Conservator’s Corner

Meet the conservator: Carey Ward

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Photography by Marinco Kojdanovski, Powerhouse Museum.

Meet Carey Ward,
Project Manager, Conservation

How did you come to work at the Museum?
I started work at the Observatory in 1980 as the Scientific Instrument Maker and I was responsible for the maintenance of the clocks, telescopes and timeball, including making sure it dropped at 1.00 pm every day. Like the objects I now work with, I was ‘acquired’ by the Museum when the Observatory came under its wing in 1982. So when I do leave, I will have to be ’de-accessioned’.

Can you explain what your role is and describe a typical work day for you ?
I don’t have a typical work day as such. That is why I have managed to stay at the Museum for 30 years, every day is different. I am currently working in Conservation and my main role is to manage the stored collection at Castle Hill where we store the medium to large objects. I also organise the transport and movement of large objects where we sometimes use specialised contractors to move awkward objects such as trains and planes. Last month we installed the ‘Maid of Abundance’ sculpture in the Discovery Centre at Castle Hill. This involved moving a number of large objects and using two cranes to manoeuvre the sculpture into place without hitting the suspended aircraft.

What has been the most memorable experience or experiences for you in you 30 years at the Museum?
This would have to be working with the automated wool harvester . This is a robotic sheep shearing machine that was built onto the back of a semi-trailer in Adelaide. In 1992, my colleague Dave Rockell and I spent a week in Adelaide preparing this object to travel to Sydney. It was a prototype and had never been on the road so we were faced with many problems getting it roadworthy with very limited tools and equipment. Since then, we have taken it back to Adelaide and then again moved it from Adelaide to Naracoorte where it has taken pride of place in the Sheepsback Wool Museum. Last month, I had the chance to go back to Naracoorte to condition check and do some more work on it. It was like visiting an old friend.

You must have seen a lot of changes in the Museum over the last 30 years. What has been the most significant for you?
The most significant change for me has been the development and rationalisation of the Museum’s off-site stores at Castle Hill and opening them to the public. This has meant visitors can get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the stored collection, allowing many objects that have never been viewed before to be seen. At the moment we are trialling selected group tours through H Store, where they will be able to see the fabulous model collection, printing presses and aircraft.

If you had to choose, what object would you try to rescue if there was an emergency evacuation of Castle Hill or the Museum?
There are so many objects it would be hard to decide but I think that if the opportunity arose where something could be saved, I would choose the original Hargraves flight models. These include his prototype steam aero engine, propeller and wing designs and some of his early kites. These are truly significant objects as they show quite clearly how he worked through from flapping wings (ornithopter model) to the aerofoil wing shape we still use today in propellers and wings

Conservator’s Corner: Knight in shining armour

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Photography by Kate Chidlow @ Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

We have had a Finnish furniture conservation student, Sanna Makarainen, with us in the Conservation Department undertaking a 3 month internship with Bronwen Griffin, Mixed Media Conservator. Sanna recently worked on a mounted knight for the Tinytorium exhibition.

Photography by Kate Chidlow @ Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

Firsly, she brush-vacuumed the object thoroughly all over. Using the brush, Sanna removed all the surface dirt from the metal, leather and fabric construction materials. A small plastic tube was attached to the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner to reduce the suction flow. Tulle was attached to the end of the tube with a rubber band to ensure that if any fragments were accidently loosened, they could be easily caught in the gauze, rather than getting sucked into the vacuum cleaner.

Photography by Kate Chidlow @ Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

Photography by Kate Chidlow @ Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

The leather straps on the knight’s leg guards had deteriorated and separated and needed to be consolidated. Sanna removed the leg guards to give her better access to the straps. Some of the leather strapping was in poor condition and needed to be supported. Sanna used a heated spatula, Beva film and silk behind the leather to give it more strength. In two places, the leather strapping had to be re-adhered, so Sanna used Beva impregnated stablitex to sandwich the leather together.

Photography by Kate Chidlow @ Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.

There was quite a bit of red rot in the saddle leather. Sanna protected the fragile saddle with fabric to prevent further abrasion occurring when the knight is seated on the saddle and horse. Some loose fragments from the hooves were re-attached with Paraloid B72 adhesive.

