Soap boxes

Julie Stires <juliestires [at] yahoo__com> writes

>One of our collections includes several open boxes of soaps and
>detergents dating from the early 1900s.  We would like to keep the
>boxes but discard the contents. Is discarding the contents of such
>items an accepted practice?  If not how should these boxes be safely
>stored?

At the Rijksmuseum we keep our frames and paintings at a relative
humidity between 50-55%. If the environment is not too dusty there
is no need to wrap framed paintings for storage. In a larger space,
wire mesh, mounted on a simple wooden framework provides a good
method for hanging paintings with hooks (for example 'S-hooks'). In
a smaller space you could have shelving built with dividers (every
three feet or so) to create compartments, covered with carpet on the
bottom and the sides. A number of framed paintings can be stored
vertically in each compartment, with sheets of foamcore in between
for protection. I hope this provides a workable solution for your
situation.

Hubert Baija
Senior Conservator of Frames
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Paintings Department
PO Box 74888
1070 DN Amsterdam
The Netherlands


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:49
                 Distributed: Thursday, April 14, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-49-009
                                  ***