Sure....how about one from my family (which I'm only willing to share because my Grandmother, who committed the conservation faux pas, is no longer with us.) As I was starting my graduate work in American Studies (concentration in Material Culture), I decided to inquire about the fabled blanket chest that had gone with my ancestors from England to Holland and then to America. My Grandmother, who I was visiting at the time, said, "Oh, that's the chest at the end of my bed." "But Grandmother, that's a plain wooden chest, given the date you've told me, it most likely would have been painted, not varnished/shellacked as yours is." "Oh...it used to be painted a dark hunter green and had initials and a date painted in white beneath the keyhole. I just couldn't live with that color so I had it stripped." After I stopped hyperventilating, realizing that my Grandmother had RUINED the one piece of 18th century anything on either side of my family, I said, "Grandmother, do you realize that was probably the original paint?" "Oh, it couldn't be," she said so confidently. "But at any rate, when they refinished it, I had them put the information on the bottom of the chest." Well, I never thought anything about it, twenty years go by, and then the chest came to me after her death. I asked the movers to put the chest up on my bed so I could see the initials and date. To my extreme horror and ultimate amusement...instead of seeing the information PENCILLED on the bottom of the chest, it had been routed into the wood with a large router!?!? What could I do but laugh at that point? At least I have the chest, with its original hardware and key intact...even if I don't have the original finish. <sigh> Hope this fed the need for a good horror story!?! Best, VivianLea Stevens ========================================================= 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).