General Tips
Display or store items in a stable clean environment: 72° or below, and humidity between 45-55%.
Keep treasures away from heat sources, outside walls, basements, and attics.
Keep items out of the sun or fluorescent light; these are especially dangerous to fabrics and anything on paper.
Avoid using abrasive cleaners, dry-cleaner's bags, glues, adhesive tapes and labels, pins and paper clips, acidic wood, cardboard or paper, and pens and markers.
Don't attempt to repair damages. Well-intended but amateur repairs usually do more harm than good.
Image: "Three Unidentified Women"
(Daguerreotype Collection, Library of Congress)
Saving Kentucky's Past - Preserving Family Heirlooms
Family treasures link generations in a deep, personal way. Anyone who has seen a great-grandmother's doll, an uncle's baseball cap, or a photo of a relative going off to war knows how moving these pieces of history can be. These guidelines will help you take care of your family treasures.
Not everyone will be able to follow every piece of advice, but do what you can. Even simple, inexpensive steps can go a long way toward preserving your heirlooms.
And you should keep in mind that enjoying family heirlooms and preserving them is always a balancing act. For fragile objects like crystal or heirloom clothing, the tradeoffs are easy to see -- the more you handle them, the greater the risk. But exposing almost any family treasure to everyday changes in light, heat, and humidity will eventually cause damage. The advice here will help you decide where to draw the line.
By taking care of your family's precious objects, you give three gifts: the treasure themselves, your dedication in preserving them, and a richer understanding of your family's history.
Find a conservator in the Kentucky area.
Information provided in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Supplemented by the following resources:
"Preserving Your Family's Papers." Iowa State University of Science and Technology. 2000. [Last accessed: 9/10/04]
"Conservation Tips." Minnesota Historical Society. [Last accessed: 9/10/04]
"Preserving Family Papers and Documents." University of Wyoming American Heritage Center. [Last accessed: 9/10/04]
"Preserving My Heritage." Canadian Conservation Institute. 2002 [Last accessed: 9/10/04]
"Preserving and Restoring Furniture Coatings." Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education. 2002. [Last accessed: 9/10/04]
"Tips of the Trade." Antiques Roadshow/PBS. [Last accessed: 9/10/04]