Pam,

You are in an area of collections care where usually the best path is
to contact a conservator - even if to just email images and get some
feedback on what you plan to do.
I cannot speak to the issues invovled in the clothing as textiles is
not my specialty but I can speak to the issues invovled in the
leather.

Some years ago I treated several historic baseball gloves etc. from
about 1910 from a major collector. With such objects you need to
balance any cleaning with evidence of use / wear. And especially with
leather objects you need to be very conservative in your approach - do
not use commercial leather treatments that are traditionally used for
tack or boots. And the treatment of any attached metal components
needs to be done so carefully so that the metal treatment doesn't
affect the nearby leather.

Other than vacuaming the objects I would encourage you to seek
professional advice first before getting into a situation where you
could potentially encounter problems.

Cheers,
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California  USA

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