Jan -

No saddle soap or oils ever on historic leather objects!

What is best to do depends on the condition of the leather and the type of
leather (smooth or suede? Dyed?).

When I was the head of objects conservation at the Rocky Mountain
Conservation Center at The University of Denver I got to treat several early
baseball gloves from the 1900 - 1920 period. These were in very good
condition so just some soiling needed to be reduced. This can be tricky
because you want to keep signs of wear and use and yet have a clean
appearance. I had two gloves that were smooth with dyed leathers and one
with a suede napped surface. Each required different approaches and
treatments.

If a leather object is very dessicated and brittle then that can pose
significant issues for cleaning as well as handling. It would be helpful to
know where they came from and how that may have happened. If a dessicated
leather object is deformed sometimes it can be re-humidified in order to
carefully restore the shape - acid free tissue can be stuffed inside to
maintain the shape - and then the humidity is slowly brought down to match
the current storage / exhibit environment. This is usually done on
archaeological leather artifacts. And it requires laboratory treatment.

So my best advice is to seek the advice of an objects conservator who is
experienced in leather treatments to examine the gloves and give you advice
on what is possible for you to do and what will require the skills of a
conservator. You can go to the AIC (American Institute for Conservation) web
site and follow their link FIND A CONSERVATOR where you can do a search for
objects conservators in your area. Most conservators will do an initial
examination and consultant for a reasonable fee.

http://www.conservation-us.org/

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Senior Conservator and Museum Consultant
Los Angeles CA
*
Minding The Museum*: The Museum and Conservation Podcast
www.mindingthemuseum.com
(also on Facebook)

On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 11:41 AM, Jan McCormick
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Greetings:
>
> I have received a box of old baseball gloves that I have to clean and
> store. One is extremely dry - an old little league glove. I was told to use
> saddle soap, but fear the "animal fat" will do more harm. I have read that
> petroleum products are good for gloves and that they are bad. I appreciate
> any and all help!
>
> I thank you in advance,
> Jan McCormick
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