Please forgive cross postings
Online Course: Care of Leather and Skin Materials begins April 6, 2015
MS 224: Care of Leather and Skin Materials
April 6 to May 15, 2015
Instructor: Helen Alten
Location: http://museumclasses.org
Description:
Prior to the invention of plastics, skin materials were the flexible covering used for most objects – from bellows to books, carriages to desktops. Furs and skins are in almost every museum's collection, be it Natural History, History or Art. Caring for leather and skin materials demands an understanding of how and why they deteriorate. Care of Leather and Skin Materials offers a simplified explanation of the origin, chemistry and structure of leathers and skins. Students learn to identify leathers and surface finishes, determine their extent of deterioration, write condition reports, and understand the agents of deterioration that are harmful to leather and skins both in storage and on exhibit. Topics include preparing hide and skin materials for storage and exhibit, the use of archival materials and which ones might harm skin proteins, housekeeping techniques for large objects or books on open display, and three-dimensional supports for leather and skin to keep them from distorting. Integrated pest management and historical treatments will be covered, with a unit on hazardous materials applied to older skins and leather that might prove a danger to staff.
For more information and to sign up: http://www.collectioncare.org/care-leather-and-skin-materials-line-course
Feel free to contact me with questions
Peggy Schaller
Northern States Conservation Center
Certificate Program Coordinator
www.collectioncare.org
museumclasses.org
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and
Collections Research for Museums
4830 E Kansas Dr
Denver, CO 80246
303-757-7962
Toll free: 1-877-757-7962
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Website: http:\museumcollectionmgmt.com