holster and leather protection

Periodically, on this board and others as well as among collectors, the subject comes up regarding the preseravation and protection of valuable old leather items. Luger holsters are a favorite of mine and it has become increasingly difficult to locate examples that people have not ruined with the application of treatments ranging from vaseline-like greases to oils and soaps. Recently, AutoMag published an unresearched article by someone who continued the tradition of recommending a popular goo, officially recommended "by the Smithsonian Institution" (not!). Below, I quote from the excellent review article by V. Dirksen of Iowa State University, published in 1997 in the Journal of Museum and Conservation Studies.


Yesterday, I saw the most beautiful mint 1944 holster I have ever seen slathered in grease by someone who may have ruined the best surviving WW2 holster. Please don't do that to these increasingly rare and fragile objects.


From Dirksen:

Unfortunately, the application of dressings can produce unexpected and serious problems for conserving the leather. While dressings may improve overall appearance, current research indicates that these oils and lubricants are not effective in preserving leather. Landman (1991) questions the need for applying lubricants to museum objects. "For museum objects, which are handled only infrequently and where flexibility of the leather is no longer of prime importance is there a need for further lubrication?" He goes on to say that "in conservation the lubricant can only be applied to the leather surface, often only to one surface and with the minimum of mechanical action." This is unlike leather manufacturing where the leather can be fully immersed in the lubricant. Furthermore, the conservator needs to recognize that the lubricant might change over time, seriously affecting the object being conserved (Landman 1991).


In addition to the problems surrounding the use of a lubricant in leather conservation, their use does not meet the principle of reversibility set forth in the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) Code of Ethics. The principle of reversibility states that the conservator "should avoid the use of materials which may become so intractable that their future removal could endanger the physical safety of the object. They also should avoid the use of techniques, the results of which cannot be undone if that should become desirable" (American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works 1979).


The entire short report appears at:


http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/jcms/issue3/dirksen.html


Thanks for reading this,

D McLain

Univ of Colorado-Co Springs