GFWC - WHRC Wish List
WHRC Wish List
The WHRC has revised our Wish List to illustrate the approximate cost of materials needed to support the our mission. These are suggestions to help you plan your giving. At the end of the list, we have included a few links that may be helpful in preserving your own personal or local club collections.
$500-$1000
- Flat file cabinet. A museum quality cabinet will provide better storage and accessibility for blueprint, maps, and larger GFWC photographs. Two oversized images that will be re-housed are clubwomen at the Annual Convention of Wisconsin State Federation in Sheboygan, October 22-24, 1913 and members of Delaware County Federation of Women’s Club during the Cherry Blossom Pilgrimage outside the White House on April 21, 1932.
$250-$500
- “Data-Vac” Vacuum Cleaner with two speed motor and HEPA filter. A museum vacuum cleaner is needed for general housekeeping in the archives, historic rooms of 1734, and dusting fragile objects. The special high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter will assist WHRC staff in responding to a mold outbreak or pest infestation.
- Relative Humidity and Temperature data loggers. Temperature and humidity are two important factors that can limit the life span of archival collections. These conditions need to be monitored in order to ensure the usability of the collection. Data loggers monitor and alert us to environmental changes so we can respond.
• Research Library Book: Zuckerman, Mary Ellen. A history of popular women's magazines in the United States, 1792-1995 (Contributions in Women's Studies). Princeton, 1998. $135
$50-$100
- Polypropylene photo & print envelopes. Clear sleeves allow for viewing and inspection of photographs or delicate materials without their removal. These sleeves also protect images from dirt and scratches during handling and in storage.
- Filtering sleeves for the fluorescent lights. UV fluorescent light filters protect papers, books, and fabrics from the damaging effect of light that accelerates deterioration. Initially, UV filters will be placed in exhibit areas featuring Gustave Baumann and Helen Hyde color woodcut prints. Other areas will be identified as the collection is evaluated.
$25-$50
- Bone folder tool. An instrument used for making permanent creases in paper, specifically when making custom book jackets for rare and fragile books in the GFWC collection.
- pH neutral tissue paper. pH neutral or “acid-free” materials are best suited for long term preservation storage. Tissue paper protects delicate objects from abrasions due to shifting in storage containers and prevents creases when storing textiles. This product helps maintain a 3-D shape in costumes or hats, as used in the display of Lucretia Mott’s bonnet in the Music Room of GFWC Headquarters.
- Blue-wool standard cards. Each card contains pieces of wool cloth tinted with blue dyes of different degrees of light fastness. These cards will help us measure the effects of light on paintings, such as “Mt. McKinley National Park” by Sydney Lawrence donated by the Alaska Federation in 1923 in the Music Room, in addition to other textiles and documents on display.
Useful links for preserving your own collection:
Image Permanence Institute features free downloadable calculators so you can evaluate relative humidity, temperature, and dew point in your collection storage areas.There is also an interactive tutorial program called Stored Alive! that lets you explore the ways in which temperature and relative humidity affect the objects in different storage conditions, such as in an attic, parlor, basement, barn, and gallery.
Preserving My Heritage by the Canadian Conservation Institute is an interactive site aimed at helping you care your heirlooms. They offer simple and practical information for preserving every type of family treasure in the “How to Care for” section including books, paintings, china, embroidery, wedding dresses, musical instruments, old tools and utensils, toys, family documents, photographs, and multimedia collections.
