>
> << That state of affairs does not yet
>  exist in preservation work, and I hope it never does. An ethical
nightmare.
>   >>
>
> Bruce,
>
> I'm not sure I understand your comment. In my preservation work I am
> increasingly called upon by the architectural conservators to make the
repairs
> invisible to the eye and as closely matching to the existing as
possible...

In antique furniture restoration at the marketplace level (not talking
about museum conservation) the ideal restoration is not just one that will
fool the eye as it passes across it, but one that will remain undetected
under close scrutiny. The dynamic of the marketplace is that, with the
exception of the very rarest pieces, the value of a piece diminishes in
proportion to the amount of restoration performed on it, and, in fact, any
piece that has more than minor restoration is a tough or impossible sell at
any discount. Most dealers get totally paranoid at the idea of
documentation of the repairs, and some go so far as to insist that their
pieces being worked on in the workshop be covered at all times that work is
not being performed.

Is this type of venial tomfoolery now the rule in the preservation
marketplace? It certainly isn't so here where old house work is concerned.

Bruce