Gingerbread houses

Christina Favretto <trieste [at] lis__pitt__edu> writes

>At the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh we have some "edible" Christmas
>ornaments (a replica of the Museum, and some "Brillo" boxes made out of
>gingerbread and decorated in sugar frosting) that we'd like to save for
>our archives.

This sounds like the discussion last year about preserving the police
car donuts in the MIT exhibition.  I might suggest using a method which
was originally developed as a food preservation technology: Anoxic
Packaging.

This is easily accomplished by placing your items in a (transparent) bag
or container made of materials which are impervious to oxygen, adding an
oxygen scavenging chemical and then sealing the container.  This is
essentially how many foods are packed to slow their eventual
deterioration.  Creating a vacuum, or purging with nitrogen or some
other gas is not necessary.  There are a number of other advantages to
this storage method, including the destruction of any "pests' which may
already be nibbling on the gingerbread, the protection against air-borne
pollutants, and safety from changes in humidity.

I have to admit to offering a catalogue which lists a variety of barrier
films, oxygen scavenging chemicals, and a few related items--please
contact me if you need further information about our products.

Jerry Shiner,
Keepsafe Systems

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 8:59
                 Distributed: Sunday, January 29, 1995
                        Message Id: cdl-8-59-004
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