J.CAC VOLUME 26 (2001)
The Conservation of Moosehair Embroidered Birch Bark Souvenirs
This paper describes an approach to the conservation of moosehair embroidered birch bark souvenirs from the collection of the McCord Museum of Canadian History. After testing a variety of materials and procedures, the following treatment strategies were adopted: surface cleaning was carried out with deionized water; broken and lifting hairs were consolidated and tacked down with wheat starch paste; splits in the bark were repaired with wheat starch paste and a two-ply Japanese tissue/mulberry paper backing; areas of loss were filled with Japanese tissue and inpainted. An appendix summarizes dye and fibre analysis of moosehair samples using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, incident light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
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