Museum considerations

It may be deduced from numerous useful and decorative articles to be seen in centres like the British Museum or the National Archeological Museum at Athens that considerable practical knowledge of the properties and applications of materials (not just of stone, iron, and bronze) pre-dated written economic and social history. The dramatists, philosophers, and sociologists appeared it seems some time after the craftsmen and technicians philosophy and certain other studies somewhat later than materials science. 

See, for example, Peter Forshaw, " Alchemy in the Amphitheatre Some Considerations of the Alchemical Content of the Engravings in Heinrich Khun-rath s Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom (1609]," in Art and Alchemy, ed. Jacob Wamberg (Copenhagen Museum Tusculanum Press, 2006), T95-220. 

Seven position titles—trustee, director, curator, conservator, exhibition specialist, restorer, and caretaker—are most often encountered in museums. People in these positions are expected to carry out the functions of acquisition, study, conservation, and presentation with due consideration of the impact of these functions on preserving the collection. Indeed, only with the combined effort of these workers can preservation be guaranteed. Often one person must carry out more than one function in other cases, a number of people share one function. In all instances, however, their responsibilities do intertwine, so that everyone concerned must work together in good faith. 

A fire of celluloid film that became a news item in Japan in recent years occurred in the National Modem Museum J). The fire, at about 14 47 on September 3, 1984, was caused by the spontaneous ignition of nitrocellulose films in the film storeroom on the fifth floor of the museum. The fire damaged a considerable number of the 3,000 reels of foreign movies that were stored there. On December 16, 1932, a disastrous fire caused by the burning of celluloid toys on a counter of Shirakiya Department Store resulted in the death of 14 saleswomen who could not escape and the injury of 21 other people. 

Similar considerations apply to the doors of the gas chambers. The aforementioned trap doors measured 8.2 ft. width x 6.6 ft. assumed height, i.e., 54 sq.ft. The pressure brought to bear on them would thus have amounted to 25 tons pushing outward - and yet these doors still managed to remain airtight. No doubt such a highly engineered door would be a prized museum exhibit. 

Silk fabrics have been held in high esteem for centuries. This consideration outweighs some of the problems inherent to the silk fibers, such as susceptibility to damage from light and embrittlement with age. This esteem has encouraged museums to exhibit superb examples of the technological and aesthetic achievements associated with the silk weaving of past centuries. Even when treated poorly, some examples of silk art have survived quite well. 

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