Carrie, as you have read, cedar chests are horrible textile storage
containers. Due to their inherent off gassing, no one should use them for
any item that they want to preserve.

It would be better to suggest buying an acid free textile box with
non-buffered tissue from one of the archival supply houses and/or %100
cotton muslin (free of dyes or sizing-wash thoroughly with a light detergent
before using to ensure it is free of both) that can be used as an enclosure
or a wrap as long as the textiles are housed in a clean safe place like a
drawer.

I would also suggest using aluminum foil to line and buffer a cedar chest so
that it can be used for other types of storage. Sometimes they are great
lined with foil and then used for smaller microclimates like acid free boxes
and/or chemically inert plastic storage containers. This would give the
people some helpful options since I hate to just give out the "don't do this
or don't do that" answer. That approach can really turn the public off.

Please too note, to anyone who asks, that it is important to decide first
where the boxes or chest are going to be housed. The issues about the
storage environment (that the storage should be in a clean, dry, climate
controlled space in the living area of the house) are just as important as
what the textile is directly stored in.
Good luck.
Kim Feinknopf-Dorrian
Ohio Historical Society
History Collections Department
1982 Velma Ave.
Columbus, Ohio 43211
(614) 298-2052
[log in to unmask]


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Carrie Snow [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2000 7:52 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Cedar Chests
>
> I have been asked this question twice this past week, so I promised I
> would findthe answer.  Does anyone know of any damaging effects of storing
> textiles in cedar chests?  It was standard practice for my mom and many
> others to put anything of importance in her cedar chest.
>
>
> Carrie Snow
> Registrar
> Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace
>
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