Preserving Masonic History: Artifacts and Miscellanea

 By T.S. Akers

 

Scottish Rite caps on display in the McAlester Scottish Rite Temple

This is the second post in a two-part series on properly caring for Masonic history. In the first installment, the basic steps for preserving books, records, documents, and photographs were addressed. This installment will deal with the artifacts that comprise the material culture of Freemasonry, which can range from textiles to metals and porcelain, with just about everything in between.

 

Preserving Artifacts and Miscellanea

 

Atmospheric Conditions 

 

There are certain atmospheric conditions that need to be maintained when storing and displaying artifacts of a wide range of composition. Again, if you are comfortable, they are comfortable. As previously discussed with paper items, the best temperature setting remains 70°F with a variation of plus or minus 2°F. The target relative humidity is 50 percent, but 30 to 55 percent is an acceptable range. A relative humidity below 30 percent is too dry for vellum and similar materials (think leather), metal corrodes at 55 percent, and mold grows at 65 percent. One method for reducing the relative humidity in a space is to run the heater to reach a stable atmosphere. A small hygrometer can help with monitoring conditions in storage areas as well as display cases.

Where to Buy: 

Display Case Hygrometer

 

Housekeeping is a vital aspect to be considered with artifacts storage and display. Textiles and other items produced from animal skins are prone to attracting pests that can cause great amounts of damage to the items. Spaces need to be kept clear of the human detritus that can lead to bug infestations. Items stored and displayed should be checked regularly to ensure no pests have made their way into them. Sticky traps are especially useful to help identify what sort of pests are around. An easy way to eliminate bugs from a wool garment for example is to place it in a freezer for around 72 hours. Mothballs should be avoided altogether as they are also toxic to humans. Repeated and prolonged exposure to the fumes from mothballs could result in cataracts as wells a liver and kidney damage. Cedar wood is of course an age-old remedy for keeping moths at bay, but it does this through the release of oils, which can negatively impact textiles should they come in physical contact with the wood for an extended period.

 

Storage 

 

Storing assorted artifacts is like storing documents, in that archival materials should be employed, but there is also the need to build mounts in containers to ensure that no damage occurs. Archival boxes come in a variety of sizes to meet differing needs, but there are also some other options. Plastic tubs can be employed, but only safe plastics such as polypropylene should be used as others can off-gas volatile acids. Storage containers should be lined with acid free tissue paper.

Polypropylene can be identified by these symbols

Where to Buy:

Artifact Storage Boxes 

Textile Storage Materials 

 

When storing textiles such as aprons and garments, care should be taken to avoid creating creases in the object. If a garment needs to be folded for storage, use acid free tissue paper to stuff the item so creases are more like rolls. Aprons should be stored flat and can be stacked if a buffer, such as acid free tissue paper or unbleached muslin, is placed between each apron. If hanging garments, be sure to pad the hangers to reduce stress on the garment. Garments that have long hung on simple wire hangers usually exhibit a major stress crease where the weight of the garment has pulled it down. Headwear may require that it be stuffed with acid free tissue paper to best maintain its shape. Never seal any of these items in plastic bags, such as those used for “wedding dress preservation.” Textiles need to be in environments with some air movement.

 

An example of a hanger that has been padded and then covered with muslin

Flags present their own difficulties when it comes to storage and storing them flat is not always feasible. The best solution here is often to roll the flag over a muslin covered cardboard tube. Gaylord Archival has an excellent resource on rolling and storing flags.

 

Preservation of Flags & Large Textiles by Gaylord Archival

 

For fragile items, such as porcelain, foam inserts should be cut and placed into storage boxes to ensure the piece is secured against any movement that could lead to damage. A polyethylene foam that will not off-gas should be used for creating such inserts.

Display

 

There are a multitude of display techniques available. In general, the same concepts used in storing artifacts should be applied to displaying them. Ensuring that the item does not become damaged is the key. For example, a display case with a wood bottom should be lined with unbleached muslin to provide a buffer between the wood and the artifacts within. Foam rings, wrapped in muslin, can be used to mount bowls in a position to see any interior decorations and secure them from potential movement that could lead to damage. To prevent creases from forming in the sleeves of garments, they can be stuffed with acid free tissue paper. The rule to live by is, do nothing to an item that cannot be reversed, be it regarding display or storage.

