Connecting to Collections Care

Hello all,
I work at a botanical garden and one of my Horticulture colleagues has a colorful corn cob that was grown on grounds that she'd like to preserve (and I would like to display in a temporary exhibition in a year or so) but it's not an accessioned specimen, it would be a visual aid/educational prop. The goal would be to seal it so that it could not be accessed/attacked by any visiting critters in their offices (they don't have secure storage) and still retain its color and shape. Does anyone have a recommended sealant/epoxy/shellac/etc. that would be a good fit for this type of project? Has anyone done this successfully before?
Thanks very much for your help and time.
Cordially,
Nezka

------------------------------
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator
Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis MO
npfeifer@mobot.org
------------------------------

Hello Nezka, 

If the item isn't currently accessioned, I'm guessing you have it in either a glass or polyeth container while waiting for exhibition preparation. I can't say that I've worked on any corn cobs, but I do recollect that Sonya Baron, when she was at Iowa State University, treated a collection that had corn cob specimens or a corn cob trophy. I believe she is still a member of AIC, and I can send her a message to see if she has anything to share. She did give a presentation at AIC one year about this treatment and I'll look through the journals to see if I can find the details about that. At my institution, we have food items in the collections, but have not had to consider them for exhibition. 

Best, Beth

------------------------------
Elizabeth Stone
Collections Conservator
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2023 16:21
From: Nezka Pfeifer
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hello all,
I work at a botanical garden and one of my Horticulture colleagues has a colorful corn cob that was grown on grounds that she'd like to preserve (and I would like to display in a temporary exhibition in a year or so) but it's not an accessioned specimen, it would be a visual aid/educational prop. The goal would be to seal it so that it could not be accessed/attacked by any visiting critters in their offices (they don't have secure storage) and still retain its color and shape. Does anyone have a recommended sealant/epoxy/shellac/etc. that would be a good fit for this type of project? Has anyone done this successfully before?
Thanks very much for your help and time.
Cordially,
Nezka

------------------------------
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator
Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis MO
npfeifer@mobot.org
------------------------------

Hi Beth,
Thanks so much for your reply, and yes if Sonya Baron has anything to share that would be great, but I'd also appreciate anything you could find in the AIC journals on how to do this. And yes, I have it wrapped in acid free tissue and a polyeth bag and in an additional box at the moment. Thanks so much!
Nezka

------------------------------
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator
Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis MO
npfeifer@mobot.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2023 14:09
From: Elizabeth Stone
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hello Nezka,

If the item isn't currently accessioned, I'm guessing you have it in either a glass or polyeth container while waiting for exhibition preparation. I can't say that I've worked on any corn cobs, but I do recollect that Sonya Baron, when she was at Iowa State University, treated a collection that had corn cob specimens or a corn cob trophy. I believe she is still a member of AIC, and I can send her a message to see if she has anything to share. She did give a presentation at AIC one year about this treatment and I'll look through the journals to see if I can find the details about that. At my institution, we have food items in the collections, but have not had to consider them for exhibition.

Best, Beth

------------------------------
Elizabeth Stone
Collections Conservator
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2023 16:21
From: Nezka Pfeifer
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hello all,
I work at a botanical garden and one of my Horticulture colleagues has a colorful corn cob that was grown on grounds that she'd like to preserve (and I would like to display in a temporary exhibition in a year or so) but it's not an accessioned specimen, it would be a visual aid/educational prop. The goal would be to seal it so that it could not be accessed/attacked by any visiting critters in their offices (they don't have secure storage) and still retain its color and shape. Does anyone have a recommended sealant/epoxy/shellac/etc. that would be a good fit for this type of project? Has anyone done this successfully before?
Thanks very much for your help and time.
Cordially,
Nezka

------------------------------
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator
Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis MO
npfeifer@mobot.org
------------------------------

Hi Nezka, 

Since the presentation Sonya gave was part of a roundtable, there was no abstract. But I did reach out to her. She didn't consider any method of sealing, as it is collection material, and relied on typical management for pest control (monitor, in polyeth storage). I'll copy her words below. Hopefully this gives you peace of mind about the pests, and since this isn't (and won't be?) collection material, you'll have time to test possible sealing on another cob prior to the exhibition. I'm assuming the cob is a "gem" type, hence the concern about color. I'd personally consider something I could spray on, thinly, rather than paint, but I've seen dried decorative corn -- I am in Iowa, after all -- that is fairly bright without a specific sealant applied, so you may not need anything for this cob. And a sealant may dull the natural finish of the kernels. 

from Sonya: 
2. I have no advice on preserving color, other than not exhibiting it permanently. In my mind, light exposure = color fading.

------------------------------
Elizabeth Stone
Collections Conservator
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-30-2023 10:38
From: Nezka Pfeifer
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hi Beth,
Thanks so much for your reply, and yes if Sonya Baron has anything to share that would be great, but I'd also appreciate anything you could find in the AIC journals on how to do this. And yes, I have it wrapped in acid free tissue and a polyeth bag and in an additional box at the moment. Thanks so much!
Nezka

------------------------------
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator
Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis MO
npfeifer@mobot.org

Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2023 14:09
From: Elizabeth Stone
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hello Nezka,

If the item isn't currently accessioned, I'm guessing you have it in either a glass or polyeth container while waiting for exhibition preparation. I can't say that I've worked on any corn cobs, but I do recollect that Sonya Baron, when she was at Iowa State University, treated a collection that had corn cob specimens or a corn cob trophy. I believe she is still a member of AIC, and I can send her a message to see if she has anything to share. She did give a presentation at AIC one year about this treatment and I'll look through the journals to see if I can find the details about that. At my institution, we have food items in the collections, but have not had to consider them for exhibition.

