[Un]Boxing is a series where we’ll explore the creative and unusual ways to safely house fragile materials for the Libraries’ collections. This is the first installment and features a project finished in 2019 for the Archives in Special Collections.
As part of the MC 1798 Ralph Hyman Papers there is a set of three miniature violins. Two are in cases and the third is a plastic, electronic music player. None of the instruments were playable, to our disappointment. Boxing them together was a choice made by the archivist, but the manner of how we housed them was up to our discretion. We chose this layout because of the final shape of the box: it would be a common enough dimension and size to fit on shelves easily without getting lost and the orientation implies how to store it so it won’t be improperly shelved. By using Ethafoam, a neutral polyethylene foam, for the interior of the box, we were able to create a safe buffer for the pieces while being stored together.
Cleaning
First, each of the violins needed to be dry cleaned and the larger case needed to have some old and yellowing tape removed. The tape had been put in place at some point because one of the hinges of the case was loose. We felt that, with the security from the Ethafoam cutouts, the case wouldn’t need the tape and the tape could only cause further damage to the surface of the case overtime. The other case didn’t have a structural issue and just needed to be dry brushed.
The largest violin had the bridge laying askew, so this was righted gently with the help of some fine nose tweezers and tightening of the pegs. Just like traditional violins, the wooden bridge was not secured to the body but held in place by the tension of the strings. The smallest violin needed to be dry brushed to remove dust and debris in its small cutouts, but beyond that was stable and secure. The medium violin, also a music player, being plastic, required a dry brush cleaning, but also the battery compartment to be cleaned. The corroding batteries were removed and disposed of and the interior contacts cleaned lightly to remove the dark greenish oxidation.
Creating the Box
Following a tutorial of box-making with the staff from the University Museum, our staff became more acquainted with the depth and variety of boxes that could be made including the Ethafoam cutouts for fragile materials. For this project we chose the standard two-piece base and lid so that the Ethafoam support would be certain to remain in place without the aid of any adhesives. To create the base and the lid, a few measurements needed to be taken:
1. The space that the violins take up + at least 1/2″ buffer around the four edges. This is for the base.
2. The first measurement + the thickness of the board being used to create the box. This is for the lid.
3. The depth of the tallest violin + at least 1/4″ to create the depth of base and create clearance for when the lid is slid on top of the base.
4. The depth of the base – 1/2″ to create the depth of the lid. The reason the lid is not as deep as the base is because there needs to be space to manipulate the lid off the base and this can be difficult if they are the same depth.
Once these measurements were taken it was time to measure, cut, and score the pieces from the blue board. To make the pieces fit smoothly, we chose to use linen tape on the inside of the corners to secure the four sides for both the base and the lid. This created clean lines on the outside of the pieces but also ensured that the weakest points (the corners) wouldn’t be exposed to the friction of handling. When all corners were secured with tape, the base and the lid were held tight into shape with a rubber band around the outside till the tape’s adhesive was dry.
Ethafoam Cutouts
Finally, the last step was to create the cutouts for the violins. First the Ethafoam sheets were cut to fit the inside of the base, stacked and then secured together with the large alligator clips on four sides. Then the three violins were laid in place on the stack and a very soft pencil (4B or 6B ideally) was used to draw the basic shape of each in its place. With the violins removed, the shapes were refined and then cut out with a sharp Exacto-knife, one layer at a time. (Except the last two layers which were left intact as a buffer for the base.) Before removing the clips, the violins were put into place to ensure a good fit. No other supports looked to be required so the Ethafoam was inserted into the base and the clips were removed.
Lastly, the violins were put into their cutouts in the base and the lid placed on top. Once they’re fully processed by the archivist, a label will be affixed to the lid with the identification information, and it can be stored safely for researchers to utilize in the future.