Author
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Topic: Conserving John Young flown artifact displays
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SpaceAholic Member Posts: 4437 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-11-2011 04:08 PM
In previous auctions, I've seen several framed John Young flown artifact presentations which all seem to have the same design - a black frame and gold background. One of these displays recently added to my collection, a group of items flown aboard Gemini 3 was initially offered as Heritage Lot 41097 during its April 2009 auction. The display includes a couple of mechanical pencils, an Omega watch strap, compass, as yet unidentified plastic components and an unflown mission patch. It appears John Young (or an individual directly connected with him) assembled these displays. The purpose of this entry is to alert other owners of the displays to issues with materials utilized to construct these presentations and (publicly) document my alterations for the the benefit of others in the cS community who may subsequently acquire this item and to support continuity of provenance. Major concerns upon receipt - masking tape utilized to hold the backing to the frame, the gold felt matting was heavily out-gassing, artifacts were affixed to the matting with acidic adhesive and the glass was non-UV protective. In addition (as can be seen in the second image), John Young's certification of flown status was on the back of the frame. To prevent acidic damage to the textiles (i.e. mechanical pencil wrappings, patch) it was necessary to migrate the artifacts to a new home using archival grade materials (shown in third image). In the process, the John Young signature was brought forward and the watch strap was repositioned to reveal its unique Gemini part and serial number.
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manilajim Member Posts: 256 From: Bergenfield, NJ USA Registered: May 2000
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posted 06-11-2011 04:52 PM
Scott, your display looks very nice and should last much longer now. Great job. |
Charlie16 Member Posts: 494 From: Italy Registered: Dec 2010
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posted 06-11-2011 05:06 PM
Great Scott. |
rjurek349 Member Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
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posted 06-11-2011 06:01 PM
Scott -- well done. Nice color choice, too. That Omega strap is the closest anyone will probably get to owning a space flown Omega! (I like that Eisele pen, too!) |
freshspot unregistered
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posted 06-12-2011 01:36 AM
Excellent work Scott. I didn't know you were interested in these sorts small of astronaut-owned items!? I always thought you were exclusively a major hardware collector. David Scott (not the astronaut) www.apolloartifacts.com |
SpaceAholic Member Posts: 4437 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-12-2011 07:26 AM
quote: Originally posted by rjurek349: Nice color choice, too. That Omega strap is the closest anyone will probably get to owning a space flown Omega!
First Omega's officially flown - right? Plus the strap comes with an added bonus of Young's sweat residue on the back for DNA certification.
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MrSpace86 Member Posts: 1618 From: Gardner, KS, USA Registered: Feb 2003
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posted 06-12-2011 09:55 AM
I really like what you did. Good job! |
SkyMan1958 Member Posts: 867 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 06-12-2011 01:19 PM
Excellent job! It's nice to see people taking care of these historic items.The closest I've done to something like this is I purchased an Apollo 11 flown flag (ex: Buzz Aldrin). It was attached to a presentation soft cardboard item (here's a pic). I noticed that the adhesive was some cheap two sided tape that was discoloring the flag. I contacted the De Young museum (a well known museum in San Francisco) and talked to their conservation department. They recommended a person in the Bay Area and that person removed the adhesive (both on the flag and the soft cardboard). She then re-hung the flag to the page using conservation techniques. After that I had the item framed using museum quality material. |
Gilbert Member Posts: 1328 From: Carrollton, GA USA Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 06-12-2011 05:53 PM
Very nice, SkyMan. |
freshspot unregistered
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posted 06-12-2011 06:39 PM
Ha. I wish I had a DSKY. |
space1 Member Posts: 853 From: Danville, Ohio Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 06-15-2011 06:03 PM
These look great. It's a good idea posting the documentation of the restoration work done. This will minimize any questions about the items in the future. |
Philip Member Posts: 5952 From: Brussels, Belgium Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 06-20-2011 10:53 AM
Nice display and a superb job Scott!!! |
SkyMan1958 Member Posts: 867 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 06-20-2011 01:55 PM
I just posted some "after" pics of the Apollo 11 flag (and a similarly conserved STS-1 flag) to this thread.Again, I'd like to congratulate Scott on taking such good care of the Young items and preserving them for posterity. |