Back in April we shared an overview of the Wessex Water project, led by our archivist Emma Blowers with support from Collections Assistant Chris Scriven. This time, we’re taking you deeper into the conservation side of the project and catching up with our Conservator as she begins treating some of the most fragile items in… Read more Conservation in Action: Behind the Scenes of the Wessex Water Project
New accessions arrive at Dorset History Centre almost every week, each one bringing its own story – and sometimes its own challenges. Before anything enters our climate‑controlled repositories, it’s assessed by our Collections Archivist, listed, boxed, and prepared for long‑term storage. But some items need an extra stop along the way: the conservation studio. The… Read more When New Accessions Arrive: Behind the Scenes in the Conservation Studio
It’s nearly that time of year when we meet up with family, eat far too much food and take photos of each other wearing hideous lovely festive jumpers in front of the tree. Nowadays there will no doubt be digital photos, but what about all those old family photographs filling up space in your home?… Read more Caring for Your Photographs at Home
This week marks the end of the Dorset Authors Conservation Project as the final items were placed in bespoke boxes and the written report completed. Generously funded by the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust (NMCT) the Dorset Authors Project aimed to conserve items from three major literary collections: Thomas Hardy, William Barnes and Sylvia Townsend-Warner. These… Read more Dorset Authors Conservation Project
Recently staff and volunteers at DHC took part in an Introduction to Salvage training event, and after a very wet couple of months weather wise, the timing seemed particularly pertinent. So, what is salvage? In collections care salvage refers to the moving and stabilisation of collection items after, although possibly also during, a disaster or… Read more An Introduction to Salvage – what to do if it floods!
If you have visited the Dorset History Centre during June and spent time in the reception area you may have seen the display showcasing some of the many tools, and a few commonly used materials, that can be found in the conservation studio. Our Conservator explains more… — Some of the tools may look familiar,… Read more Conservation tools: a handy gadget to have
Last year, we were joined by a new Conservator – Jessica Pollard! Four months later, and we thought it was about time we introduced her to our readers! — Hello, I’m the new Archive Conservator at Dorset History Centre, joining the team in November of last year, and can’t quite believe four months has gone… Read more Introducing our new Conservator!
In May, a new touring exhibition opened called ‘Hardy’s Wessex’. Curated by the Wessex Museum Partnership, the exhibition is being displayed across four museums: Dorset Museum, Poole Museum, The Salisbury Museum and Wiltshire Museum. Each museum explores a different theme, and together it is the largest collection of Thomas Hardy objects ever displayed at one… Read more Hardy’s Wessex
Last summer, we were joined by a Conservation Trainee, Helen. Today, she has written us a follow-up post… — Four months later… It has now been four months since I was last in the conservation lab at the DHC, and I can’t believe how quickly the time has flown! I gained an immense amount of… Read more Conservation Tales: A tale of two local histories
We have seen in previous blogs how sewing structures, endbands and endpapers can all affect how a book functions as a mechanical object. In this blog we’re going to take a look at books from a slightly different angle to see what the shape of a spine can tell us about a binding. Look at… Read more Conservation tales: The shape of a spine
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