CARING FOR OBJECTS

Documenting the materials donated by groups and individuals is certainly an important responsibility of those of us here at the History Center. Caring for them appropriately is another. The folks who work and volunteer in the office know to remove paper clips and rubber bands from documents and photographs, and, over the years, we’ve acquired a selection of books to guide us in the cleaning and care of things. It is a big job! So how can those of you with photographs, documents, and objects to donate help us?

Let’s consider photographs first. On more than one occasion I’ve arrived to find a grocery bag of jumbled photographs awaiting me. To be helpful, potential donors should, at a minimum, remove rubber bands and paper clips and sort the images in some sort of way. For instance, identified photographs might go in one large envelope and those identified by a photographer’s name in another. Those from photographers outside Jefferson County might be mailed off to historical societies in other locations. A third envelope might contain photographs with no identification. An accompanying note with any information about the photographs’ provenance is also very helpful. If we know they came from Aunt Hester’s attic in Knoxdale, we have a starting point.

Documents are treated in much the same way. They may be arranged chronologically or time order. Laminating materials, while preventing tearing, does cause them to turn yellow so we do not advise doing that.

Sometimes documents and photographs have the smell of a damp basement. Cat litter comes to the rescue here. Sprinkle fresh dry cat litter in a plastic bag, put the documents inside, then twist closed. After five or six days, remove. The odor should be gone.

Finally, objects. Here is where less is better than more! We have the resources to tell us how to best take care of textiles. We know, for instance, that cotton and linen items will brighten up with a gentle bathtub soak then drying in bright sunshine (rather hard to find this year!) A current project is cleaning an American flag that came in with white stripes turned yellow. We checked our sources, tested one, and figure it will take a week or two to do the job! It’s a large flag!

Metal and wooden objects may be gently cleaned. We use Murphy’s oil soap. But things like tools and furniture should not be scrubbed, sanded, oiled or painted. Most museums use processes that can be reversed and that do not damage the integrity of an object. Sanding away signs of wear removes the story of a chair.

Here at the History Center we appreciate our donors and know you are as interested in the things that tell our stories as we are, so feel free to Email or phone if you have a question about something you wish to donate. We’ll be happy to share what we’ve learned.