Kate Chidlow
Conservator

Devereux Viola

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Viola made by John Devereux, 1869. 2003/36/1. Collection: Powerhouse Museum. Photography by Marinco Kojdanovski.

In the Museum’s Conservation Department, Tim Morris and Bronwen Griffin have been taking apart an unusual tuning peg mechanism for a viola.

The viola was made by John Devereux in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1869. John Devereux was one of the earliest professional makers of violin family instruments (violins, violas, cellos and double basses) in Australia. He was known for using Australian timbers and made special adaptations to his instruments to suit the heat and humidity of the Australian climate.

Collection: Powerhouse Museum. Photography by Nitsa Yioupras.

A quote from the Argus Newspaper, Melbourne talks about the tuning mechanism. It’s part of a slightly longer account of a visit and presentation of a violin by Devereux to HRH Prince Alfred, The Duke of Edinburgh in 1868 which resulted in him getting a royal appointment which appears on his labels after this point:

His Royal Highness expressed himself much pleased with his present and listened attentively to Mr Devereux’s instructions relative to the pegs of the instruments, an invention of the maker. These are ingeniously constructed so as to prevent the slips which pegs of the old fashioned pattern were liable to. (The Argus, Melbourne, 15/1/1868, p.5 col.b.)

Normally, a viola (or violin or cello) tuning peg is wooden with a finger grip at one end and a tapered wooden pin, which fits through holes in the instrument’s peg box, below the scroll. The string is pushed through a hole in the shaft and wound around several times by turning the peg until the correct pitch is reached. The peg is held in place by string tension and by push-fitting the taper into the peg box. This is a simple method, which usually works, but can be affected by changes in humidity. Pegs can become too loose and slip, causing the instrument to go out of tune, or too stiff to move, also making the instrument impossible to tune.

Collection: Powerhouse Museum. Photography by Nitsa Yioupras.

Devereux’s invention was to replace the tapered section of the wooden pin with a straight metal rod to which the string was attached as above. This rod passes through the holes in the peg box and extends to a threaded section, over which a wooden finger grip is secured with a metal ferrule. This assembly encompasses a flange on either side of one wall of the peg box, which squeezes against the timber when the ferrule is tightened, creating a clutch mechanism. The tuning peg looks and acts pretty much like an ordinary wooden one, but is less susceptible to changes in the weather.

For more information on other Devereux instruments in the Powerhouse collection, see here.

Bronwen Griffin, Mixed Media Conservator and Tim Morris, Metals Conservator

The finer details of textiles storage

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The first group of the week to take part in the object handling refresher. Photography by Melanie Pitkin.

This week staff from the Museum’s curatorial, registration and conservation departments took part in an object handling refresher focusing on the Museum’s vast textiles collection with Registrar, Sarah Pointon and Conservator, Suzanne Chee. For the past few months, Sarah and Suzanne have been doing an incredible job re-housing some of the Museum’s most beautiful textiles in the basement, not only improving their accessibility to staff, researchers and members of the public participating in basement tours, but also concentrating on the finer and often overlooked details of what it takes to achieve best level storage practices.

Assistant Collections Manager, Einar Docker demonstrates the single sheet of acid free tissue used to protect textiles. Photography by Melanie Pitkin.

Sarah started the session by explaining the move to using one single sheet of acid free tissue paper to protect garments in storage trays as opposed to several sheets arranged together. When returning a tray into a drawer, the individual sheets of tissue (whose lightweight means they are very sensitive to movement) often bunch up or slide around and can be prone to catching on heavily embroidered or detailed garments. By using one single sheet, the sides can be gently tucked in to prevent movement and you can easily lift the sheet in one go (an especially practical capability for those curators among us who lead group basement tours and move about from one stored garment to the next!).

Photography by Melanie Pitkin.

Sarah shows the little details to make object packing and storage easier. Photography by Melanie Pitkin.

To make sure we cut the single sheet of acid free tissue to the right size of the storage tray each time, Sarah and Suzanne attached a piece of fabric to the correct length of the tray to our packaging rack (as Sarah demonstrates above).

