I've often seen discussion about cleaning historic leather, but I don't 
remember seeing information about what the best way to store it is. Can 
someone direct me to some useful resources?

Thanks,

Jillian Adams
Loring-Greenough House
Jamaica Plain, MA


At 10:11 AM 5/17/2004, you wrote:
>As a former rider and now a museum curator, let me offer a few comments.
>Deb is partially right in my opinion.  But before you do anything, you'll
>want to consider, are these items going to be considered "use" items (not
>meaning that you'll actually put them on a horse, but that they are
>'consumable.' )  If you continue to leave these items in a barn or
>outbuilding, no matter how much 'stuff' you put on them, they will continue
>to disintegrate and rot.
>
>To clean, Orvus paste (available in most farm supply stores) is the mildest
>non-ionic soap you can get.  That means it doesn't leave residue on the item
>and it isn't very caustic.  Glycerin soap is what I used to clean my tack
>when I was showing, but I'd never use it on collection items.  Also, PLEASE
>don't use Lexol.  I never used it on stuff when I was showing, and I'd never
>put it on collection items.  Other oils yes, but not Lexol...as I recall it
>has a lot of 'junk' in it.
>
>Finally, depending on the age and condition of the leather, sometimes you
>just CAN'T bring it back.  So be prepared to spend a lot of time on this
>project and still have them looking awful!?!
>
>So back to the beginning...before you spend a lot of time trying; to
>determine the best way to clean things, I think you need to resolve the
>philosophical question of 'Are these collections we should be preserving in
>our museum?" or "Is this 'set decoration' that is expendable.
>
>Good luck!  Best, VivianLea
>
>VivianLea Stevens
>Curator, Old Barracks Museum
>609-396-1776
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
>Of Deb Fuller
>Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 10:12 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Cleaning historic leather for a living history farm
>
>--- SG <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > I have recently been charged with cleaning a collection of early 1900s
> > saddles, bridles and harnesses. These objects will be displayed in a
>living
> > history museum. Does your institution clean leather?  If so, what methods
> > do you use?  Can you recommend any products that will not cause long-term
> > harm to leather?
>
>There's a bunch of cleaning products that you can use on leather which will
>keep it nice and supple and that any tack store will carry.
>
>The old "tried and true" method is glycerine soap and a bit of water. You
>don't
>want to soak the leather but just use enough water to work up a good lather
>with the soap and rub it in good. If it has a lot of dirt on it, use a damp
>cloth to get the dirt off and then apply the glycerine soap. You don't need
>to
>rinse it off. Let it air dry and wash it with the glycerine soap every
>couple
>of months to keep it hydrated.
>
>Glycerine soap comes in bar form and should be like $2 for a huge bar that
>will
>last you a long time. Any sponge or rag will work for cleaning tack but if
>you
>want to be "authentic", get a natural sponge. Tack stores sell a variety of
>tack cleaning sponges too.
>
>There is also a liquid form in a spray bottle called "Leather New" which
>works
>great! Just spray it on and work it in with a rag or sponge.
>
>If the leather is really dried out, you will want to follow-up using an
>leather
>conditioner or oil. Use sparingly as too much will rot the stitching.
>Needsfoot
>Oil is another old stand-by which some people don't like because they claim
>it
>will rot your stitching. Again, if you don't soak your leather in it, you'll
>be
>fine. I usually apply oil with my hands and really work it into the leather.
>Lexoil is another product that works well.
>
>Horseman's One-Step is a nice cream which will both clean and hydrate your
>tack. Good stuff. Tack Master and Leather Therapy are also good products.
>Hydrophane is sticky, but buffs out nicely. Vogels Leather Conditioner is
>expensive and best left for riding boots instead of saddles. Specific saddle
>companies like Stubben and Passier have leather cleaning stuff but again, it
>tends to be expensive and doesn't work any better than good old glycerine
>soap.
>Stay away from leather handbag cleaner as it's formulated for fine handbags,
>not saddles.
>
>Some people use Old English Furnature Polish. I've used it as well and
>haven't
>had any problems with it but haven't quite gotten over using furnature
>polish
>for leather.
>
>A guy who works on my sidesaddle recommends something called "Flexlan" (I
>think.) I haven't gotten any yet but my sidesaddle is from the 1920s and has
>stayed in excellent shape with just glycerine soap.
>
>If mold forms on your leather, don't worry. It won't hurt it. All of us at
>the
>barn get moldy saddles in the Summertime with the humidity. Just wipe it off
>with a damp cloth and use a dehumidifier if you can. Again, you don't want
>to
>use too much water as that will just encourage the mold. I've heard that a
>quick wipe with Listerine will help cut the mold but haven't tried it.
>
>There are a bunch of other products out there but all in all, I think you
>can't
>go wrong with the glycerine soap. My only caveat is that if you have a light
>colored leather (unlikely given the age of the pieces), try out your
>products
>on like the underside of the piece to make sure it won't darken your
>leather.
>I've never had this happen with older leather as the light tan color is a
>relatively modern thing as all leather will natually darken with age so I
>don't
>think it will be a problem with your stuff.
>
>Oh for bits and metal pieces, good old plain Colgate toothpaste and a soft
>toothbrush does wonders. (And gives you horse minty fresh breath too! :)
>Brasses can be polished with "Brasso" but steel parts do fine with
>toothpaste.
>
>Old leather is extemely resillent stuff and usually comes back to life with
>a
>little TLC. You might need to wash and oil it a few times to get it soft and
>supple again but afterwards, it should feel like butter. Once you've got it
>back in shape, it doesn't need much to keep it there, just the occasional
>cleaning.
>
>Oh to have good leather like that again! The modern stuff is mostly all crap
>these days from cheap tanning processes and lack of demand for good leather.
>My
>sidesaddle that's nearly 100 years old has far better leather on it than
>most
>new saddles today and will probably outlast them all too. *sigh*
>
>Good luck!
>
>Deb
>
>
>
>
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