Mounting items in vertical display

William Minter <wdm14<-at->psu<.>edu> writes

>...  Is there a safe, yet inexpensive way to mount
>artifacts, such as marbles or coins, in a vertical display?

One way to do this is with a sandwich of 3 layers of acrylic sheet
such as Perspex (Plexiglass).

The central sheet needs to be as deep as the objects.  A hole is cut
in it just large enough to hold the item.  The back sheet is
fastened to the middle sheet in enough places to make sure it can't
flex and allow items to slip.  The sheet is laid flat and each item
carefully placed in its hole.  The front sheet is attached and the
whole gently raised to the vertical and fastened in the display.

Advantages include: the objects are not fixed, they can be seen from
both sides, they can be looked at without being touched, the acrylic
is chemically stable and won't cause corrosion.  Disadvantages:
people may handle the sheet roughly causing damage if the items are
loose, objects can be damaged if the holes are not the right shape
or have rough edges, thick acrylic sheet can be expensive.  (Make
friends with your local supplier who will often let you have offcuts
and may even help with the cutting, especially if their help is
acknowledged.)

Hope this helps,

Helena Jaeschke
Conservation Development Officer
South West Museum Development Programme


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:44
                   Distributed: Friday, April 8, 2016
                       Message Id: cdl-29-44-003
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