Every object is tagged and barcoded (see around the tops of the coat hangers). Photography by Melanie Pitkin.

The Museum also physically labels every object. In addition to a number written on a fabric strip, which is then sewn to a concealed part of the garment, an acid free paper tag describing the object, its location and barcode is placed with it (in the case of the vests, above, they hang around the neck of the coat hanger). To minimise object handling, all tags suspended from the coat hanger face in the same direction (to the left). But, of course, they only continue to hang in that direction if we all remember to return the label to its original position!

We were also reminded of the importance of working with and handling objects more generally, not just in terms of textiles, and I’ve decided to include them here:

1. Always wear gloves when handling objects both for the object’s protection, as well as your own
2. Lift objects – never drag, push or pull them. Lift objects by their most stable surface – never use handles or other projecting parts.
3. Don’t stack fragile objects such as ceramics and glass.
4. Pad objects with pillows and tissues to prevent rolling and vibration.
5. Some objects may need to be secured by ties and straps during transit. Always use a barrier between the tie and the object.
6. Ask for assistance with the move if you are not confident doing it yourself. Always ask for assistance when moving large or heavy objects and large paper objects.
7. Use as few moves as possible. Move the trolley/tray etc. to the object, not the other way around.
8. Always use special equipment such as tweezers for stamps, flat support boards for paper objects etc.
9. Cover objects when it is required to move them outdoors
10. Never rush as this is when accidents are most likely to happen

You can never be reminded of safe object handling practices too many times and the Museum organises such refresher sessions as these on a fairly regular basis to ensure consistency and best standard practice across all departments working with collections. As further upgrades to our storage takes place, we will also share these with you on our blog.

Tutorial: How to make a simple paper wig

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Photography by Sotha Bourn

This method of making wigs for display mannequins has been used in museums for over 20 years.

It is a great way for small museums and fashion students to create elegant wigs cheaply and easily. We have used white paper for our tutorial, but you could use anything you liked; ribbon, fabrics, unusual papers. You are only limited by your own imagination!

Post by Suzanne Chee, Conservator

Design underground #1 – In the fashion vault

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Photography by Sotha Bourn © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

Yesterday afternoon we kicked off the Design Underground tours as part of Sydney Design 2010 with an insightful, behind-the-scenes look at the expansive storage facilities of the Museum’s costume and accessories collection. Led by Suzanne Chee, the tour started with an overview of conservation work at the Museum and the breadth of the fashion collection. The first garment the group encountered was a crocheted dress designed by Romance Was Born and worn by Cate Blanchett at Federation Square, Melbourne in September 2009 (see image below). Dubbed by some as the ‘old-school granny rug’, the dress certainly turned a few heads among the group!

Collection: Powerhouse Museum

But, in order for garments like this to be kept in good condition, you need to ensure the correct climatic and humiditiy conditions and appropriate storage measures. Compared with the display of objects in exhibitions where the temperature is maintained at around 20 – 22 degrees, the long term storage of textiles requires a slightly cooler and constant temperature of 18 degrees (with a 50% relative humidity). When the store was setup in the 1980s, it was modelled on the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and The Kyoto Costume Institute (which have lots of hanging space). But, overtime, the Museum has increasingly opted to lay garments flat as this reduces the pressure placed on the shoulders and the seams created by hanging. This is moreso the case for the ‘heavier’ garments of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Photography by Sotha Bourn © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

Textile lengths, rugs and yardage are stored on aluminiuim rolls protected and covered with acid free tissue paper which can be easily moved about for study and display. Accessories, such as shoes, bags and gloves, are displayed flat in trays and filled with padding to help retain the object’s form.

Photography by Sotha Bourn © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

In the above image Suzanne shows the group how hats are stored and cared for. This is a Rugby League cap dating to 1914. It is placed on a wooden hat stand with a padded support shaped exactly to the size of the cap (if it was going to be displayed, it would be on an acrylic stand instead as it is slightly more pleasing to the eye!). The hats, as with a large part of the dress collection, are stored in compactus units, as you can see below.

