Fran E. Ritchie
The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for protecting and operating over 423 individual “units”, including 63 National Parks, 74 National Historic Sites, and other designated areas such as battlefields, monuments, nature preserves, and more. Gettysburg National Military Park (GETT) commemorates the Union victory and turning point in the Civil War, as well as its bloodiest battle. The Museum Conservation Labs at NPS Harpers Ferry Center (HFC) are responsible for supporting and performing conservation work across all park sites. A recent project for GETT prepared objects from the park and from the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia (CWMP) for display in a temporary exhibit on A Rough Coarse Life: The World of the Civil War Soldier. Some treatments were typical of battlefield sites, such as tin canteens, firearms, and medals. More surprising, however, were the organic objects that included a Prussian-style calfskin sharpshooter knapsack, a piece of hardtack (cracker), and a painted wooden prosthetic hand. These unique pieces of cultural heritage required the use of methods more commonly used on organic and natural science materials that may be less known to objects conservators with other sub-specialties.
The calfskin sharpshooter knapsack is one of only a handful that exist today. Extensive hair loss from pest infestation, leather loss and deterioration, and textile fragility called for leather and hair fills using flexible acrylic emulsion adhesives and commercially sourced hides of a variety of species. The dried and brittle hardtack required testing various adhesives (such as cellugel, methyl cellulose, and Butvar B-98) on modern-day crackers to determine the best consolidant for porous food that would not impart a glossy tideline. The flaking paint and large losses of the fingertips on the rare prosthetic hand necessitated consolidation and cleaning of the paint, and the use of toned bulked adhesives to create a more cohesive appearance. Unlike other park projects, the GETT curator and CWMP representative were instrumental in determining the extent of treatment for each object and was guided by the desire to present them as they would have been encountered by a Civil War soldier. The exhibition’s important narrative directed more interventive approaches than are often practiced on utilitarian objects, but the results of the treatments allow the visitor to focus on the personal stories surrounding a dark moment in our nation’s history, rather than the effects of 150 years of aging.
This talk will highlight decision-making processes, materials, and methods used on hides and leather, painted wood, and cellulose collections that objects conservators can incorporate into their treatments of similar substrates.