Peter,
How bad is cotton? It depends. I recently tested some different batches of
cotton at the Carnegie Museum. Some had a neutral pH, other batches were
very acidic. If you plan on maintaining a collection that will be around
for hundreds of years [hopefully :-)], the acidity of materials in a
collection are very important.
I have a small collection at home. It is in my basement. The temperature
does not get above 68 degrees F, and with a dehumidifier I can keep the
relative humidity between 45-55%. I use acid free paper and trays as much
as possible and I recently started using polyester "cotton". These
measures will minimize the risk of bynesian deteriorization in my
collection and it will make it easier to incorporate into the Carnegie's
collection when I donate it to them.
Regards,
Charlie
******************************************************************************
Charlie Sturm, Jr
Research Associate - Section of Mollusks
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Assistant Professor - Family Medicine
[log in to unmask]
On Sat, 19 Mar 2005, Peter Egerton wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> How bad is cotton really? I'm just wondering how many of you out there use
> cotton for your collections? I have used cotton for years and have most of
> my collection on it...and the thought of changing it all because it might
> be bad...ug! So, I just thought I'd ask...
>
> Peter
>
>
> At 04:30 AM 19/03/2005, you wrote:
> >Jim,
> >
> >What do you want to use the cotton for? If you use it to chushion shells
> >you might want to consider using "polyester cotton" or polyester batting.
> >Cotton may be acidic and thus detrimental to shells. Polyester is
> >considered by many to be safer.
> >
> >Archival polyester cotton can be purchased from places such as University
> >products and Gaylords (among others) or purchased at many craft stores.
> >
> >Regards,
> >Charlie
> >******************************************************************************
> >Charlie Sturm, Jr
> >Research Associate - Section of Mollusks
> > Carnegie Museum of Natural History
> > Pittsburgh, PA, USA
> >
> >Assistant Professor - Family Medicine
> >
> >[log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> >On Sat, 19 Mar 2005, Jim Miller wrote:
> >
> > > Hello all,
> > >
> > > Can anyone tell me where I can find cotton the way we used to buy it:
> > > In big chunks rather than these little tiny cotton balls. I used to
> > > get them at any drug store, but have scoured the city's pharmacies
> > > without luck. Any suggestions??
> > >
> > > Thanks in advance,
> > > Jim
> > >
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> --
> Peter Egerton, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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