Dear Kathy,
        From a conservation perspective I would not recommend using
gallery waxes for museum objects or for valuable personal
collections.

        I have treated numerous museum objects that have been secured
on display with various waxes.  This is often problematic for several
reasons.  When used long term, the wax will cause staining on porous
materials such as unglazed ceramic, wood, leather, paper, etc.  that
are difficult, or impossible, to fully remove.  Even on harder,
stable surfaces the wax will leave a residue.  The wax can also cause
damage to friable surfaces such as unstable glazes or the irridescent
crusts on archaeological glass.  Whenever possible I would recommend
securing your objects using a more stable long term solution such as
a plexiglass, properly coated brass mount or an archival product like
Ethafoam.

        When I was in college I too was not allowed to tack or nail
things to the wall.  I used blue-tack to secure my posters but,
within months staining was visible on both the poster and the painted
wall.  Many dorms with this regulation provide a moulding running
along the top of the wall to allow you to hang things with picture
wire.  Then you could frame and hang your posters.  A cheaper
alternative to framing are long clips that you can attach to the end
of your poster which will allow for hanging off wire.

Best of luck,
Rachael Arenstein

Assistant Conservator
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Harvard University
11 Divinity Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
tel: 617-495-2487
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Date:    Tue, 10 Apr 2001 00:49:54 -0400
From:    Kathy Mancuso <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: some help needed

Just out of curiousity, what do people think of the various "gallery waxes"
you can buy at art supply stores?  I have found that they hold fairly light
objects even to textured walls, and that they are useful for leveling
artwork and holding small pieces (ie lids) to clay/sculpture which is not
going to be put in a vitrine, but I wonder about conservation issues and
getting it off valuable objects.

In my personal life (ie dorm), I have the same sort of situation--the
university disallows tacks and nails, yet we have textured wallpaper (ie
nothing, except gallery wax sticks!).  I'm trying to figure out how to hang
my collection of movie posters and art posters (which have a lot of
sentimental value and would be relatively hard to replace).  Suggestions?

Kathy Mancuso

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