In a message dated 12/14/2009 8:58:14 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: Date: 14 Dec 2009 From: Alastair Fox <alastair.fox [at] pch__gc__ca> Subject: Furniture damaged by fire Christopher Gray <methistory [at] aol__com> writes >Recently I cross-posted the Canadian posting about "a fire-damaged, >Victorian sewing table where consolidation of localized charring was >a main concern." (Conservation DistList Instance: 23:19 Sunday, >November 29, 2009) Cons DistList subscribers will probably not >recall it as anything too remarkable, but the extent of the measures >taken to keep the item intact struck me as verging on idolatry, >although I have no way of knowing whether or not the table belonged >to Queen Victoria or whatever. (This is not to say that I did not >find admirable and interesting the science behind the post itself.) It was disappointing to read Mr Gray's letter about the treatment of a burnt sewing table. While it does not seem useful to respond to many of the points in his post, I felt some clarifications were required. The mandate of the Canadian Conservation Institute is to support the heritage community in preserving Canada's heritage collections; our activities include training emerging conservators and carrying out treatment development to preserve (not reproduce) Canadian Heritage. The sewing table damaged by the fire was used to develop new treatment for fire damaged furniture--a subject on which there seems to be very little current information--and as a training piece for a highly skilled intern. Other criteria for selecting this piece included the provenance (it is from the collection of the original owners and a core artifact for a historic house museum), and the quality of the walnut burl marquetry table. The results from testing of consolidants and resins at CCI are used by conservators and preservation specialists around the world who are concerned about the properties and the performance of these products. This work saves time and money, especially benefitting other organizations that would not have the resources internally to research the best ways to preserve their artifacts. Understanding the long term effects of products used in treatments ensures that costly (and sometimes irreversible) mistakes are avoided. Alastair Fox Conservator of Furniture and Decorative Arts Canadian Conservation Institute 1030 Innes Road Ottawa Canada K1A 0M5 613-998-3721 ext. 286 -- **Please remember to trim posts, as requested in the Terms of Service** To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to: <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>