Display vs. Preserve?

[Gaspare]

Just so we all know what we'll be refering to,,a couple of short meanings of terms. We'll mainly be dealing with just these 2:

* Preservation
1. protection from harm: the guarding of something from danger, harm, or injury
2. a keeping of something unchanged: maintenance of something, especially something of historic value, in an unchanged condition

* Restoration
1. restoring of something: the return of something that was removed, or the restoring of something to a former condition
2. thing restored: something, especially a building, that has been brought back to an earlier and usually better condition

A dealer rarely 'preserves' but sometimes 'restores' ,,at least to a small degree!

Collectors usually preserve. Some will occasionally restore.

Restoration of items is sometimes a sore subject with collectors. Mention polishing up a dagger blade, or putting a breast eagle back on jacket will give some collectors a stroke! ,fine,,but we all should at least preserve our items the right way when we display them.
There are many ways to display our collections. Displaying them usually preserves them,,,or does it??!!
Can you actually ruin your items by the way you display them?

If any of you have some tried and true methods of displaying [not storing]your collections that also preserves them It would be great if you could start your own topic and let us know.. What do you display your medals/badges in?, your daggers?, uniforms,,and your documents, paperwork/photos..And, please, let us know how your display also preserves your pieces...Thanks..,G.

[WWII]

G,

Yes, I believe that some display methods are actually harmful to our collections.
For instance, too much light can fade all colors dramatically over short periods of time - the color red seems especially susceptible. A year or two in the wrong setting can do irreparable damage!

For those that might be interested, I'd say reading a couple of books on care and preservation of collections is in order. This can be especially helpful and all of us will pick up a few pointers when it comes to taking care of our prized possessions.

My wife is the director of a university art collection and knows her business fairly well. She's a stickler for conservation and preservation and has given me plenty of first-rate reading material on the subject over the years. These are fascinating,
worthwhile areas of study that can help us with our respective interests, no matter what we collect.

Here are a couple of photos of my first display project, back in the late 1970's.
The small photo was one of the only things to survive the Second World War,
a shot of my father right before he left for the Leningrad sector of the Russian front. One day my wife and I were out "antiquing," when I spotted the army dagger in an old gentleman's shop. I thought, how cool would it be to display that
with the photo, and maybe good original examples of his medals? Even though the dagger has nothing to do with my father directly, I thought it would set the tone for the display. The dagger is a mid-period example by Tiger. The small silver rectangle is a Russian medal that was awarded to civilian survivors of the 900 day seige.

I met this elderly gent at a meeting of medal collectors that I was invited to by a friend. We got to talking and I mentioned that my father served in the German army near Leningrad during the war. His eyes lit up as he explained that he was a young boy who spent the duration inside the encircled city. To say I was surprised would be an understatement... I told him about my dad's being a guest in one of Uncle Joe's labor camps for five years after the war and how he ended up here in the States. Before leaving that night, he pressed this medal into my hand and asked would I please give this to my father, as it would mean a lot to him. His eyes welled up as he began to explain how soldiers were soldiers, nothing more, nothing less. Faceless tools of the governments that they served, they were all the same, no matter what uniform, battles, wars or time period.

All the same ...
... you can see why that medal made it into my father's case.

Wishing all of you the very best!

Bill Warda Jr.

[derjager]

Bill, a moving display. I appreciate your sharing it.

Regards,--dj--Joe

[scott powell]

I keep all of my items in display cases. I collect medals and insignia so its very easy to both preserve as well as display . Also, about three or four times i year i do presentations in the community to honour the vets,and it makes it very easy to transport my collection and display it .

[Gaspare]

Hi guys ,,welcome!

Bill, late 70s!! The display still looks great!
Can your wife recommend any books on conservation and preservation?.. I know it's a wide subject. We all have to deal with lighting, glass, storage materials, temp.,contaminants etc. so anything she or you can recommend will help! Thanks , G.

[WWII]

Hi Guys,

Without getting into too much technical mumbo-jumbo, I find this one will cover
many collecting areas of interest:

"Caring For Your Collections"

The National Committee to Save America's Cultural Collections, Arthur W. Schulz, Chairman. Published 1992 by Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

This volume covers such subjects as paintings, paper, library and archival collections, photographs, furniture, textiles, metal, decorative arts, instruments, stone, etc. I think everyone should have at least one good book on the topic in their reference library. Well worth the price - around the cost of one good tinnie!
:thumbup1:

Best!

Bill

[ApathyL]

Hi Guys,

A very great thread! I made a small cabinet for most of my medals, I also put moisture absorbants what you find in medications and ect. into the cabinet, and my EK`s dont tarnish the ones that are tarnished they wont be worse its the same with other awards too, and they still display nicely. The first picture shows the cabinet I made, the awards there are in this condition for nearly 1 year now. Some of my other awards are in an IKEA cabinet, but they do tarnish, because its not sealed properly. Keep some more ideas coming!

Cheers, Les.


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[Steve R]

This is a great Post and about a subject which we speak little about. Most of my items are kept out of the light. Its always a shame when I see items in particular uniform that has been attacked by the moths. There are some good products on the market to prevent this and they don't smell as bad as they did in the good old days.

We all know that once the damage is done it is often permanant so I suggest we take the time to check the collection regularly and keep sharing our ideas.:thumbup:

Steve R