reCollections: Caring for Cultural Material 2

Handling, Transportation, Storage and Display

Caring for Cultural Material 2

In this volume:

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Textiles

Leather

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Leather
In this chapter:
	Objectives
–	Introduction
–	What is leather?
–	What are the most common types of damage?
–	Common causes of damage
–	Storing and displaying leather
–	Treatments
–	Cleaning leather
–	Lubrication of leather
–	Treatments of attached metal fittings
–	Summary of conditions for storage and display
–	Leather in Australia’s climatic zones
	MORE ABOUT LEATHER
–	Skin
–	Collagen
–	Untanned skin products
–	Leather
–	Spews
–	Additional cleaning methods
–	Humidity chamber
–	Lubricant formulations
–	For further reading
–	Self-evaluation quiz
–	Answers to self-evaluation quiz

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Leather

At the end of this chapter you should:

know the difference between leather and other skin products such as rawhide, parchment and semi-tanned leather;
understand the adverse effects that moulds, insects, inappropriate environmental conditions and excessive lubrication can have on leather;
know the storage and display conditions which are required to minimise the deterioration of leather objects;
understand the need for careful assessment of leather before attempting any treatment including cleaning;
know some cleaning processes that can be used on leather and be aware of the limitations of each method;
know when to lubricate leather objects; and
be able to prepare and apply lubricants to objects which must remain flexible.