Lock, Stock and Barrel: Firearms Collecting for Museums

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Have you ever been offered a firearm for your collection? Have you been unsure how to handle the donation or the legal status of the gun? How do you manage the preservation of a firearms collection currently in your museum?

In this webinar, we will take a look at laws that govern the firearms and how museum can ensure they are legally obtaining weapons. We will also address the care of firearms as composite objects, made of both organic and inorganic materials in close contact. This can result in complicated deterioration reactions that make balancing storage conditions a challenge.

The webinar will cover the basics of how to assess the condition of firearms and how to use that data in management decisions. We will include best practices for preventative conservation treatments, the basics of disassembly for examination and cleaning, storage, how to safely display guns, and how to transport firearms when necessary.

Presenters

headshot kiserToni Kiser is the Assistant Director for Collections Management at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, LA. A graduate of the Museum Studies program at George Washington University she has been with them since 2008. The museum houses a broad ranging collection from archives to airplanes and includes over 500 firearms. Toni is currently serving as board member for the Association of Registrars and Collection Specialists (ARCS), and also teaches as an adjunct professor for the Museum Studies programs at Southern University New Orleans (SUNO). Her work with collections management has included storage moves, offsite storage, re-housing projects, and inventory.

Paul_StorchPaul Storch is the Site Collections and Exhibits Liaison for the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, MN. He is a graduate of the Museum Studies program at George Washington University with a Concentration in Archaeological and Ethnographic Objects Conservation.   He worked as an objects conservator for a total of 30 years at the Texas Memorial Museum, The South Carolina State Museum, and the Minnesota Historical Society, where he developed methods and wrote publications on the conservation of firearms and edged weapon conservation and preservation. In his current position, Paul manages over 45,000 objects on display and in storage at 26 historic sites throughout Minnesota. He has also taught conservation and preservation science as an adjunct instructor at the University of Texas-Austin, University of South Carolina, and the College of Visual Arts, St. Paul.

 

Recorded: Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Duration: 1 Hour 26 minutes

Listen
 

Lock, Stock, and Barrel PowerPoint Slides

 

Tech Talk September1998

 

Tech Talk December 1998

 

Lock, Stock, and Barrel Webinar Handout

 

Firearms Condition Worksheet Example

 

Trailing Questions for Lock, Stock, and Barrel

 


 

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