Unique Items
The remaining items were three-dimensional objects requiring specialized housing and support. The Local Legacies collection includes a small number of flags and banners, the majority of which were housed by rolling them onto supportive tubes along with protective unbleached cotton muslin, which was sewn around the support tube to keep it in place. The rolled flags and muslin coverings were tied securely with cloth twill tape, and set on end supports that hold the tubes aloft in their boxes to prevent uneven pressure being exerted on these textiles. Any textile objects that were too large to fit inside the exterior boxes while rolled were housed in a manner similar to the shirt housing — folded with the fewest number of creases around a batting and tissue paper pillow, inside a four-flap box.
Left: Decorative flag from the Neewollah celebration in Kansas. Center: A technician sews muslin fabric around a support tube for a flag or banner. Right: Rolling large textiles around these tubes allows the Library to store them without any potentially damaging folds.
Left: Banner from the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame. Center: A technician sews muslin fabric around a support tube for a flag or banner. Right: A finished textile housing using a support tube and muslin fabric -- twill tape secures the roll.
Piggy bank housing
One particularly unusual object in the collection is a ceramic piggy bank, made of a small jug to which legs, ears, eyes, and a tail were added. The bank required a housing whose sides would not twist or torque, and the insides of which had to fit closely and be adequately padded to prevent damage in the event that the object shifted. The piggy bank was placed on a corrugated cardboard tray with a carved foam insert to reduce the likelihood of its feet sliding, and strapped down using clear polyethylene. The tray fits inside a box with one drop-side, allowing it to be removed for viewing without requiring anyone to touch the object. The box was padded on all sides with corrugated board spacers covered with soft closed cell cross-linked polyethylene foam. On the drop side of the box, the padding was hinged rather than attached directly, so that it can be opened out to allow the tray to slide smoothly for removal.
Left: Ceramic piggy bank from North Carolina’s Lexington Barbecue Festival. Right: The piggy bank’s finished housing surrounds it with soft, non-abrasive polyethylene foam, and spacers covered in more padding keep the box rigid.
Left: One side of the box drops down to allow easier access to the piggy bank. Right: The tray holding the bank slides out over the dropped side, but the polyethylene strap around it holds it in place.
Dolls
This doll from the Wilber Czech Festival in Nebraska rests on a batting-filled pad along with her metal stand, and both are held in place by twill tape ties.
The Local Legacies project also includes a small number of dolls. The basic goal of housing the dolls was to provide adequate padding to protect them from impact and abrasion, and to prevent shifting within their boxes. One smaller doll, which came accompanied by a metal doll stand, was placed in a box with one side covered in batting and muslin, and both the doll and her stand with given cloth twill tape ties to hold them in place. A larger baby doll with a more fragile ceramic head, which arrived with all the original packaging as well as a hat, got a new box with padded sides and shaped padded insets to fit around the doll’s head, arms, and legs. Like the earlier doll, this baby doll was secured with twill tape straps.
Scarf/bandana housing
With one edge tucked securely under a batting-and-tissue paper cushion, these bandanas from the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Nebraska function like the pages of a book for easy viewing. More tissue paper rests in between each layer of cloth to reduce the need to handle the bandanas directly.
One project donation included a stack of nearly identical bandanas of different colors. Conservation staff housed these items by interleaving them with sheets of acid-free tissue paper cut to the size of the cloth, stacking them all together, and wrapping one side of the stack around a thin batting cushion whose ends were fastened to a sheet of corrugated board. The resulting “book” of bandanas keeps them flat and protected while allowing easy access.
Garters housing
Garters from the Colorado festival Leadville Boom Days wrap around supports made of polyester film and polyethylene tubing.
Determining the best way to preserve a collection of seven lacy garters presented a challenge to Conservation staff members. Staff arranged the garters on a covered corrugated board, each garter resting around a polyethylene pillow with a circular band of clear flexible polyester sealed inside to lend support and depth. The polyethylene pillow bands extend through slits in the backing board and are affixed to the back of the boards, which are laminated for additional strength.
Marinade bottle housing
Food items proved to be especially challenging additions to the collection. For instance, Local Legacies received a set of barbecue accessories including metal skewers and three full bottles of steak marinade. Staff disposed of the liquid in the bottles by first covering the exteriors of the bottles with polyethylene to preserve their paper labels and then pouring them out. Marinade residue was removed and the polyethylene covers removed. The bottles were left open for several weeks to allow a residual odor to dissipate. The bottles were reassembled, including their original shrink-wrap around the lids, and housed on a soft layer of closed cell cross-linked polyethylene foam with clear polyethylene straps to hold them in place. Their box also had spacers placed inside to take up extra space and further restrict movement of the bottles.
Left: Bottles full of actual steak marinade from New York’s Spiedie Fest arrived, along with barbecue skewers, in this box. Center: Conservation technicians empty and clean the bottles before housing them. Right: A preservation specialist pours out marinade so that the bottle can be washed before it is put away.
Left: Conservation technicians empty and clean the bottles before housing them. Right: A fully cleaned marinade bottle rests on a layer of foam and is held in its box by a clear polyethylene strap.
Exterior Boxes
Now carefully re-housed in custom enclosures, the three-dimensional objects of Local Legacies will have a permanent storage location at the Library of Congress facility at Fort Meade, Maryland, a high density, climate-controlled space where the air is conditioned to 50° F ± and 30% RH. The optimal storage conditions at this facility will help to extend the life of the objects so that future generations will long be able to refer back to this snapshot of American life at the turn of the 21st century.
Left: Completed Local Legacies boxes. Right: Completed Local Legacies boxes.