 

A porcelain bowl resting upon a "donut" style mount

 

Light exposure is one of the most important factors to take into consideration when displaying artifacts. There are a few exceptions though, light poses no threat to stone, ceramics, and metals. When items are displayed, fluorescent lights should be fitted with UV filters (LED bulbs are the optimal choice). No items should ever be displayed where direct sunlight will fall on them. Solar shades, which can block up to 99% of UV rays, or drapes should be used to cover exterior windows in display spaces. To monitor any potential fading of items, textile fading cards can be employed. These cards feature wool cloth dyed in a blue scale and work by placing the cards where half is exposed to the light conditions in the display space.

 

Where to Buy:

Textile Fading Cards 

 

Solar shades in the windows of the upper gallery of the McAlester Scottish Rite 

 

Conservation and Restoration 

 

The nature of the material culture of Freemasonry is that some of it remains in use, longer after it was produced. This is part of the traditions of the Fraternity and care should be given to these items so that they last for future generations. Cleaning and repair of certain regalia items should be standard practice.

 

Regarding cleaning textiles, some will mention using a “reputable dry cleaner.” Accidents can happen at any dry cleaner, so it may be best to consult a conservator if an item is extremely delicate. Some items can be handwashed using an extra gentle cleanser, such as Orvus WA Paste. Gently going over an item with an inexpensive garment steamer is the easiest way to bring textiles back to life. Additionally, minor sewing repairs to garments to stabilize them, such as securing linings or braids, is perfectly acceptable.

 

A British Hussars tunic with replaced toggles and repaired braid

Masonic aprons are a common artifact that many will encounter. They also can be some of the most delicate and are made of a variety of materials including leather, velvet, satin, cotton, silk, or any combination thereof. Silk aprons are incredibly difficult to maintain, as silk shreds or shatters as it ages. Additionally, there is weighted silk, which was widely popular in the nineteenth century. Weighted silk is created by chemically treating the silk to make it heavier, a process which damages the silk, causing it to deteriorate at an expedited rate. Silk items can be stabilized with backing materials and sometimes with a net overlay. When dealing with silk that exists in a precarious state, a conservator should be enlisted.

 

Masonic jewels are another common item found in collections. As they are quite likely to be worn by many successive generations, they should be properly maintained. Replacing worn out ribbons and suspension links should be done as needed. This will help to ensure that jewels with multiple parts are maintained together. Major repairs, such as enameling, plating, or any items that require soldering should be performed by a competent jeweler. Light polishing is fine for these items that will continue to be used.

A Past Grand High Priest jewel, before and after restoration

Handling 

 

Just like with handling documents, handling artifacts is often best done with an ungloved hand. As stated in the previous post, a gloved hand lacks the tactility of an ungloved hand, which can lead to accidents that might cause damage to an item. Before handling any items, hands should be washed thoroughly and dried completely. Do not apply any lotion and remove any jewelry.

 

Additional Resources 

 

While this has been an overview of basic principles, there are several resources available that may answer specific questions and provide more detail on particular topics.

 

Available online:

Gaylord Archival - Guide to Collections Care

 

National Park Service - Conserve O Grams

 

Murray Conservation Services - Oklahoma Textile Conservator 

Books:

Exhibits for the Small Museum: A Handbook

by Arminta Neal

ISBN: 0910050236

 

Great Exhibits!: An Exhibit Planning and Construction Handbook for Small Museums

by Beth Hansen

ISBN: 9781442270763

Preserving Masonic History: Books, Records, Documents, Photographs

By T.S. Akers

 

The upper gallery of the McAlester Scottish Rite Temple
 

Masonic halls across Oklahoma, and the Nation, exist in a precarious state. Many of those halls house a variety of items relating to the material culture of the Fraternity and its history. It was a lodge fire in 2013 at Okmulgee that led to the creation of a photographic archive in partnership with the Oklahoma Historical Society. While the majority of the historic Templar photographs housed at Okmulgee were rescued, everything in the building could have been lost. It is for this reason that our Fraternity needs to begin serious efforts to preserve our material cultural moving forward. This post, which is part one of two, will address basic steps that can be taken towards properly caring for our Masonic History. 

 

Preserving Books, Records, Documents, and Photographs 

 

Storage 

 

When storing or displaying paper items, something to remember is that if you are comfortable, they are comfortable. The best temperature setting is 70°F with a variation of plus or minus 2°F. The target relative humidity is 50 percent, but 30 to 55 percent is an acceptable range. A relative humidity below 30 percent is too dry for vellum and similar materials, metal corrodes at 55 percent, and mold grows at 65 percent.

