I think this is an interesting article that highlights the occasional conflict between conservation and use. See the complete article at http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=59876 Massacring history? State puts Revere plates in jeopardy By Jack Meyers Tuesday, December 21, 2004 Priceless engravings crafted by Paul Revere are being jeopardized by Secretary of State William Galvin, according to experts, all for the sake of a $200,000 fund-raiser for a state agency. ``There's no question about the fact that the surface will be altered by this'' reprinting process, said MIT professor of archaeology Heather Lechtman, regarding three irreplaceable works created by the Revolutionary War hero. The engraved copper plates have been polished and are now being subjected to pressure to make 500 new prints. They will soon be dipped in an acid bath to remove electroplating - a process that some experts said will degrade the surface and affect the historic artifacts' integrity. [stuff deleted] Galvin's spokesman and the printer producing the new images said the process will have little to no effect on the state-owned artifacts. Others disagree. ``Every single time an impression is made (of any plate), in a very subtle way the image is degraded,'' said Elizabeth Barker, associate curator of drawings and prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She did not criticize Galvin's decision to ``re-strike'' prints from the antique plates, but she said, ``It's something we might be more hesitant to do now.'' [stuff deleted] However, Lechtman said, ``The acid attack itself will alter the surface of the metal. It will dissolve some of the copper.'' David Blanchfield, conservator of objects and metals at Colonial Williamsburg, said, ``The harshest thing that ever touches any of our metals is chalk.'' Brian McNiff, spokesman for Galvin, said every possible effort has been taken to eliminate or minimize any impact on the metal engravings. [stuff deleted] Brian McNiff, spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin, who authorized the ``re-striking'' of prints from the plates to raise money for the state archives, said the two plates are valued at $1 million each. end ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Susan Cronin Ruderman, Ed.M., Vice President VERITAS INFORMATION SERVICES, 9 Alton St., Arlington, MA 02474 (781) 643-7811; (781) 643-1136 (fax); <[log in to unmask]> Fundraising Research Consulting; www.veritasinfo.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).