Over the past two weeks, I have continued to work with the saddle collection. I have also continued to work through updating existing collections records. Both are interesting tasks and I have been learning a lot about the care of artifacts.
Recently, I have been focusing on photographing each of the saddles in storage. Since the stands that support the saddles are difficult to move, I had to move each saddle to a temporary stand set up with a white back-drop. This was a long process since many of the saddles are in less than desirable condition and are heavy, making each one difficult to move.
I have also been working updating files on existing collections. Occasionally this task can get a little boring since a lot of the work is doing the same thing for each item (usually 30 plus items in each box). But I usually come across an item that I find particularly interesting, or and item that proves to be difficult and requires some problem solving to figure out why the item isn’t listed as it should be. Often times the latter issue leads to me tracing back the physical paper work to find the proper paperwork for the museum’s possession of the item. Sometimes this is pretty easy to find and means that I simply have to change some of the numbers on the item. However, occasionally I find an item that has little to no presence within the paper trail. These issues are like a puzzle and I kind of find it enjoyable to try and solve them, sometimes with the help of the Collection’s Manager, Sarah.
During these past two weeks, I also had the opportunity to sit in on a Collections meeting with Sarah and the Collections volunteers. The group went through potential donations and decided what will be accepted into the Museum’s Collections and what will not. Overall my internship is going well and I am enjoying the work that I am doing as an intern!
Photo of the photographing process for the saddle collection.