Preservation: Storage and Cleaning of Antiques in Historic Houses

With Cipperly Good, The Richard Saltonstall Jr Curator of Maritime History

Whether you’re caring for your family’s heirlooms, managing a museum collection or volunteering at your local historical society, this class will teach you how to clean delicate objects and display them in houses without HVAC systems. In an ideal situation, antiques would be tucked away in climate-controlled storage, but we want to live with our heirlooms and enjoy them. This class helps you develop a plan to preserve your antiques based on object type and maximize the environmental conditions of your home or historic building. The Museum’s historic houses are our living laboratory. We will visit one to illustrate these concepts. Bring an item that fits into a shoe box to try out the techniques we learn in class.

Topics Covered:

• Planning the move to conducive relative humidity zones in the home
• Mitigating environmental conditions in the home on a budget
• Basic Preservation and Cleaning Techniques
• Do-it-yourself repairs versus calling the experts
• What materials to use to store or display your heirlooms and family letters

Program Benefits:

• Showcasing the antiques while preserving them
• Reducing Mold and Environmental Concerns
• Improve the humidity in the house for your objects…and You!
• Learn how to clean without hurting your heirlooms
• Learn when to call the experts, and when you can do it yourself

Target Audience: 

• Collecting Institution (Museum and Historical Society) volunteers 
• Antiques collectors 
• Anyone who was gifted an antique

Experience Level: Novice - Has minimal or textbook knowledge without connecting it to the practice.

Program Fee: $90

Contact Hours: 3

Delivery: Lecture/Hands on

About the Instructor:

Cipperly Good (she/her) The Richard Saltonstall Jr. Curator of Maritime History cgood@pmm-maine.org Cipperly Good serves as the Curator at PMM, where she has been on staff since 2010. In her many roles at the Museum, Cipperly cares for, preserves, and provides access to the object, archive, and library collections. She also serves as the registrar and exhibit designer. Cipperly holds a Bachelor’s degree from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where she double majored in History and American Studies. She holds a Masters of Arts in Museum Studies, with a concentration in American History, from The George Washington University. Maritime museums combine Cipperly’s two passions: sailing and maritime history! When not at the Museum, you will find her sailing around Penobscot Bay or cross-country skiing in Maine's woods.