Hi -
Definitely move away from the brass safety pins. I'd recommend using washed
cotton twill tape (anybody have a preference on unbleached or bleached?),
marked with ink (there are several publications out there on which inks to
choose for preservation and permanency, I use India Ink) and stitch it to
the textile with cotton thread (or silk if the object is silk - the idea is
to choose a thread that will give before the object will give, i.e. no
polyester core threads). My procedure is

1. Iron the tape.
2. Write the number.
3. Iron the tape again.
4. Wash in distilled water with a little Orvus.
5. Iron the tape dry.

Brass safety pins can corrode and leave green marks on your textiles,
especially if the climate is not stabilized. I think the NPS did a
Conserv-a-Gram a few years back on which inks and tapes to try. Good luck!

Becky Fifield
Collections Care Specialist
Department of Textile and Fashion Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston



-----Original Message-----
From: Timothy S. Bottoms @ Cape Fear Museum
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2001 4:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: brass safety pins


Hey All,

We use small brass safety pins to attach accession number tags to textiles.
We are running low and since I inherited our supply from my predecessor, I
don't know where to buy them.  Anyone out there have a source for these
pins, or a better suggestion?

Thanks,

Tim
__________________
Timothy S Bottoms
Registrar
Cape Fear Museum
814 Market Street
Wilmington, NC  28401-4731
Phone: (910) 341-4350 ext. 3011
Fax: (910) 341-4037

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