The Care of Historic Musical Instruments Edited by Robert L. Barclay This publicatio11 lias bee11 produced by tile Museums & Galleries Commissio 11, the Ca11adia11 Co 11servatio11 IHstitute a11dthe IHtemati01 ml Commillee of Mu sical lllslmmelll Mu seums a11d Collectio11 s of the llltematiollal Cou 11 cil of Museums with fillallcial assista11ce from tile folm S. Colle11 Fou11da tio11. c .. -.HI I A ' b. u~t u t MUSEUMS & GALLERI ES Co..:u •\·.. uo~ CO:.IliiiSSION '''"".. " CIMCIM Edinburgh 1997 ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 1997, as represented by the Minister of the Department of Canadian Heritage acting through the Canadian Conservation Institute. Table of Contents ©Museums & Galleries Commission. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, for purposes of resale, without the prior Preface written permission of the copyright holders. All requests for permission must be directed to one of the following addresses: 1. Ethics and the Use of Instruments 1 Codes of Ethics and Standards 2 North America: All other countries and territories: Guidelines 3 Canadian Conservation Institute Museums & Galleries Commission Playability and "Soundability" 6 1030 Innes Road 16 Queen Anne's Gate Conclusion 7 Ottawa, Ontario KIA OMS London SW IH 9AA CANADA UNITED KINGDOM 2. Instruments in Their Environment 9 Conservation Assessment 9 Available for purchase from: Strategies for Environmental Control 11 Extension Services, Canadian Conservation Institute 3. General Care of Musical Instrument Collections 19 .Support for Display and Storage 19 Storage 22 Handling 23 Travel 24 Cataloguing in Publication Data Strategies to Counter Biological Attack 25 Main entry under title : 4. Materials 27 The Care of Historic Musical Instruments Metals 27 Wood 32 Includes bibliographical references. Co-published by the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Museums & Galleries Commission. Skin Products 41 ISBN 0-660-17 11 6-3 Bone and Ivory 43 Cat. no. NM95-59/7- 1997 Keratinous Materials 45 Glass I. Musical Instruments - Collection and preservation. 46 2. Barclay, R. L. (Robert L.) Synthetic Organic Materials 46 3. Great Britain. Museums & Galleries Commission. Coatings 47 I. Canadian Conservation Institute. Composite Objects 51 ML460.C37 1997 784. 19'28 C97-9803 I 2-8 5. Basic Conservation Treatments 55 Justifying Treatment 55 Cover illustration: Review of Cleaning 57 Group of instruments from the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Treatment of Wood 60 Instrunients (photograph by Antonia Reeve, Edinbwgh) · Treatment of Metal 64 Treatment of Other Materials 67 Treatment of Synthetic Organic Materials 70 Cleaning of Textiles 70 Treatment of Coatings 71 Treatment of Composites 74 Printed in Scotland Treatment of Instruments by Type 75 6. Basic Maintenance of Playing Instruments 83 Keyboard Instruments 85 Preface String Instruments 97 Woodwinds 100 Brass Instruments 102 Percussion 105 Selection and Monitoring of Players 105 Relative Costs 106 Retiring Instruments from Playing Status 106 The central theme of this book is managing the retirement of historic Conclusion 107 musical instruments from active service, whether they are in the hands of individuals, private collectors, or museums. The book is intended to 109 7. Documentation provide a wide range of guidance on the many aspects and demands of General Principles 109 this change of status, and an equally wide access to the resources, advice Registration 109 and support available to collections. It is not the authors' intention to pro­ Object Files 110 vide guidelines on returning historic instruments to working condition, Security 111 although one chapter deals with the decisions that should be taken con­ Cataloguing 111 cerning those instruments that must continue to work for their living. Documentation and Monitoring of Instruments 116 Automated Resources 118 Considerable attention is paid to the materials of fabrication and their J The Internet 121 . •l degradation, because understanding these aspects is considered the pre­ Readings in Electronic Documentation 122 requisite of thoughtful care. The treatment procedures described have been selected not only for their economy and ease of application, but also Bibliography 125 for their non-invasive nature. At all stages, the reader is urged to develop a knowledge of what material is being treated, when to stop a procedure, Resources 133 and when to call on the help of specialists. · Index 139 The idea for this book arose from a workshop on the care of historic instruments from the museum perspective organized by the Museums & Galleries Commission of the United Kingdom, and hosted by the Hornirnan Museum in London in 1994. Information