Footwear coverings

Katharine A. Untch <katy [at] argsf__com> writes

>An historic site recently asked me "who really uses those?" when
>referring to footwear coverings ("booties") sometimes used for
>visitors when touring historic buildings. So, I thought we might try
>finding out.  If you know of any sites using these protective foot
>coverings, could you let me know which sites?

At Historic New England (formerly SPNEA), we require the use of blue
hospital booties when touring any of our 36 historic houses.  We do
not use carpet runners or stanchions to direct visitors, therefore
historic floors and rugs are walked on.  A problem we have had with
the booties is that they are slick and many of our stairs are
painted.  Another issue is the cost and the need to maintain stock
of several sizes to fit over all types of shoes.  We feel that the
booties do help to reduce the dirt and wear on the floors as well as
acting as a reminder to the visitors that everything in the house is
important and should not be touched.

Michaela Z. Neiro
Associate Conservator
Historic New England
151 Essex ST Haverhill, MA 01832
978-521-4788 ext 714


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:28
                 Distributed: Friday, October 26, 2007
                       Message Id: cdl-21-28-006
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