This weeks session at Cotehele was another quiet one owing to the horrendous rain and mist we have been having, visitor numbers are down and the general consensus amongst staff and volunteers is that those visitors we do have coming in are becoming steadily more ill tempered as the wet miserable summer progresses... I don't blame them.
Therefore I have taken the opportunity to use this weeks post to discuss one of the smaller exhibitions in the house, yet one of the most important and informative in terms of preventing the deterioration of the historic artefact's at Cotehele and indeed in all Heritage establishments.
I often have visitors to the Victorian Library question me about the small plastic shapes positioned on the left of my desk. It being such a hands on room with so many bright and beautiful displays, all complete with detailed write ups and reviews, I think these small inconspicuous pieces trigger a certain curiosity.
As you can see each plastic case is comprised of two sections of the same type of five different materials from copper to suede to cotton, paper and velvet. One section of the material is covered by a thin protective plastic covering, the other is left exposed. Visitors are drawn to touch and rub the exposed material thus demonstrating the detrimental effect that this has upon each one. These plastic shapes are used to show visitors to Cotehele the reasons why certain areas and collection are roped off or concealed from public viewing, even from this photograph you will be able to see the difference between the exposed material on the bottom section and the covered material on the top, this is especially clear in the red Velvet and the faun suede. This exhibit has only been on display for the past 3 months so obviously we can determine from this the amount of damage that would be done to soft furnishings over a prolonged period of many years where thousands of visitors are handling these objects. Therefore I say to you bad tempered visitors, soggy from the rain and shivering from our 12 degree July temperatures - We are not trying to be mean or to ruin your experience of Cotehele or indeed any other Heritage attraction by restricting access to our collections, this is a necessary and important part of preservation and if we take these measures then these beautiful tapestries, paintings and furniture will be intact for further generations of history geeks (like myself to enjoy)
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