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Introduction

The idea for this book grew from a conversation about the clarity and brevity of the emergency instructions found in the back of every airplane seat. If it’s possible to use one plastic card to tell people how to get off a jumbo jet in an emergency, could it be possible to help non-specialists salvage cultural property that has been damaged or put at risk from a disaster?

The practices and methods we describe here are offered as our opinions only. While we can assure you that our intentions are genuine, and while we believe the recommendations in this book describe best practices in our professions as art conservators, we make no guarantees or warranties as to results. In preparing this work and offering it to you, we trust that you will use it knowing that actual results can vary with the nature of the artifact, its composition, substances used, and a wide variety of conditions that will determine the facts and circumstances of each case.

Preparation for the Inevitable

A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that makes it impossible for you or your organization to operate normally, possibly for a long time. Losses from disasters are fast and catastrophic. They are also inevitable, as more and more of us live and work on flood plains, coasts, geological faults, and tornado corridors.

Not every emergency need become a disaster, and the difference is preparation. Civil authorities and insurance companies understand very well that preparing for disaster through training and planning greatly reduces loss of life and property. One of the best-known aid organizations, the International Red Cross, provides print and electronic information on preparing your community, your family, your pets, and your home for emergencies (www.redcross.org/pubs).

Preserving What’s Important

No work of art or cultural property is more important than a human life. When disaster strikes, people’s safety and their access to shelter and food always come first. Once these basic needs are provided, however, a community or a family reestablishes itself by means of the shared experience and values inherent in cultural property. A town monument, records on paper or clay tablets, a photograph album, a christening dress: these records of human activity and accomplishment remind us who we are and where we’ve been, helping us to look forward.

Librarians have led the way in developing salvage techniques for protecting cultural property from disasters. Museum professionals have learned from their efforts, and the generally recognized “best practices” for cultural organizations now include disaster preparedness and emergency response.

None of us has a crystal ball, however, and sometimes our best efforts and good intentions aren’t enough to prevent a disaster that destroys or damages cultural property. Those who have prepared an emergency plan will have less damage, but whether or not there’s an emergency plan in place, we hope you’ll find help here. After you know you and your family and neighbors are safe, this handbook will help you begin to stabilize items that are important to preserve.

Using This Book

The purpose of this book is to help non-specialists improve or stabilize the condition of artworks and artifacts that might otherwise be lost from catastrophic damage. It is not a manual on preserving art, nor will its suggestions encompass every situation or be safely applicable to all objects. When damage is so severe or widespread that triage is necessary and when specialists aren’t available, this handbook can help you organize materials, time, and tasks.

Much of the information concerns wet materials because water causes physical changes that require prompt attention, and also because water is associated with many disasters. The primary disaster may be a fire, but the solution to the fire—water—will cause just as many problems.

The chapters are organized the same way museums and libraries organize their preservation staffs: by particular types of material, be they stuffed birds, easel paintings, or manuscripts. Each chapter is divided into sections, beginning with a brief introduction to the properties of the material, helpful to know because they influence the success or difficulty of salvage.

Next comes a section on things that are likely to happen. Conservators of leather books know that wet leather gets dark and curls, textile conservators are all too familiar with dyes that bleed when wet, and furniture and painting conservators see clouded varnish regularly. Details like these are outlined so they’re not a terrible surprise, and so you know what you need to address immediately and what can wait until later.

Emergency preparedness plans all include lists of supplies and resources. If you aren’t sure what you might need for salvaging particular types of material, you’ll next find a brief list of useful supplies in the chapter. While some items seem obvious, it’s easy to overlook material in an emergency.

At the heart of each chapter are suggestions for what to do to stabilize the material until a professional is available. Each section was written by a professional conservator who condensed his or her salvage experience into advice intended to help perform triage and basic care. By stabilizing the artworks or artifacts and preventing additional loss, you make it easier for experts to conserve or restore them later.

At the back of the book you’ll find a brief section on dealing with structural damage to a building and a list of helpful websites.

To do the most good for the most artifacts, we’ve made generalizations and we’ve omitted information that might be helpful in specific situations. You will need to use your own experience to do your best in changing and unfamiliar circumstances.

If and when you need to put this book to use, we hope it will assist you as you join those who have worked to preserve and convey the materials that tell us about ourselves and our world.

—Jane K. Hutchins and Barbara O. Roberts