Conservator: Practice preventative care, not restoration

Featuring the immensely popular characters Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, this metal lunchbox was manufactured by Thermos in 1954 and came with an aluminum thermos. This lunchbox was one of Thermos’ first forays into the market of character-licensed lunchboxes. It is said to be in response to Aladdin’s release of the Hopalong Cassidy lunchbox. — Antiques Treasures Show at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Jan. 26, 2019.

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Often found in arcades across America in the 1950s were these coin-operated strength testers. This one, the Mercury Athletic Scale, was made by Great Lakes System starting in 1951. The machines needed only a penny to get started and then users could either lift, twist or grip the center handle to test their strength — Antiques Treasures Show at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Jan. 26, 2019.

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A tool for measuring, the fanega was an instrument used to help regulate grain and flour trade. This fanega measures out one liter for farmers, merchants and buyers. The rim of the box was reinforced with metal strips and the corners were branded by an inspector to prevent tampering. — Antiques Treasures Show at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Jan. 26, 2019.

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This flag, held by its current owner Kevin Dasing, flew on the USS New Orleans during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on Oct. 23-26, 1944. The Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippines) is said by many to be the largest naval battle of World War II. During the battle, Japanese forces were crippled, allowing the U.S. invasion of the Philippines and reinforcing the Allies’ control of the Pacific. — Antiques Treasures Show at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Jan. 26, 2019.

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This sterling silver and pink enamel beauty set is estimated to from the 1920s, or thereabouts. The art deco-inspired pieces have a guilloche pattern that was quite common at the time. The bowl in the middle is a hair receiver. Hair receivers were used in the Victorian era and even up until the 1950s. The hair would be collected from brushes and combs and used to create ratts (small balls of hair) that could be used to create volume and fullness in a hairstyle. The extraneous hair was also sometimes used as stuffing for pin cushions and small pillows. — Antiques Treasures Show at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Jan. 26, 2019.

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This vintage, dark green nine-drawer cabinet served as a display case for artists’ drawing pencils in art supply stores in the 1960s. The company, Venus Pen and Pencil Corporation, started as the American Lead Pencil Company in 1905. It changed its name to Venus in 1956 and was later acquired by Faber-Castell in 1973. — Antiques Treasures Show at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Jan. 26, 2019.

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Once worn by infantry officer J. Martel, this mint-condition shako is estimated to be from the 1850s. Unique to this shako is the original hat box with name and size, as hat boxes were usually discarded soon after issue. — Antiques Treasures Show at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Jan. 26, 2019.

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Almost every kid growing up has owned a Tonka toy truck. This red and blue dump truck is circa 1960s and is made of pressed steel. It is said that Tonka benefited from the end of World War II because there was an excess supply of steel, which they could use to craft their trucks. — Antiques Treasures Show at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Jan. 26, 2019.

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This scrapbook was created during World War II by a Mrs. A F Howard in El Paso. It chronicled the lives of her three sons who all joined the navy to fight in the war. The scrapbook features news clipping, luggage tags, telegrams and even bar napkins that her sons would send back to her. — Antiques Treasures Show at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Jan. 26, 2019.

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Do you have any vintage or antique items lying around your house? They may be hung on the wall, placed on a shelf, or most likely in a box somewhere in the attic. But, if you want to maintain, sell or pass on these items, their biggest threat is often misguided or

improper storage.

Silvia Marinas-Feliner, art conservator and the director of the museum conservation program at New Mexico State University, offered tips for maintaining those valuables during the Antique Treasures Show at the New Mexico State Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum on Saturday.

The biggest advice Marinas has for anyone looking to preserve their valuables is to practice preventative care, not restoration.

To help, here are five common agents Marinas says might be whittling away at the value of your belongings and how you might be able to prevent it.

Physical forces

Forces like shocks, vibrations and gravity are some of the quickest ways your valuables can be damaged. The effects can be cumulative (such as from improper support or handling) or catastrophic (think: earthquakes or shelves collapsing).

Marinas suggests that the key to avoiding this kind of damage is to make sure your items are securely stored and handled gently with gloved hands. Additionally, if your antique is stored somewhere where it faces a lot of vibration (such as a high-traffic area with old wooden floors) you may want to provide inert padding to help absorb the shock of passersby.

Water

We know it and we use it in just about everything, but water can be extremely dangerous to many precious items. Even small amounts of clean water can cause materials to dissolve, leave tide marks, cause swelling and shrinking, corrosion and mold growth.

To avoid water damage, Marinas suggests keeping all artifacts at least 10 centimeters away from floors and water sources, inspecting the area after any storms and most importantly, keeping the items away from places with significant moisture like bathrooms or kitchens.

Pests

Many people go to great lengths to keep pests out of their yards and homes, but it’s the small, almost imperceptible pests that are a danger to our prized possessions. As many antiques are made with organic materials, they make great attractors for insects and vermin looking for food and shelter. Beyond the “ick” factor of just seeing a pest, they can also cause serious damage to your belongings through tunneling, consuming and excreting on your belongings.

Marinas says regular housekeeping is imperative to preventing pests, because they usually enjoy dark, dirty, undisturbed areas. In addition to keeping the duster handy, you may also want to place insect traps nearby and quarantine any new artifacts you acquire until they’ve been thoroughly cleaned.

Light

Let’s say you’ve just acquired a beautiful portrait for your home and can’t wait to show it off. You frame it, hang it and place some bright lights around it for maximum visibility, right? Wrong. While it may not be as obvious as other deteriorating factors, light can be extremely damaging to your artifacts, especially artwork. Visible, UV and infrared light can cause colors or materials to fade, darken, yellow or even flake if it creates enough heat. These damaging light sources can include sunlight, incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs and tungsten (halogen) bulbs.

Marinas offers a simple way to mitigate these factors: LED light bulbs. Many museums are switching to these types of lights because they are inexpensive, provide similar light as halogen, but do not give off the UV or infrared light that damages collections. Ultimately, whatever light sources you use, Marinas suggests a light rating of no more than 50 lux for light-sensitive items (such as organics, photos, textiles) and no more than 200 lux for less-sensitive items (like finished wood or oil paintings).

Temperature

It’s tempting to crank the heat to 80 degrees on a cold winter day or blast the air conditioning at 65 degrees during the summer, but these variations in temperature accelerate damage to your belongings. When temperatures are too high or low, the objects can end of up with cracking, shrinking, disintegration, mold and corrosion. This damage can also be made worse if the temperature allows for a high relative humidity where the object is stored.

To avoid this type of damage, Marinas suggests maintaining a consistent temperature of about 70 degrees. You should also avoid putting your items near heat sources, such as vents, kitchens or windows. If you do need to change the temperature or relocate an item to a different climate, Marinas suggests to do so gradually to avoid major swelling o shrinkage in the objects.

No self-restoration

Although Marinas advocates to stop these damages before they occur, even a piece that has experienced heavy damage can still be of value in the end.

“Don’t throw things away just because they look bad,” she said. “They can still be restored!”

However, attempting self-restoration is the biggest mistake she said most people make with their valuables.

“Trying to fix it, like gluing or taping, or using products from home to try and clean objects, they’re terrible,” said Marinas. “Do not touch it. Those things can really make it worse than it is. It is better to leave it alone… and then whenever you can, bring it to someone who is an expert.”

The antique show will continue Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with more demonstrations like wool spinning and blacksmithing, a silent auction and another round of “Stump the Chump,” where visitors can bring in their own unique items for museum curators to guess.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens, and $3 for children and include the regular museum offerings in addition to entrance to the antique show.

Kaitlin Englund in a freelance writer and can be reached at englundk2@gmail.com.

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