Photography by Sotha Bourn © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

Following the tour, Suzanne showed the group how to make their own padded coathangers (of Museum standard!) to display their own precious garments over light refreshments. Everyone was particularly impressed by Suzanne’s ‘textiles-inspired’ cupcakes which were devoured in no time!

Photography by Sotha Bourn © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

If you’d like to take part in any other upcoming Design Underground tours, please click here or download the Sydney Design iPhone app here. The next tour we’ll be blogging about is ‘Telling Stories About Textiles’ with Principal Curator, Design and Society, Christina Sumner.

Suzanne Chee, Conservator and Melanie Pitkin, Curator

Conservator’s Corner- Using digital photography to recover daguerreotypes

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One of the Museum’s projects has been condition reporting, treating and re-housing the Early Photography Collection of Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes.

The daguerreotype was one of the earliest forms of photography. It is a permanently fixed, mirror-like silver image on a polished copper plate. By adjusting the angle it is held by, you can see a positive or a negative image, or it can appear like a mirror. It was a one-off and very delicate – the image can be destroyed by touch.

The daguerreotype was encased in an enclosure made from a variety of materials – glass, wood, leather, textile and paper. These materials all deteriorate differently and may also interact deleteriously with each other. This means that there is no perfect way to treat and store the whole object.

This 1850s daguerreotype of Melbourne had been dismantled previously. It was in pieces and very dirty. The image was very faded and difficult to decipher either with the naked eye or normal photography.

Collection: Powerhouse Museum

Conservator Rebecca Main removed the glass, matte and daguerreotype plate from the case and cleaned them. Because the daguerreotype itself could not be touched, the loose specks, dust and pieces of grit were removed by blowing on it with a photography dust blower.

The cleaning made the image a bit more readable, but it was still very faint to the eye. While cleaning it had become apparent that the negative image was sharper, with much more visible detail than when viewed as a positive.

Cleaning the daguerreotype metal plate.
Cleaning the daguerreotype metal plate

The uncovered, cleaned image was then re-photographed by photographer, Chris Brothers. The previous photos had been of the plate as a positive image, this time it was done as a negative image. The plate was held at different angles by Rebecca until the image was at its clearest. Chris took photos of the plate in sections, with a flat softbox light almost directly behind the photographer, making it possible to capture the negative image. Taking photos of the daguerreotype in sections allowed for much flatter and consistent lighting as well as improving the quality and details.

Bottom right hand corner of the daguerreotpye when viewed at a negative angle.

Bottom right hand corner of the daguerreotpye when viewed on a negative angle

Using the Photoshop computer program, the different images were composited –stitched together and inverted to create a new positive image. This revealed far more of the original detail of the daguerreotype.

The combination of conservation treatment, digital photography and image manipulation made it possible to retrieve visual information which had appeared lost when the object was examined by a conservator in 1983.

The composite image reveals much more than the actual positive image.
The composite image reveals much more than the actual positive image

The reassembled object is stored in a clamshell box. The box is constructed from acid free mountboard containing Zeolites or molecular traps. If there are chemicals given off from the daguerreotype or it’s enclosure materials, they will be absorbed by the zeolites. This will create a more neutral micro environment that will help stabilise the object.

Because the photoshopped image contains far more easily visible information, the actual object can safely remain in storage, and the digital image can be used as a research resource.

Conservator’s Corner: Caring for maps

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One of the flattened maps, showing a large tear. Photography © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.

One of the Museum’s paper conservators, Dee McKillop, has been working on a set of navigation maps including one titled ‘Montague Island to Beecroft Head’. The map collection has not been treated since it came into our collection some time ago. The maps were in a poor state as they were rolled, creased, torn and were quite dirty and dusty.

Half way through the cleaning process, the rubber, brush and metal stencil were used. Photography © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.

There are 56 maps in all and they vary in size from 500 x 500mm up to 1500 x 600mm. After the maps were photographed, the next step was to flatten them slowly – this is called the ‘relaxing phase’. The maps were flattened between layers of thick blotting paper for a period of many weeks. Eight maps were flattened at a time. Acid free cardboard was placed on top of the pile for extra weight. The maps gradually acclimatised and flattened out.

