Dear Jennifer,

I'm director of a Museum located in an 1859 mansion in Stanstead, Québec
(Canada).  Like you, our permanent exhibition consists of the interior of the
mansion, which was donated furnished with originals.  We've had to contend
with the issue of the wear and tear of carpets and adopted two different
solutions: 1) we've replaced the most fragile ones wit copies - usually 1950's
imitations of victorian motifs, which one can easily find in antique shops; 2)
we ask visitors to wear those stupid-looking operating-room pale-blue shoe
covers.  As for your second question, my approach is that, to a certain
extent, objects that have remained in excellent shape while they were being
used for what they were meant can keep on doing just that for a while longer.
As curator, it's my job to assertain if they can and when to stop.  Again, the
use of a good copy could be advised in some cases.

Hope this helps

Hervé Gagnon, Ph.D.
Director-curator
Colby-Curtis Museum
Stanstead, Québec
Canada

jennifer carlquist a écrit:

> I work in collections management at Glensheen Estate - a 39-room mansion
> built in 1905-08 and donated to the University of MN in 1977 with almost
> everything intact. I am having difficulty finding curatorial guidelines
> specifically for historic homes, and am particularly in need of advice on
> the following:
>
> 1) Does there exist a product or procedure that would protect original
> carpets from the foot traffic of guests without covering up or removing
> them? In some carpeted spaces guests remain in small areas enclosed by
> rope, in others they wander freely within rooms.  We don't want to remove
> them for obvious reasons, but also want them preserved.
>
> 2) What are acceptable guidelines for using the collection as it would
> have been used in the home (i.e. using 17th century Chinese porcelain for
> flower arrangements)?
>
> Thank you for any suggestions you might have - particularly for the first,
>
> Jennifer Carlquist
>
> To reply off the list, contact me at [log in to unmask]