Do you live in an asbestos box, a hermetically sealed pod, or maybe a cedar-lined trailer? If not, you need to protect your collectibles, including your family journals, loose documents, and photographs from damage caused by fire, water, and even insects.
In order to learn more about repair and preservation, I downloaded a fact-filled e-book titled Save Your Stuff by art conservator Scott M. Haskins. The subhead of the book invites you to “Discover Professional Collection Care Tips for Preserving and Protecting Valuable Collectibles, Vintage Photos and Books, Treasured Family Documents and More with Easy-To-Understand Instructions, How-To Videos and Photos.”
With an emphasis on books, photos, and artwork, Mr. Haskins also provides tips on caring for fine china and sterling silver. One of my favorite tips is to insert bags of sand inside vases that may be bumped by children or pets. And if you live in an earthquake zone, he recommends using a product called Museum Wax to anchor china to the shelf and anchor artwork to the walls. Speaking of earthquakes, I used to point and laugh at you poor Californians, until I saw a topical plat of my neighborhood and found out that my house lies directly on top of a fault line. Yikes! Pass the wax please.
I have an eclectic collection of craft books that includes such favorites as The Clay Lover’s Guide to Making Molds and Discovering Medieval Needlepoint. And if you need to get your hands on a copy of Knit Your Own Dog, I’m your girl. But my best-loved books are my grandmother’s college texts and a very tall pillar of 50s-era picture books. (Thank you, Deseret Industries.) I stumble over stacked books in nearly every room in my house, and many of them have damaged covers and end papers.
With a short attention span, my book sorting process usually goes like this:
- Group by size.
- Start over and group by category.
- Flip through picture books.
- Google unfamiliar illustrator and find out he is from Sweden.
- Google “How to Make Swedish Block Prints.”
- Google “How to Make Swedish Meatballs.”
So I have been studying Chapter 2, “Vintage and Important Books” and have been making real progress! Thankfully, Mr. Haskins outlines a helpful system for organizing in bite-sized pieces. And as described in this chapter, I have made book covers out of clear Mylar for the books that go back on the shelf and have put the family journals in archival boxes.
And based on this advice, I have moved my bookcases away from large windows to avoid too much heat or sun. “Remember, where you store books is very important. Avoid places where there are extremes of temperatures or moisture and potential mold or bugs, such as basements, attics, the barn, or garage. Never store books near water heaters or other appliances.”
The chapters are divided as follows:
- Introduction and Outline
- Ceramics and Glass
- Vintage and Important Books
- Treasured Paper Items
- Paintings and Artwork
- Cherished Photography
Addendums cover documentation and labeling, conservation and framing, risk management and damage control, and suppliers.
This book is meant to be used as a preservation reference guide and therefore has overlapping information based on category. If you love your collectables, take the time to care for them. I am so happy that I have tackled my book sorting and preservation project because I believe that my great-great granddaughter just might want to knit her own dog.
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