Exhibiting paper

Patricia S. Griffin <cuprorivaite [at] hotmail__com> writes

>... I am interested in double stick tape recommendations
>for use in displays, both foam tape and adhesive tape.  I am also
>interested in good solutions for the display of flat historic paper
>artifacts.  Finally I am interested in cost-effective and attractive
>ways to incorporate framed artifacts in displays without hanging
>them on a architectural wall.

The display of historic paper artifacts here depends a lot on the
design concept from designers and curators. After the Singapore
History Museum was revamped and re-named as National Museum of
Singapore, the design of exhibits changes a lot. The new designers
do not like the glare from Mylar. The current practice is strapping
paper artifacts onto archival mountboards with transparent PE straps
and/or silk thread without encapsulation or hinging them onto
matboards, and then strapped onto acrylic stands.

In the past years historic papers was encapsulated for display with
the polyweld machine. There were problems of fixing the encapsulated
papers to the showcase panels. Initially tapes were used, and there
were difficulty of removing them after the exhibitions. It ended up
the conservators having to cut open the encapsulations to take the
artifacts out.

Later we solved that by pinning the encapsulated papers with L-pins
on the showcase panels that are made from MDF with 3 coatings of
Dacrylate and wrapped with fabric. This pinning method is similar to
what they do for small 3D objects. The pins are stainless steel
insect pins, inserted into a fine PE tubing and bent to L-shape.
This method is quick and easy. The mounter positioned the
encapsulated artifact and marked the places where he wanted to put
the pins, usually 2 at the top and 2 at the bottom. He drilled the
holes using a fine drill bit, pushed in the pins with the L facing
out. Then the artifact was placed back and then L pins were turned
in. To take out, just turn the bottom 2 pins out.

Siew Wah, Lee
National Heritage Board
Heritage Conservation Centre
Singapore


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:7
                   Distributed: Friday, July 25, 2008
                        Message Id: cdl-22-7-003
                                  ***