Shipping inflatable objects

Susan L. Maltby <susan.maltby<-at->utoronto<.>ca> on behalf of Amber E.
Morgan,  writes

>    We have a number of inflatable toys from the 70s and 80s that
>    someone wants to borrow from us.  The toys came from Warhol's
>    do not alter items we find in the Time Capsules, opting to leave
>    them exactly as Warhol left them.  In theory, these should be
>    really easy to ship--they aren't fragile and they act as their
>    own padding.  Except we have to ship them internationally on a
>    cargo flight.  I've seen what happens to bags of chips and
>    plastic bottles at altitude so I'm pretty worried about these
>    toys.
>
>    The obvious answer is to deflate them, but our curator does not
>    want to do that. ...

I don't know how large these objects are, but could you put them
inside a rigid air-tight box or drum?  Assuming the seal is good,
the air pressure inside the box or drum will not be affected by the
reduced pressure in the aircraft's hold.

Barry Knight
St Albans
England


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 30:7
                  Distributed: Saturday, July 2, 2016
                        Message Id: cdl-30-7-004
                                  ***