The Matheson History Museum will host “Preserving Your Family Heirlooms” on Saturday, Oct. 3, featuring museum collections care specialist and Matheson board member Elise V. LeCompte.
The free program starts at 10 a.m. at 513 E. University Ave. in Gainesville and will provide practical guidance on caring for and preserving family heirlooms and other treasured objects. Registration for the event is required. Click here to register.
Participants are encouraged to bring an object or photograph of an object they would like to preserve.
Objects passed down through generations can hold personal significance because of their connection to a person, place or time, as well as the memories, history, beauty or value they represent. While natural deterioration cannot be stopped, proper care and protective measures can slow the process and help preserve treasured objects for future generations.
LeCompte’s presentation will cover the care and preservation of a variety of materials, including metal objects, ceramics and glass, artwork, textiles, books and paper, photographic materials and audiovisual materials. She will explain the processes and agents that contribute to deterioration and ways to minimize their effects.
The program will also demonstrate simple, museum-quality techniques for storing and displaying heirlooms that can be used at home. Participants will be able to examine sample storage and display materials and will receive handouts listing museum-quality supplies and suppliers.
Following the presentation, participants will take part in a hands-on group discussion focused on their individual objects and the preservation techniques discussed during the program.
LeCompte is an independent museum consultant who spent 41 years at the Florida Museum of Natural History, where she served as registrar, coordinator for museum health and safety and assistant department chair. She has also worked as a collections manager, exhibit registrar and conservation technician and consults with museums throughout the Southeast on collections management, curation, exhibit design and artifact treatment.
She has organized and presented workshops and conference sessions on collections management, museum ethics and administration for national, regional and state organizations.
LeCompte is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Alliance of Museums, the Association of Registrars and Collections Management, the American Institute for Conservation, the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, the Southeastern Museums Conference and the Southeastern Registrars Association.
She recently received the James R. Short Award, the Southeastern Museums Conference’s highest recognition for service to the museum profession in the Southeast.
LeCompte holds a master’s degree in archaeology and chemistry from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Johns Hopkins University.