Subject: Leather shoes and wallet
I would be grateful for any information on how to conserve and stabilize two items that I have in my possession. 1. A pair of baby "shoes" that consist of soft leather soles, white quilted sides and rabbit fur along the top edges. The style of this item is akin to a babies "bootie". I believe that these shoes have not been worn in the traditional sense but have been used as part of the child's "outfit" as seen in old family photographs. Manufacture date around 1914. They are in decent shape except that the rabbit fur is starting to come off and the leather soles have a few random spots of white (mold?). 2. The second item is a "accordion style" leather wallet from the 1880"s. The item has embossing on one side and the inside contains a panel of cursive writing (ink) denoting the owner, city, state and county of residence. This item is not in good condition, the cloth and leather panels exhibit wear and ripping. There is no water damage on either item--the primary damage is mainly from poor storage (drawer in bedroom dresser). What would be the most cost-effective way to keep these items stable? Jeanie McCallister, MLS 13110 Michelle Dr Rapid City, SD 57706 605-341-2361 *** Conservation DistList Instance 15:79 Distributed: Wednesday, May 22, 2002 Message Id: cdl-15-79-017 ***Received on Tuesday, 21 May, 2002