY. A relative humidity of around 40 to 60%. And never fold. These are the most important, easy to remember but often neglected even in museums. Framing encourages both ultra-violet light and damp damage, and nothing precious should ever be framed. I suppose the motive is display, plus protection from dust, touching, and fumes; but it is not an option even for displayed art such as oil paintings - the Mona Lisa etc. 'Stapling to cardboard' presumably means the silk has - apart from multiple holes - contact on one side with glass which harbours growth of micro-fungi, and on the other with sulphuric acid-rich acid-bleached wood-pulp. Fabrics are best stored in shallow draws, either flat or loosely rolled between buffered acid-free tissue. John Barton ----- Original Message ----- From: "Liz Parkinson" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2006 9:09 AM Subject: Re: [OEL] OT - Old silk military map > Thanks, I hadnt actually thought of that - it is only a couple of miles > down > the road from me. > > Liz >> >> >>Liz, talk to the folk at the Costume Museum at Platt Fields, I'm sure >>that one of their textile conservators will advise you. >> >>John >> >> >> > > _________________________________________________________________ > Be the first to hear what's new at MSN - sign up to our free newsletters! > http://www.msn.co.uk/newsletters > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > __________ NOD32 1862 (20061110) Information __________ > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > http://www.eset.com > >

John May I have permission, please, to forward your message to other genealogy-related lists? We often have discussions on conserving papers, photos, fabrics, and such, and your suggestions make very good sense. One question: if they are stored in "shallow draws" (which I *think* we on this side of the Pond call "drawers"[?], meaning the pull-out storage parts of chests and dressers), doesn't there need to be some sort of buffer between the wood on the bottom of the drawer and the material to be conserved? It would seem as though acid-free tissue might well be used there, too. What about storage in the newer drawers made of plastic materials? They aren't all made of archival materials, for certain. Do the "ultra-violet-safe" framing glasses help? Obviously, there still would be the humidity problem, but I wonder if we are lulled into thinking it is safe because of the modicum of protection from ultra-violet rays... My favorite genealogy instructor tells us to make copies of every piece of paper that we want to display, then archive the original. I think she's on to something there. Thank you. Nancy in cold, snowy Michigan, US of A ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Barton" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2006 5:35 PM Subject: Re: [OEL] OT - Old silk military map > The keywords for documents (paper or vellum), letters, newspapers, photos, > slides, negatives, fabrics and a good deal more - > are" COLD, DARK, and DRY. > A relative humidity of around 40 to 60%. And never fold. These are the > most > important, easy to remember but often neglected even in museums. > Framing encourages both ultra-violet light and damp damage, and nothing > precious should ever be framed. I suppose the motive is display, plus > protection from dust, touching, and fumes; but it is not an option even > for > displayed art such as oil paintings - the Mona Lisa etc. > 'Stapling to cardboard' presumably means the silk has - apart from > multiple > holes - contact on one side with glass which harbours growth of > micro-fungi, > and on the other with sulphuric acid-rich acid-bleached wood-pulp. Fabrics > are best stored in shallow draws, either flat or loosely rolled between > buffered acid-free tissue. > > John Barton >