Tissue paper plays an important role in the inventory process as it is used to protect and support the textile collection. We use two types of tissue paper at the museum: buffered and unbuffered. Without going too much into the chemistry (frankly, not my strongest area of expertise), buffered tissue is used for plant-based or cellulose materials like cotton, flax, linen, and jute. Buffered tissue contains an alkaline reserve to neutralize acidity that may form in and migrate out of the objects. Unbuffered tissue is used for protein or animal-based materials like wool and silk. It has a neutral pH, as these materials are sensitive to alkaline. Unbuffered tissue is also the go-to choice when the fiber content of a textile is unknown or when dealing with especially fragile materials, as it is a softer tissue than the buffered.
We change the tissue paper used in the storage boxes every few years as it becomes less effective at protecting the objects over time.
Textile objects are stored in boxes like the one above.
Tissue paper is used to line the box and separate objects so that they will not come into contact with each other.
If objects are small enough, multiple may be placed in one layer. Tissue is also used to pad folds in larger objects or support items that need to be filled out with tissue in order to maintain their shape. This simple material plays an important role in protecting and preserving the museum’s collections!
