Ron:

     In my spare moments, I work as the volunteer registrar at a large
     antique fire apparatus museum outside of Baltimore. (Actually, I
     married into the family that started the museum, but that is another
     story.)

     A large part of my storage space is given over to badges, buttons, etc.
     from fire department uniforms. Because this space is limited, I had to
     find a way to store large numbers of small objects in an easily
     moveable, small container. I ended up purchasing a bunch of acid-free
     artifact/records storage cartons from Light Impressions, and then
     purchased artifact trays and dividers, which can be stacked inside the
     carton (each tray is easy to remove). Depending on the items, I tag
     each individual object with the accession number, and then place it in
     a very small ziplock bag (also from L.I.) As my hand-writing is so
     horrible, I have not yet permanently marked these artifacts, but have
     not had problems with tag removal, etc.

     The bags have a write-on space, so that you can put the accession
     number, description, or whatever else you want for ease in i.d. of the
     item(s). However, I have also used acid-free labels on the exterior of
     the bag, in case I reuse the bag for another project. I can type or run
     the label through the computer printer to have something that looks
     neat and tidy.

     Each bag is placed in one of the divider trays and then the whole tray
     is put in the storage box. Each tray is marked, and each divider is
     marked, so that someone (like my husband, the curator) can easily put
     something back that he has looked at. I then keep a large label holder
     (with a removable insert) on the outside of the big box that identifies
     everything by tray, slot # and acc/loan #. This all may sound like a
     lot of work and hassle in the beginning, but when you have 54 fire
     chief's badges that all look exactly alike except for the station
     number, which is usually minute, this system works really well.

     For a collection of items, ie. 4 sleeve buttons from the same uniform
     that have been removed from that uniform, I usually store them
     together in one ziplock bag. If you are concerned about them banging
     against each other, wrap them in acid-free tissue. I don't, however,
     store disparate sleeve buttons in the same bag - it's only those that
     I know came from the same uniform.

     If you have any more questions about this, don't hesitate to E-Mail
     me.


     Melissa Heaver
     National Trust for Historic Preservation
     1785 Mass. Ave., NW
     Washington, DC 20036
     202-588-6148
     202-588-6232 (f)
     [log in to unmask]




______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Preservation/storage of collectanea
Author:  Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>  at internet
Date:    7/15/98 5:38 PM


A little advise needed... We are soon to be taking in a collection that
contains many ID badges, buttons, pins (of the lapel type), hand tools,
jewelry, belt buckles and padlocks, along with many other pieces of
collectanea. What would be the best way to catalog, preserve and store the
objects?


Thanks,
Ron
SIHC
338 W. 8th Ave
Homestead, PA

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1331 Fallowfield Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15216
(412)563-5282


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