The Blood and Blotter

Some of my favorite items in our collection are the boxes that games were packed in during the 1980s and 1990s.  These boxes oftem contained an assortment of items to help or amuse the purchaser.  I need some help figuring out the best way to store and preserve these boxes and contents. 
First, The boxes are generally constructed of poor quality stiff paper covered with printed paper or a slipcase, either glossy or matte.  From what I'm reading, the colored prints might be at risk from buffered paper, so I shouldn't keep them in buffered boxes.  True?    But there's generally no printing on the insides,  so maybe putting a sheet of buffered paper inside would be a good plan?

The boxes are stored in boxes, so I"m about to buy a load of unbuffered acid-free boxes.  But there is wear every time a box goes in and out or storage (which is more often than expected), so I need to protect the individual boxes.  What would be good?  Mylar envelopes?  Tyvek envelopes?  Acid-free non-buffered paper envelopes?  Something I haven't thought of? 

There are a couple of pictures of what I'm talking about here and here.  The second, Leather Goddesses of Phobos, comes with a 3-D comic book.  I'd appreciate any advice and commentary you can offer - paper preservation is not my thing, but I can help you out if you've got vintage TVs or computers to conserve.  ;)  And seriously, don't you want to preserve Leather Goddesses of Phobos?  Just for the name? 

Thanks in advance!

We're starting a Digital Game Museum (digitalgamemuseum.org) and need to display some game boxes and game manuals, both short term (a few days) and longer (a few months).  I've got acrylic stands for the boxes, but they won't hold the floppy manuals.  I'm thinking about getting some of these: http://www.gibsonholders.com/index… . They come in white vinyl coating or Zinc plate - but I'm worried that neither of these is a good choice in terms of conservation.  I'd appreciate your thoughts.  Zinc or white vinyl?  Or do you have a better (and affordable) idea?  Many thanks.  I know a fair bit about conserving old computers, but paper is outside my knowledge base. 

This has been posted around, but I'll post it here too.

Archaeology of a dress - Ellen Terry's Lady Macbeth costume

Bug wings!  I wonder how many textile conservators have to deal with those.  Apart from brushing them into the trash, that is.

I like that the new mount reproduces the pose from her portrait, and shows off those amazing sleeves.  Beautiful!

Wired Magazine has a lovely article on the restoration of Cincinnati's panoramic Daguerreotype. It's better online than the magazine, because it shows all the sections.
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010…
It's nice to see this kind of article in a non-museum publication.

crossposted, maybe.

I'm finishing up my MS Masters thesis (Policy and working collections)  and one of the things I found was that there was a lot of fuzziness in what conservation and preservation mean.  One of the things I'm including in the thesis is an attempt to clarify this terminology (which I suspect is hopeless, because every person and museum seems to have a different idea).  Here's what I'm thinking:

Conservation - a term which covers any attempt to prevent the deterioration of an artifact but which may also refer to cleaning and preparation for exhibit.
Preservation - maintaining the artifact in stable condition with as little intervention as possible; no cleaning for aesthetic reasons, only to prevent deterioration.
Restoration - making whatever changes are needed to an artifact to have it represent a specific time in its active life.  This may include little work or be extensive enough to require re-painting and replacement of parts with modern made ones.
Reconstruction -When an object no longer exists, either because it has never been completed or because it was destroyed, it may be reconstructed from old plans. It may include some original parts if any have survived.
Rehabilitation - taking steps needed to bring an artifact (often a ship or vessel) to usefulness.

Simulation is not included, since a simulation is a replication in some other medium. 

Comments? Quibbles?  Faint praise?  Raging outrage?  I'd be grateful for any feedback from anyone in the conservation world.  I've already been slammed by one conservator who didn't like the way I originally used some terms, so I'm trying hard to do something that doesn't offend.  Feel free to disagree/clarify/vent! Help!

I looked back through the previous entries and didn't see anything addressing this topic, so I'm sorry if I'm inadvertently repeating someone else's question.

I'd like to know if anyone knows anything about the Undergrad Museum Conservation major at New Mexico State University. I just got back from a campus visit where I met with the head of the department, and while the program seems sufficiently hands on and in depth, and should give me the training I need to apply to grad school, I'd like to know if anyone else has heard anything about it (good or bad).

I already have a bachelor's degree, but it's in a completely different field. I'm leaning toward the NMSU program because it looks like something I'd be able to finish in two years and a summer, and it won't put me hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt. I'd really prefer not to spend an excess of time and money when I'd rather invest my resources in a good graduate program. But I do want to make sure I'm getting the kind of competitive training that will help me get into grad school once I'm ready to apply.

So, does anyone have any information about NMSU? Or any alternative suggestions? Thanks in advance for your help!

The Conservation DistList is back!

Does anyone know if the migration of CoOL and the DistList (from Stanford to AIC) is done? I need to re-subscribe to the DistList and don't know if they're finished yet...

Does anyone know what this tool is? A conservator I know is circulating this photo in hopes of making an identification, and I thought I'd open it up to this comm. This tool is needle-like, with stops at both ends. It is magnetized. The middle bead can be moved deliberately, but once moved it stays in place, even if the tool is held on end. I was asked if it was a bookbinding tool, since it was found with books, but I don't recognize it. Ideas?

ETA: It is sharp at the pointed end. My colleague who found it is a textile conservator, and she did not recognize it as textile tool.

A little back history on me....
I have a BA with major's in Psychology and Sociology and now Gen Chem & O Chem as well.  I spent the last two years doing post-bac work in order to apply to the UT Austin conservation program; which was nice enough to make my money, and then tell me that they weren't accepting students this year.... From the digging around various sources I've been told that the foundation that provided funding for the professors in the program withdrew the funding and the program is pretty much toast at this point.
I don't have any art history background and already owe enough money without my masters that I'm not intrested in getting one (two years of chemistry cost me as much as my 4 years of undergrad)

I'm now looking at the Bennet Street program and was wondering if anyone knew of any other alternatives I should be looking at as time is drawing near for me to start getting portfolio's and applications together. 

Thanks!