Dear Martha,
I wanted to add a
plea for revising your recommendations for numbering.  I am currently
working with an historical society where a lot of time and energy is
going into removing inappropriately applied numbers and I am saddened
by the number of cases where there is little I can do because things
were done so poorly.  I know that there has been much discussion of this topic on the list recently but given how often I see badly done in institutions large and small - it seems to merit some repetition.  If you would like further information there is an excellent article on Marking by Terry Segal as part of the publication The New Museum Registration Methods.  This publication is available from the AAM Bookstore and may be a good resource to recommend to your clients.  



Textiles

As has been suggested by others... A permanent marker should never be
used directly on textiles.  Many markers are not as 'permanent' as they
claim but the more important issue is, as been mentioned, the
permanence and bleeding numbering illegible or unsightly.  A marker can
be used to label a small strip of twill tape, cotton muslin, or
spun-bonded material such as soft tyvek or reemay and then sewn to the
object with a bit of white cotton thread.  Those are the generally
recommended procedures for textiles.



Paper

There should be no reason to use pen on the paper.  A soft lead pencil in an inconspicuous place
is best as it can always be removed or revised if necessary.



Metals

Engraving into the surface of metals is inadvisable as disruption of
the patina and surface on historic and particularly archaeological
metals can have serious repercussions on the stability of the metal and
promote corrosion.  Although either B-67 or B-72 and either a titanium based white ink
or black india ink are time consuming - they truly are the best
technique for safe numbering (and if ever necessary easy removal) of
metal artifacts.



Furniture 

An engraving tool is not advisable even if the items are
reproductions.  I will leave it to the furniture conservators on the
list to recommend anything other than B-72 if there is another
technique that they recommend.

Leather,
While the B-72 and ink technique isn't ideal for leather as removal can lead to some minor staining, it is still probably the best technique in this case.  I would recommend a clear layer of B-72 and then a white ink rather than a white pigment and B-72 mixture.  The clear layer can be more easily removed leaving less white haze if that should be necessary down the road.

Feel free to contact me off-list if you would like to discuss this further.

Rachael Perkins Arenstein
[log in to unmask]
917-796-1764



________________________________

From: Museum discussion list 
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Martha 
Katz-Hyman
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 11:51 AM
To: 
[log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Another object 
numbering question



Please excuse the cross-posting; I'm trying to gather as much 
wisdom as possible!

I am currently working with a county parks and 
recreation department to furnish 3 houses that interpret the lives of free 
African Americans in the first half of the 19th century in Virginia.  All 
of the furnishings are reproduction, but the county (very sensibly, given their 
financial investment!) wants to make sure that all of the furnishings are marked 
in some way.  

The furnishings are already in the houses and, yes, 
this is something that would have been more easily done before the furnishings 
were installed.  It's a subject that I have discussed several times over 
the past two years with the county people I'm working with, but only recently 
have they decided that this is something that needed to be done in order to keep 
track of everything.

For this particular situation, I would have 
suggested that the furniture and metals be marked using an engraving tool, the 
textiles with a permanent marker on a seam, and the few paper objects with a pen 
in an inconspicuous location.  I've also got a set of leather mule harness, 
and I'm not sure how to mark that at all!  However, there is no electrical 
power at the site, so using the electrical-powered engraving tool isn't a good 
solution.

I can certainly get a marking kit with Acryloid B-72 & 
B-67, and the pens, and do it that way.  But any other suggestions will be 
gratefully received!

Thanks for your help.

Martha 
Katz-Hyman
_________________________________________________________________
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