 

Materials should be stored in archival boxes, which are acid-free. These boxes come in a variety of sizes for a variety of different applications. For documents and photographs that are 8.5x11 or smaller, acid free folders should also be used for filing items in archival document boxes. For larger documents and photographs, there are polyester L-Sleeves that these can be placed in. They provide protection against tears and with the addition of an acid free backer board can provide support for the item. A series of documents or photographs in L-Sleeves could then be placed in a large archival box to be laid flat. L-Sleeves are the best solution for large documents that have previously been folded. Additionally, books with bindings that are in poor condition should also be stored in archival boxes to prevent further damage. 

 

Archival Boxes

 

Where to Buy:

Document Storage Boxes

Polyester L-Sleeves 

 

One other note on tears in documents and photographs. It is often a wise decision to stabilize items if possible. While polyester L-Sleeves do a great job of this, there is also acid free and pH neutral document repair tape that can make items more sound to prevent further damage. This tape is applied to the reverse side of items.

 

Where to Buy:

Document Repair Tape 

Display 

 

Paper materials also need to be shielded from UV light, which can be achieved through a variety of methods. When stored, these sorts of items should be in drawers or archival boxes, which will eliminate exposure to light. When displayed, fluorescent lights should be fitted with UV filters (LED bulbs are the optimal choice). No items should ever be displayed where direct sunlight will fall on them. Solar shades, which can block up to 99% of UV rays, or drapes should be used to cover exterior windows in display spaces.

 

When displaying documents or books, one wants to ensure that documents do not curl, and pages remain in place. Documents in polyester L-Sleeves owing to their condition should remain in those protective coverings. They may then be mounted to a backer board (any acid free mat board) using clear polyester strips, sold in rolls, with the strips holding down the four corners. This same method can be used for documents not in L-Sleeves. The clear polyester strips should also be used to hold down the pages of books displayed opened to specific passages. Book display cradles can be crafted using foam to relieve pressure on the binding.

 

Polyester strips holding pages down in a display

Where to Buy:

 Polyester Strips by the Roll

 

An example of a book display cradle

 

Charters for Masonic bodies are probably the most important and commonly displayed document found in a Masonic hall. These are also the one paper item that is commonly damaged in Freemasonry. Water damage and humidity have taken their toll on many Masonic charters, with humidity probably being the main culprit. Humidity causes what is called cockling on paper and cloth items, which is when the items become wavy or rippled. This occurs as the paper moves from a damp environment to a dry environment, drying unevenly. Cockling can be somewhat reversed by professional framers and paper conservators. One option for charters is to have them wet mounted and reframed. In this process, the paper object is typically bonded to acid-free, buffered paper with wheat starch that has been made into a paste. A heavy-weight canvas is then added to the back of the paper for extra rigidity. When reframing charters, the additional expense of museum glass is a sound investment to prevent any future fading.

 

A diploma that exhibits cockling

Digitization 

 

One important component of preservation is digitization. Holding original documents in archives is the foundation of preservation, but researchers being able to access those items is why archives exist. This is where digitization comes into play, as the archival documents or photographs can be made available remotely. Digitization also serves to provide a copy of archival documents or photographs in the event of a catastrophe. Scanners are relatively inexpensive and digitized holdings can easily be stored in the Cloud, making them available to countless researchers through services like Google Drive. Additionally, partnerships can typically be established with collecting institutions that have large format scanners for larger items. These institutions may scan those larger items for free, or a small fee, in exchange for allowing them to add the original item to their collections. 

 

Handling

 

One area of dealing with archival records and photographs that can be overlooked is that of handling the items. Popular television would lead us to believe that white gloves are an essential tool in the archivist or curators toolbox, when the opposite is true. To put it simply, a gloved hand lacks the tactility of an ungloved hand, which can lead to torn pages and dropped books. Gloves can also retain dirt and sweat from hands, which makes them even worse for the items being handled. Before handling any archival items, hands should be washed thoroughly and dried completely. Do not apply any lotion and remove any jewelry. Photographs may be the one exception where gloves are still encouraged for handling.

 

Resources for Purchasing Archival Goods

 

Gaylord Archival

Hollinger Metal Edge

 

University Products