Sometimes when a museum curator is planning an exhibition, they discover that there are artifacts needed to tell a story that are not yet part of the overall collection. This box was acquired by the BSM for just such a reason. It was purchased, along with its accompanying glass bottle containing remnants of black shoe polish, for our 2014 exhibition Fashion Victims: The Pleasures & Perils of Dress in the 19th Century.
As you can see from the photographs taken at the time of acquisition, the box was in poor condition. The paper wrapping covering the cardstock form was very dirty and had many losses. The corners of the box were torn and misshapen making it structurally unsound for display.
The paper was cleaned with cosmetic sponges and vinyl erasers to remove surface dirt. The box and its lid were gently humidified to reshape the distorted sides back into the intended shape. Holes in the torn paper wrapping were filled with a Kozo paper of similar weight. Kozo is made from the inner bark of the mulberry bush. The paper fills and torn corners were glued with wheat starch paste.
One side of the lid was missing some of its descriptive text. The gold ink drop shadow letters were recreated by photocopying an ‘R’,‘H’, ‘E’ and ‘S’, cutting them around them with a scalpel, then gluing them on to the Kozo paper patch.