Best, Beth

------------------------------
Elizabeth Stone
Collections Conservator
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2023 16:21
From: Nezka Pfeifer
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hello all,
I work at a botanical garden and one of my Horticulture colleagues has a colorful corn cob that was grown on grounds that she'd like to preserve (and I would like to display in a temporary exhibition in a year or so) but it's not an accessioned specimen, it would be a visual aid/educational prop. The goal would be to seal it so that it could not be accessed/attacked by any visiting critters in their offices (they don't have secure storage) and still retain its color and shape. Does anyone have a recommended sealant/epoxy/shellac/etc. that would be a good fit for this type of project? Has anyone done this successfully before?
Thanks very much for your help and time.
Cordially,
Nezka

------------------------------
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator
Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis MO
npfeifer@mobot.org
------------------------------

Hi Elizabeth, thanks so much for this information, and apologies for the delayed response. Yes, this is a glass gem cob, good assumption! I'm afraid I don't have another cob to work with, so I was already planning on the materials Sonya suggested, but am concerned about the exhibition of the cob in the long term. So I'll see if there are other ways to seal this since this is not collections material (not accessioned and no plans to do so). Also, this cob hasn't been affected by pests at all as of yet, and we'd like to keep it that way, so we'll find containers that are a bit more durable (such as glass) that the critters will be fully barred from chewing. Thanks again for your help, Nezka

------------------------------
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator
Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis MO
npfeifer@mobot.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-31-2023 09:10
From: Elizabeth Stone
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hi Nezka,

Since the presentation Sonya gave was part of a roundtable, there was no abstract. But I did reach out to her. She didn't consider any method of sealing, as it is collection material, and relied on typical management for pest control (monitor, in polyeth storage). I'll copy her words below. Hopefully this gives you peace of mind about the pests, and since this isn't (and won't be?) collection material, you'll have time to test possible sealing on another cob prior to the exhibition. I'm assuming the cob is a "gem" type, hence the concern about color. I'd personally consider something I could spray on, thinly, rather than paint, but I've seen dried decorative corn -- I am in Iowa, after all -- that is fairly bright without a specific sealant applied, so you may not need anything for this cob. And a sealant may dull the natural finish of the kernels.

from Sonya:

"Here are my thoughts about the corn cob situation:

1. Pest control: To kill live pests, their eggs or larvae, I would first take the item through the freeze-thaw cycle, as described in the Conserv-O-Gram below.  I would double-bag the item in tightly sealed zip-locked bags. The freezer can be a regular chest freezer or another non-commercial freezer, as long as it is able to reach the required temperature, as described in the Conserv-O-Gram directions. 

NPS Conserv-O-Gram 3/6

2. I have no advice on preserving color, other than not exhibiting it permanently. In my mind, light exposure = color fading.

3.For storage, I would double-bag it in the same manner, in zip-locked bags made with archival quality polyethylene (non-recycled), and store it in an archival box in a dry, cool environment."

Hope that is helpful!
Beth 

------------------------------
Elizabeth Stone
Collections Conservator
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA

Original Message:
Sent: 01-30-2023 10:38
From: Nezka Pfeifer
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hi Beth,
Thanks so much for your reply, and yes if Sonya Baron has anything to share that would be great, but I'd also appreciate anything you could find in the AIC journals on how to do this. And yes, I have it wrapped in acid free tissue and a polyeth bag and in an additional box at the moment. Thanks so much!
Nezka

------------------------------
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator
Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis MO
npfeifer@mobot.org

Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2023 14:09
From: Elizabeth Stone
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hello Nezka,

If the item isn't currently accessioned, I'm guessing you have it in either a glass or polyeth container while waiting for exhibition preparation. I can't say that I've worked on any corn cobs, but I do recollect that Sonya Baron, when she was at Iowa State University, treated a collection that had corn cob specimens or a corn cob trophy. I believe she is still a member of AIC, and I can send her a message to see if she has anything to share. She did give a presentation at AIC one year about this treatment and I'll look through the journals to see if I can find the details about that. At my institution, we have food items in the collections, but have not had to consider them for exhibition.

Best, Beth

------------------------------
Elizabeth Stone
Collections Conservator
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2023 16:21
From: Nezka Pfeifer
Subject: sealing a corn cob for protection

Hello all,
I work at a botanical garden and one of my Horticulture colleagues has a colorful corn cob that was grown on grounds that she'd like to preserve (and I would like to display in a temporary exhibition in a year or so) but it's not an accessioned specimen, it would be a visual aid/educational prop. The goal would be to seal it so that it could not be accessed/attacked by any visiting critters in their offices (they don't have secure storage) and still retain its color and shape. Does anyone have a recommended sealant/epoxy/shellac/etc. that would be a good fit for this type of project? Has anyone done this successfully before?
Thanks very much for your help and time.
Cordially,
Nezka

------------------------------
Nezka Pfeifer
Museum Curator
Missouri Botanical Garden
Saint Louis MO
npfeifer@mobot.org
------------------------------