From: Suits, Linda Norbut
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 8:46 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: re: arsenic in textiles
Arsenic was used in so many applications it’s hard to tell where it might end up. A common moth treatment used on textiles and furs called siburizing or sybarizing was used by dry cleaners. That process was pretty effective as it relied on arsenic. Some questions I ask myself when trying to decide the next steps are: How old is it? Where and how was it stored? What is the condition? If it is 70 years old, has been in a closet for 30 year, and is still in great condition, I immediately become suspicious and assume it has been treated until I have verifiable proof to the contrary.
Linda Norbut Suits
Art in Architecture Coordinator
Capital Development Board
Wm. G Stratton Office Building, 3rd Floor
401 South Spring Street
Springfield, IL 62706
voice 217.782.9561
fax 217.782.8625
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:55:36 -0600
From: Upham Mansion <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Arsenic in furs
Dear Fellow Listers,
I am trying to determine (before spending funds on a test kit) if the fur coats, stoles and muffs we have in our collection may contain arsenic.
I've looked online, read the NPS information CCI information and the Museum Listserve archives and have learned that a form of arsenical soap was used in the preservation process for taxidermy (mainly to prevent insect
infestation) but my question is- is there a possibility that our furs (some dating back to the early 1900s) contain arsenic?
Thank you!
Kim Krueger
Coordinator
North Wood County Historical Society
212 W. 3rd
PO Box 142
Marshfield, WI 54449
715.387.3322