Conservation of Transport & Industrial Collections 12 to 15 May 2025 with Dave Morris

Object and Materials Conservation

Ref: M3E34897

Location: West Dean

£766

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About this course

This course delivers the fundamental information needed to understand the ethics, role and approach of the conservator involved in the care of a transport or industrial collection, and to extend their knowledge of conservation principles. The programme consists of demonstrations, lectures and discussion sessions concentrating on conserving the many different materials encountered in transport and industrial collections. It also looks at preventive conservation, handling, storage and display and environmental monitoring and control.
The course is aimed at a spread of skill levels and although conservation focussed could be of great benefit to curators and other professionals in the museum and heritage sector.

Timetable

Day 1

11.30am-12pm - Course registration
Lunch
What is a museum?
Conservation ethics and issues
Dinner
Student Project

Day 2

Introduction to the day
Documentation and work recording
Close look at the term ‘Restoration’
Lunch
Conservation workshops - paper, books, furniture, clocks
Metal conservation – overview and background to metal corrosion and conservation problems/treatments, what is happening to your metals
Dinner
Corsair restoration- case study. Detailed look at the paint archaeology on WW2 aircraft Corsair KD431

Day 3

9am - Introduction to the day
Disaster planning - emergency treatments and good practices/thinking for a wide range of materials and situations
Leather - basic do’s dont’s and treatments, mold, wet, dry, cracked, painted over etc
Storage and display
Lunch
Weald & Downland Musuem - A look at the challenges of objects stored outside and somethat have occasional use
Using objects- A session to explore the pro’s cons of using objects which will follow the W&D out of class session
Dinner
Student presentations

Day 4

9am - Introduction to the day
Environmental controls and checking
Rubber and plastic - Basic recognition of types, aimed at vehicles etc- do’s, don’t’s treatments where they exist etc
Lunch
Object critical thinking session – some examples of how to analyse objects for date provable evidence
Open discussion

General Information

Terms & Conditions

Tutors

Dave Morris

David Morris AMA is the Principal Conservator at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, Somerset (Part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy). Joining the museum as a junior conservation and restoration engineer in 1981, he now has more than 40 years’ experience in this role.