on this subject is urgently needed because, with the current interest in performing music of earlier periods in a historically informed fashion, the historic instru­ ments themselves have become the focus of attention. Although from the museum perspective there is no fw1damental difference between a historic musical instrument and any other complex, fw'lctioning museum object, it is sometimes necessary to regarc;l instruments as a special case. This results from a quite natural focus _upon fw1ction as opposed to form. At the risk of generalizing, the instrument owner or custodian with a professional music background is likely to approach an instrument from the fw'lctional per­ spective, directing attention to its use in producing music, while the custo­ dian with a background in museum studies, materials science or conserva­ tion is more likely to see the object in terms of its materials of fabrication and the means available for analyzing, stabilizing, and preserving them. While neither of these opposing approaches, if carried to their extreme, is truly tenable, the focus on fw'lctionality without regard to preservation causes the information embodied in historic instrwnents to become a din'linishing resource. In order to preserve their information value for the future, guidelines on their care and maintenance are essential. A number of organizations have raised awareness of the vuh1erability of musical instruments. The International Musical Instrument Committee Ethics and the of ICOM (CIMCIM) has produced Recommendations for Regulating the Access to Musicallnstmments in Public Collections and Recommendations for Use of Instruments & 1 Consei1Jation of Musicallnstmments. The Musewns Galleries Commission has published Museums of Music and Standards in the Museum Care of Musicallnstmments. A compilation of literature on musical instrument conservation and technology has been co-published by the International Institute for Conservation and the Getty Conservation Institute in a dedi­ cated vohune of Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts. Even so, few prac­ J.S. Odell, C. Karp tical guidelines on the day-to-day care of this kind of artifact have been published. To some extent, basic care and conservation can parallel that provided for most complex musetun objects, but there are enough specific Musical instruments are similar to other functional objects because they problems to justify a specialized focus. This is especially the case when have moving parts, or require physical interaction to fulfil the purposes considering historic instruments that must earn their keep - those kept for which they were made. Musical instruments, clocks, small craft and . in fw1ctioning condition are especially vumerable. ships, automobiles, arms and armour, hand tools, furniture, and indus­ This book represents the pooled efforts of seven contributors who attempt trial machinery are typical of the wide variety of functional objects found to provide a wide, practical coverage. However, in order to keep the book in museums and private collections. In most history museums, function­ to manageable proportions, the temptation to duplicate existing material al objects predominate. on the general care and conservation of collections has been largely resist­ ed. If an excellent publication already exists, the reader is referred to it for The sound they can produce is the primary aesthetic component of specific information on how to proceed, what materials to use, and where most musical instruments, and the reason why they were made. Thus to acquire them. In addition, the resource list at the end of the book is there is always pressure from collectors and musical instrument makers, intended to acquaint readers with the wide range of information and the general public, and from many museum staff to restore them to play­ assistance available, both nationally and internationally. It is hoped that ing condition so that their musical qualities can be appreciated- in the this book may also help in developing a network among musewns and words of one museum direct01~ "to take them out of their glass cases those in the private sector with similar problems concerning historic and let them sing." In the pasti restoration and maintenance of museum musical instrwnents. instruments for use in performance was often taken for granted. Today, museum professionals increasingly question such active, hands-on use The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of the JohnS. of accessioned objects. The educational and aesthetic value of such use Cohen Foundation, the Canadian Conservation Institute, the Interna­ is often undeniable, but the potential for wear and tear, and loss of