Meredith,

I'll take a crack at some of the questions that you raise, but am not a
specialist in the specific materials you identify.  In general, the major
problems with flooding are the swelling/discoloration/dissolution caused by
wetting; the mold that follows on its footsteps; and dirt/mud/oil or other
"pollutants" in the water.  You did not specify about this latter one.  Was
there anything deposited on the objects by the water?

In general, controlled drying is the safest (as opposed to fast drying) to
minimize stresses and distortion, but this leads to a greater risk of mold
growth.  I apologize in advance, but specific suggestions really do depend
upon the materials and construction of individual objects.  So it is very
difficult to give general guidance without also sometimes getting it wrong
for certain objects!

I'll pass on the tobacco.  On the leather, Listerine contains alcohol and
thymol, both of which will kill the mold.  However, it also contains other
ingredients, including possibly perfumes and artificial colorants.
Hopefully, the original, amber-colored awful tasting version was used, as
this is less likely to have these other potentially harmful ingredients.
Alcohol is safe for some surfaces, but it also can dissolve surfaces and
change the color, so each item is a bit different and should be tested
individually.  However, it sounds like this treatment may already have been
done, so this is moot?  The application method also is an issue.  Rubbing
may cause loss of surface, so spray application allowed to dry before
touching the surface would probably be best.  If the treatment is still
ongoing, I'd suggest making your own Listerine with just water, denatured
alcohol and thymol.  Actually, alcohol alone probably will work (or mineral
spirits, as well), but some surfaces may be sensitive to it.

I would recommend against any leather treatment.  At best, these will
aesthetically impact the surfaces, and at worst will promote long term
degradation, such as fostering mold growth or darkening the leather.  In
general, most leather treatments are not reversible.  I don't know Leather
Therapy specifically, but most of these contain oil of some kind, which
probably should be avoided for museum collections.  If aesthetic surface
enhancement is required, a thin coat of microcrystalline wax (such as
Renaissance) is probably best.  This should be reversible, but test the
surfaces of the leather first with mineral spirits or another wax solvent.
The equestrian set seems to swear by various leather treatments, but they
are only interested in using their items over a relatively short period of
time.  What works great for 10 years may cause irreversible damage in 100
years.

Wet paper also will mold and usually is distorted.  The best immediate
solution usually is to freeze the items.  That way, they can be treated one
at a time when time is not of the essence.  The scrapbooks can be placed in
heavy freezer-weight zip lock bags, then put into a freezer.  A regular
household refrigerator freezer should work fine.  Treatment after freezing
depends partially upon whether there are deposited pollutants on the paper.
Freeze drying is a possible alternative, but a paper conservator is the one
who should make this call, ideally after seeing them.

Hope this helps.

Marc

American Conservation Consortium, Ltd.
     4 Rockville Road
     Broad Brook, CT 06016
     www.conservator.com
     860-386-6058

*Collections Preservation Consultation
*Conservation Assessments & Surveys
*Low-Tech Environmental Control
*Moisture Management Solutions
*Collections in Historic Structures
*Conservation Treatment of:
     Furniture
     Painted Wood
     Horse-Drawn Vehicles
     Architectural Interiors

Marc A. Williams, President
     MS in Art Conservation, Winterthur Museum Program
     Former Chief Wooden Object Conservator, Smithsonian Institution
     Fellow, American Institute for Conservation (AIC)


----- Original Message -----
From: "Meredith L. Dunham" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 7:26 PM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Flooded Museum


Hi All,

I am currently doing some work at a county museum that had about four feet
of water in their basement/collections storage/exhibit gallery when Tropical
Storm Ernesto rolled through.  They are still in the process of triage and
the city has taken them out of crisis status too early which means they have
to go through a bidding process for conservators.  In the mean time they are
doing the best they can.  I have a couple of questions to ask on the behalf
of their curator.

1.  Should you try to save/preserve waterlogged chewing tobacco wrapped in
plastic and how would you go about doing that if you should?  I think its
Coon brand tobacco.  Can you still purchase this tobacco?

2.  Is it alright to use a product called "Leather Therapy" on antique,
brittle, and molding leather?  At the suggestion of a conservator, the
leather objects (shoes, equestrian equipment, spice case) have been treated
with a diluted mixture of water and Listerine.  Will the Listerine interact
with the Leather Therapy?  Is the Leather Therapy reversible?  Come to think
of it, with the amount of Listerine a volunteer was using, is Listerine
reversible?  (those objects sure smell good, though!)

3.  They have six or seven antique scrapbooks from the 50s and 60s that were
somewhat worn out before the flood and were completely waterlogged during
the flood. How do we take care of them between now and contracting with a
qualified conservator?  Is there any way we can dry them out?  Should we
take them apart or try to conserve them all together?  I believe their
importance lies in the fact that they were compiled by local citizens and
are more valuable as whole objects instead of in pieces. Does that make a
difference when they've suffered such damage?

Thank you,

Meredith


Virginia Beach Historic Houses
3131 Virginia Beach Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Phone: 757-431-4000
Fax: 757-431-3733
Email: [log in to unmask]


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