Leather shoes

I am currently working on three leather shoes found in our
Anthropology department.  I have cleaned the shoes by dry brush and
vacuumed them to remove any other dirt or mold.  These shoes look to
be made sometime in the 1920's or 1930's, but I'm not really
positive on the age.  All three shoes are women's' and a child's
shoe. One shoe in particular has lost its form. It is a boot with
metal and leather buttons going up the side of the boot. I haven't
been able to determine the metal, but it appears to have a bluish
white color to it.  There are also nail in the sole of the shoe that
are a little rusty.

How can I bring the form of the shoe back without harming any of the
metals?  We were thinking of hydrating the shoe to soften the
leather to make it easier to work with and place a form into the
shoe to mold it around.  However this may cause the metal in the
shoe to deteriorate even faster and ruin the shoe.

If any one has any ideas that would work they would be greatly
appreciated.

Jeanine Measel
Mercyhurst Anthropology Institution


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:23
                Distributed: Tuesday, September 11, 2001
                       Message Id: cdl-15-23-017
                                  ***