Conservator, Dee McKillop, trimming the japanese tissue repair. Photography © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.

The next step was to surface clean the maps to remove the loose dirt and dust. Dee brush vacuumed the loose dirt off and then used a chemi sponge (dry cleaning sponge) to do a gentle clean all over the paper. This is particularly important over pen, ink or pencil markings. After that, Dee used a firmer rubber (Mars Staedtler) to clean the plain areas of the map. She was able to remove dirt from very small areas near the pen, ink or pencil markings using a metal stencil. The tears in the maps were repaired with feathered japanese tissue paper and starch paste, drying under weights.

The flattened, cleaned and repaired map ready for storage. Photography © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.

The project is nearly finished and the maps will soon be interleaved with acid-free tissue paper and put into plane cabinets in our climate controlled paper store.

Kate Chidlow and Dee McKillop, Conservators

Conservator’s Corner- The Hugo Schroeder Telescope

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Photography by Jean-Francois Lanzarone © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

A major project to overhaul the Sydney Observatory’s 11.5″ Schroeder Telescope has been recently completed. It coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Observatory on 5 June 2008. The key aim was to return the telescope to its 1870s appearance and configuration. New operational and maintenance plans were also developed. 

The telescope has been well maintained as an operating instrument of the Sydney Observatory. It was painted the same colour grey as the other operating instruments at the Observatory during the 1960s and 1970s. The telescope is classified as one of the museum’s most significant objects and is currently used to demonstrate the observational technologies of the 1870s and 1880s. 

The project started in April 2008, when the main lens, eyepiece, focusing assembly, the sighting scope and the other brass components were dismantled and brought back to the Museum’s conservation workshop. 

 

Photography by Chris Brothers © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

Photography by Chris Brothers © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved

Damaged lacquer and corrosion were removed from these brass components, which were then treated for chlorides and coated with a clear protective lacquer. 

 

Collection; Powerhouse Museum.

The optics and the telescope drive were carefully dismantled, cleaned and realigned ready for installation.

Photography Powerhouse Museum © all rights reserved.

A new eye piece was modified to fit the telescope as the original eye piece was too damaged to be dismantled and realigned.

 

 

Collection; Powerhouse Museum

Original areas of paint on the telescope tube and pillar were identified, samples taken, colour matched and documented.

The telescope tube and pillar were then painted in their original colours (Bristle Green and Monarch Red) in a readily available paint system which can be easily maintained. The telescope was reassembled and on display for the Observatory’s 150th Anniversary weekend and is again part of the Observatory’s public viewings and programs.

 

Photography by Chris Brothers © Powerhouse Museum, all rights reserved.

The conservation work was undertaken by conservator Timothy Morris with assistance from conservator Skye Mitchell and registrar Carey Ward. Images were taken by conservation photographer, Chris Brothers.

Conservators corner: Tinytoreum Taster

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Photography by Powerhouse Museum © all rights reserved.

The exhibition, Tinytoreum, is coming soon. You can see a preview of some gorgeous miniature tea sets in the showcase next to the cafe on Level 3. Dee McKillop has been preparing the objects for display.

They were quite dirty so she washed them with a non ionic detergent in a bath of warm distilled water.

Photography by Powerhouse Museum © all rights reserved.

She used a sea sponge and a soft brush to remove the surface dirt. The paper labels remained adhered during the washing process & were quickly blot ted dry. One tea cup had been previously repaired with a water soluble adhesive and in the washing process, the glue was reversed and detached.

Photography by Powerhouse Museum © all rights reserved.

Dee repaired the handle with an adhesive called Paraloid B72 in acetone.

Photography by Powerhouse Museum © all rights reserved.

Some chipped areas on the items had absorbed quite a bit of ingrained dirt into the porous surface. Using a microscope in the fume hood, Dee removed the ingrained dirt with a solution of 50/50 solution of ammonia/ethanol, applying a satay stick & cotton wool swab.