How To Save Your Stuff Blog

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CNN and The Weather Channel are burning up the hours talking about and watching Tropical Storm Danielle in the Atlantic. When winds hit 100 mph everyone’s radar perked up considerably. But “Where is it going to hit the Atlantic Coast?” is the question everyone asks them? Then… it sputters overnight and they drop the hurricane designation… then it may perk up and blast off! Hang on.

Actually, with tongue in cheek, the weather guru’s answer the question of where it may make landfall, “Maybe Newfoundland.” Or maybe Boston. Whaaaat? Then they add… but wait till you see what’s behind Danielle! Earl is nothing now, but there’s a pattern brewing that looks really bad and its probability of going south to Florida is very good. And, who is Frank?! He’s loaded off the African Coast, lined up and ready to travel. Take a look at the video http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/watching-danielle-6584#6584

“The pipeline is loaded, as they say.”

People love to see the prognosticator’s be wrong… especially when they predict dire weather conditions like the hurricane experts at the beginning of this season. But to date… nothin’ to speak of!

Continue Reading “The Weather Channel declares this week is Hurricane Week! Who Are Earl and Frank? How To Save Your Stuff!”»

Huell Howser of California Gold

I was in Palm Springs last Friday (It was a 118 degs!) having dinner with an art dealer and collector when, to my surprise, in through the door came Huell Howser, Hollywood Icon and host of the TV series California Gold. How long has that program been on the air!!!? Talking about staying power!

It was good to reconnect with Huell after so many years when he did an hour long feature program on the discovery, uncovering and conservation of the Globe Lobby murals by Hugo Ballin at the Los Angeles Time Building. It was our company, Fine Art Conservation laboratories (FACL, Inc. www.fineartconservationlab.com) that did the work. He was great to work with as he stuck his nose into every little detail of the project, interviewed me and commented to his viewers with his Southern folksy style about the discovery of these very interesting long lost paintings. His whole program was dedicated to our efforts. Continue Reading “Huell Howser Star Sighting”»

This question (and answer) is reproduced here for the benefit of all… this is a very common situation that appeals to the heart of family history.

To Scott,

Thank you for the photo archival information that you sent to me as the Preservation Tips that I signed up for on www.saveyourstuffblog.com. It’s been very useful.

I put the info in your book to use recently. I found a ton of photos of my parents from the 1940s on… A lot of photos of my dad’s from WW2. I quickly put them in photo albums to protect them per your recommendation. I, also, found a scrapbook of my Mother’s from the 40s that’s falling apart. She wrote names on the paper pages so I need to retain those mounting pages, but they are disintegrating. The photos are attached with those corner triangular shaped things that the photos slide into. Any ideas?

Louise Elam

Park and Rec Dept. (Care of Public Art Work)

City of Dallas, TX

Piles of family photos handed down from relatives

Louise,

Congratulations of taking action! There are two things you can/should do:

Continue Reading “Help, I Inherited A Pile Of Family Photos and Scrapbooks!”»

This delightful scene of high society Veneto, Italy at the end of the 1700′s was purchased by its collector and brought to us for its problem of flaking paint. Apparently, the cleaning lady’s damp rag wiping down the lower areas (most easily reached) has caused this oft seen problem… which is totally avoidable.

Flaking in lower areas is due to wiping the surface with a damp rag.

But even experienced collectors make mistakes. This problem of flaking is not the only problem: the painting has already been through at least a couple of restorations that were poorly done including mounting this painting to masonite and repainting much of the sky and clouds. What was thought to be valued at $25,000 is now being dumped for $1,000.00 because of condition problems. Continue Reading “Cleaning Lady Strikes Again! Plus Flaking Painting and Bad Restorations”»

This graceful Italian alabaster sculpture is a treasured heirloom from the owner’s mother. It was originally bought in the 1920’s in Florence  and was passed down from mother to daughter.  Sadly, due to improper packing and storage, the center section broke into several pieces.  This greatly upset the owner, as this heirloom was considerably valuable to her.

