Steamer trunk

Re:  Melissa Wadman's steamer trunk.  Trunks were clearly a very
common item among all classes, and they understandably come in many
varieties. The labels are generally attached with some form of
animal glue and can be removed with moisture.  The solubility of the
labels is similar to many kinds of labels, done presumably with
standard printing inks, although some have hand-written notes added
in chalk or pencil. In only one case did I have difficulty in
getting a label off.  It was orange, and the paper was very
weak--perhaps the condition of the paper was due to a dye. Material
used in trunks vary a great deal;  one I treated was covered with
canvas with water-soluble paint, which seemed strange.

Each material simply has to be tested separately in order to figure
out what to do- the difficulty comes in bringing each element to a
state which matches the others.  If brass latches, for example, are
polished clean while leather, for example, is very worn, then the
whole object may end up looking very strange.  If you have more
specific questions, you can contact me directly.

B. Appelbaum

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:43
                Distributed: Thursday, November 6, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-11-43-005
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