Bird skin

Anna-Isabel Frank <anna-isabel_frank [at] web__de> writes

>I am looking for information (personal experience or bibliography)
>about methods for the repair of severely insect-damaged feathered
>bird skins. ...

There are a few publications which will give you some useful options
in stabilizing insect damaged bird skins.  Choices will vary
depending on the type of object and the way in which it will be used
in the future.  Many of the problems are the similar as those found
with damaged fur skins and treatments for gut artefacts are also
relevant as bird skins tend to be thin and delicate.  Taxidermists
take a rather different approach, for example to the repair of bird
skins in study collections.  The following references are probably
the most useful, but I can email you a more complete bibliography if
you contact me.

    Rae A. and Wills B.  2002. Love a Duck: the Conservation of
    Feathered Skins.
    In: M Wright, ed. The Conservation of Fur, Feathers and Skin,
    Proceedings of the Conservators of Ethnographic Artefacts
    Seminar, 11 December 2000. London: Archetype Publications,
    43-61.

    White, S.J. and Sully, D.M. 1992.
    "The conservation of a Siberian parka: a joint approach"
    in P. Hallebeek; M. Kite and C. Calnan (eds) Conservation of
    Leathercraft and Leather Objects, procs. ICOM-CC Leathercraft
    and Related Objects Working Group Meeting, London, 54-7.

The forthcoming Institute of Conservation Ethnography Group Seminar
'Feather and Gut: current perspectives, research and treatment' 23
June  2009, in York, UK, is likely to be very useful.  Details will
be available at

    <URL:http://www.icon.org.uk>

Allyson Rae
ACR, BA, Cons Cert
Freelance Conservator


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:60
                 Distributed: Saturday, April 18, 2009
                       Message Id: cdl-22-60-003
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