Damage due to improper packing and storage can be attributed to common sense mistakes.  For example, some clients damage pieces when they stack a heavy box on top of delicate items. However, not all potential damage is as easily avoided, and when tricky scenarios occur sometimes you need an expert opinion.  When advice is needed for packing and protecting home items, we have found such businesses as The UPS Store are extremely helpful. Although it may require more time and money to protect your treasured valuables when packing, moving, and storing, it is less expensive than restoration.  Keep in mind that extra padding on all sides of a packing box is a cheap alternative to repair and loss of value. Continue Reading “Conserving and Protecting Your Family’s Heirlooms and Memories”»

Russian Masterpiece Painting is Resurrected

Recently, this artwork was politically classified to be thrown away until a sharp-eyed collector saved it from the trash. What probably happened, over the last 100 years, was that after a small rip had been repaired poorly, then again, and then another rip… and finally, the damage and the dirty surface made it fit for “long term storage” where it was forgotten… until someone started to clear things out.

This photo shows a detail of the painting during cleaning of the overpaint and discolored varnish revealing exquisite details and artistic quality. We’ll keep you posted as we resurrect the gorgeous woman in a white dress enjoying the good life.

Shockingly, this stunning piece was found flaking and dingy in the garbage! An inept attempt was made to “restore” it that involved an abundant application of wax to hold the painting together and a wipe with solvent to remove part of the dirt.

The Dumpster Diver who discovered the painting donated it to a collector who recognized that under the disaster of flaking paint, wax, and grime, there was a valuable vintage piece.  Some research and careful examination yielded the title and date: “The Discussion” from 1929.  This discovery prompted the collector to contact us for a closer examination and professional conservation treatment. Continue Reading “Even Trash Can Be Turned Into Art Treasure with Proper Conservation”»

Real versus Fake?

Distinguishing a genuine work of art from a counterfeit wannabe stands at the base of every collector’s worry. “Fakes” are not always an effort to deceive.  However, most “fakes” are fraudulent. Here are a few different scenarios to consider:

• An artist’s estate can ethically add an artist’s signature to a piece post mortem in an effort to identify the estate and the artist on artwork that was unsigned originally.
• An unscrupulous art dealer can add a signature to make the artwork more valuable.  Even the counterfeit signature of an unknown name can make the artwork more valuable than an unsigned painting.
• A “new” painting can be antiqued to look old.
• An old painting can be restored ineptly in order  to mask or disguise repairs that it changes the nature of the artwork and the art is no longer an “original.”
• Old artwork, now dirty, can be mistaken for something it is not.  This can be an honest mistake by a collector or dealer.

Here are two interesting examples that recently came into the lab: Continue Reading “Tips for Collectors: Protecting Yourself from Counterfeit and Fraudulent Art”»

Clutter or Family History?

Ellen Lupton, the curator of contemporary design at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the director of the master’s program in graphic design at the Maryland Institute College of Art recently posted a well written and humorous article in the opinion section of the NY Times about the angst of having inherited stuff from the past. It appears that her need to eliminate clutter trumps her archival gene… something I didn’t expect from a curator.

Here’s the article: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/how-to-lose-a-legacy/?ref=opinion

Of course, you know that there are always opposites in life, even extremes: throw the baby out with the bathwater is at the opposite end of the spectrum as not being able to throw anything away for fear. Some inner emotional balance is required in this discussion that, surprisingly, has a lot at stake. Continue Reading “Is it Family History or Clutter? 3 Tips”»

I know that life is busy. But there are “right” ways of doing things. So here are a couple of tips regarding taking care of important certificates, diplomas, legal documents, ownership titles, irreplaceable children’s art, heirlooms, important photos…

1. making a scrapbook or photo album the right way the first time will save you so much time later… and it can be super easy.

2. Remember, “archival” doesn’t mean that it needs to win an award for design and creativity. Continue Reading “Water damage, mold and memories”»