We’re going towards the “Light” in this one! Do you ever have a dream sequence where you feel like a cross between ~ well~ let’s say Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones ?
I posted about my sister’s big-find Bonanza in a post named “Sis hits the Jackpot.” My oh my, what a chord this one struck. I have some requests out to various academic, professional and highly opinionated experts to “chime in” on many of the points raised in the story. Further inspired by the INCREDIBLE collection of Judy of http://www.Greatestgenerationlessons.wordpress.com I decided that I probably needed a new “category” on my blog. One where we would have a center ring, and the “experts” could fight it out…
Maybe then we could find accurate and reliable answers to some of the conundrums we all experience. This would be an on-going event so all would be free to throw any controversies in the middle for topic explorations and fisticuffs if need be.
One of the nagging conundrums that I wanted to address has to do with the fantasy and daydream tangents that I am prone to…
…I am busily engrossed in being the curator of my own little treasure trove of familial goodies. In this delusion, I generally see myself dressed in a Jessica McClintock frock mixed with a Ralph Lauren and Downton Abbey-esque “get up.” I sip tea (though in real life I don’t really care for it much) and I peruse my hoard of treasures with my highly decorative, yet functional, magnifying glass. I have special acid free wrappers and storage boxes. A heady aroma of fresh cut Peonies and Lavender wafts in the air. As an unspoken testament to my professionalism I wear white cotton curators’ gloves…wait…what?
I never see people wearing these on the History Channel…what gives?
If I am truly to be the caretaker of all this excellent family history and memorabilia, I really should have a clue how to properly handle and care for it…
So, off I went searching, and this fascinating article is what I found. Now, in true Mom fashion ~ Truth be damned ~ I will continue to wear these gloves in my fantasy world…but the reason that real-live curators no-longer wear them sure does make sense. Read on:
THE LINK BELOW IS THE UPDATED / REVISED ONE. As Genealogy Lady pointed out, the originally posted link wasn’t working correctly…This is what I love about blog readers who care 🙂
http://archive.ifla.org/VI/4/news/ipnn37.pdf please note this is a pdf link to the original document, you will have to scroll to page #4 to read it. The authors seem pretty legit. However, since this subject has stirred it’s own bit of “choosin’ sides” I will continue to research it and let everyone know. I think I’ll do some face to face interviews instead of believing that everyone on the internet is a french model.
Meanwhile, if you would like to learn the ways of Jessica McClintock and her fabulous world and lifestyle check out her book “Simply Romantic Decorating ~ Creating Elegance and Intimacy Throughout Your Home” by Jessica Mc Clintock and Karen Kelly
Since I already own a copy of that book and have Ralph’s website “favorited” on my desktop, I will be trolling ebay and Amazon for real white cotton curator’s gloves and maybe some more “fancy” ones…wonder if I can type in those babies?
Thanks to OldDesignShop dot com for this inspiring and authentic Lady’s Fashion sketch from a 1915 holding in her collection
Some of you who have been hanging around with Mom for a while may recognize this revised edition of a post originally added a while back. As I am working this month to categorize and organize all the info to make the site more user friendly, I am also “resurrecting” some of the oldies but goodies
That white glove research was fascinating. Reminds me of the assumption that wooden cutting boards were nasty, germy things–plastic must be superior–when the opposite is true, thanks to wood’s natural anti-bacterial properties.
Thanks for this, and for the Like on my current post “The Joyful Mommy Jekyll” on “The Last Half” (I’d add the link–never above self-promotion 🙂 , but don’t self-link on a first visit, and if I’ve visited your blog before it’s been so long my senile self has forgotten!)
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Wow, that totally reminds me of an antique Sears & Roebuck catalog my grandmother had from like 1920 or somewhere in there. It was almost like I stepped back into the days of Little House on the Prairie! I need to find that thing. I think my mom has it somewhere at her house. I remember seeing bras that used to only be one cup instead of two. Ha! It was just one big broad cup. And I remember sewing machines and hand irons made out of…well, iron. I actually remember my grandmother’s old iron sewing machine. I loved creating potholders on that thing as a child. My mother has that now. Oh, how I love relics from our history! Treasures.
