Preservation Lab at the National Archives-- Boxing our Treasures

The video takes viewers inside the preservation lab at the National Archives where specialists construct custom boxes for items as varied as a Cold War-era pistol and a 1761 Indian treaty. The boxes can be simple affairs, built to house a book -- or extremely complex, holding multiple, related items in multi-chambered constructions.

Conservation technician Richard Hnat shows how items are digitally measured and conservation specialist Doug Mcrae shows how those measurements are translated into custom instructions for the Archives' automated box-making machine. Gail Harriman explains that the materials used to construct housings meet rigid archival standards: acid free, lignin free, high cotton content, etc.

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[whatsarahsaw]

The concept that there are such extreme lengths to house, protect, and conserve national archives and artifacts seemed interesting and almost mind-blowing. It was also interesting to see how the trade has evolved to now include state-of-the-art technologies, not only making the work easier, but more precise and that much more detailed. My only wonder is how were these pieces stored before, as if they were also stored in boxes or maybe artifact bags?