White gloves

I would like to add a couple of points to this discussion.  I
haven't seen any conservation research article on the effect of
fingerprints on metals--there are general references everywhere and
as a metals conservator who spends a huge amount of time mitigating
the effect of etched fingerprints on the surfaces of historic metals
I can well attest to the phenomenon.

I do have an interesting article which was sent to me by a former
FBI special agent who had done research and had found that the
chemistry of children's fingerprints contains more volatiles and is
significantly different than those of adults--he had to research and
devise a new methodology for criminalists to produce documentable
fingerprints on objects from children (utilizing exposure to
cyano-acrylates I believe).

I would further add that yes, we use cotton gloves, but as Stephen
Koob has suggested, there are situations where they are not
practical nor safe to employ in handling an artifact.  Several years
ago we gave up on Latex entirely (as many medical facilities are
doing now).  We use disposable vinyl gloves and use cotton hand
cotes to reduce perspiration for use of any duration beyond a couple
of minutes.

One word of caution here--beware of gloving powders which may be
inside and outside either vinyl or latex gloves.  You will need to
be fairly scrupulous in cleaning off the powder before handling any
artifacts.

David Harvey
Associate Conservator, Metals & Arms
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, VA  23187-1776  USA
757-220-7039

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:93
                  Distributed: Friday, April 25, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-93-004
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