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Carol~
That catalog totally sounds like a great blog! How fun would it be to scan it and show a page-a-day! I would love to see the “one hole” bras! I think those are called sports
bras now…hahaha, everything old is new again!
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Yeah, I think I can really have some fun with it. Actually, it might be from before 1920. Before it was my grandmother’s, it was my cousin Mollie’s and she was a missionary who lived in Cuba for quite a while. I don’t even know quite where all she had been but anyway, she gave several things to my grandmother. I need to research Cousin Mollie more thoroughly, now don’t I? My mom is going to claim it from her attic (that might take a while *wink*wink*) and then I do plan on posting some cool photos. I’ve been asking to see it again for years. Maybe she’ll get to it sometime this weekend if I bug her enough. *text*text*text*
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Yeah, the 1920ish sports bra was a hoot! I guess it’s what they call retro? lol
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We are kindred spirits! Re the white gloves, I know I should (and I do own a pair) but actually handling photographs while wearing them is no fun at all–very slippery, and I actually creased a photo once while trying to pick it up. Now I just take frequent hand washing breaks. Oh, and breaks for tea too.
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Pancho~ that’s at the heart of the big controversy! Some insist that the oils in our skin and other contaminants are far worse than the risk of a crease. Others take the opposite position, But I kind of look at the conditions that much of these things have been stored in for years and think…wow! Maybe my greasy paws helping a letter or photo into the gentle scanner aren’t really that bad. I consider the whole debate akin to the knowing about the tiny mites living at the base of everyone’s eyelashes. They’re no big deal until you think about them, and then your eyes start to itch like crazy!
In the meantime, I have amassed quite the hoard/collection of fancy white gloves to wear, and got some of those giant tweezer looking things used in dark rooms to “handle” the documents with. I feel quite official. Whether I am adding insult to injury or not 🙂
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One would think that the nitrile gloves would be more useful, they fit more like latex gloves but without the allergy problems. Feeling what is in your hand is easier than a cotton glove would allow and they would protect whatever document or book or whatever from skin oils or sweat. They would also keep your hands from getting dirty (some old books are quite dirty or dusty). I think I’d rather take my chances bare handed or with the nitrile gloves.
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Oh, good point! I wonder if those would work? They wouldn’t be as exciting as white wool with pearl buttons or wrist length kidd gloves…but I bet you’re right! How many boxes of “stuff” have we all opened that just reeks of both time and mildew? Plus, I look good in purple.
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BTW, I like the white glove idea. You should just wear them around anyway, whether or not you decide to use them for your precious heirlooms. People will wonder what you’re up to, and that’s always fun!
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Just so you know, you used my favorite word, “conundrums”! Yep, I bolted straight to the comment section to a) thank you for using my word b) because I’m weird that way about words. Don’t you just love the sound of that? It rolls off your tongue and you don’t even have to know what it means to “get it.” Yea, I’m a word nerd. Now, to finish reading!
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One of my personal favs as well!
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…i’m with you!…we need to save our stories for future generations….I like your unique blog….thank you for “liking” my blog!….
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keep it up
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Interesting post!
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Great picture! It’s interesting how there are several very dffierent opinions on the use of gloves.
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I bought em on ebay…had to have them:)
the fashion line drawings are from the Old Design Shop. I’m running an interview with her next week. She has so many cool graphics (tons are free)
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The link you posted about the gloves doesn’t take you the article mentioned. I just watched a video the other day from NEGHS and they were wearing gloves to touch the manuscripts. Also most of the curators out there publishing about genealogy documents recommend them too.
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1. Glad to hear that NEGHS still advocates for them…seems so tidy and offical to me
2. Rats on the link thing…I’ll get it fixed. 🙂
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I finally searched on google to get there. The article mentioned all the things I think are stupid about wearing gloves. I reported it on my Facebook page. Thanks for sharing.
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I have a box of those cheap white gloves to use to handle old documents and photos. I always forget I have them :(.
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Good! Cause apparently it’s a big “no-no”
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It’s kind of like tooth brushing. For years I couldn’t force myself to brush the way we were taught and then they changed the rules and apparently I had been doing it right all along!
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Not fair…I had a big mouth full of latte when I read that!
Now everyone in Starbucks is wondering what I choked on 🙂
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Hehehe.
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