I have a couple of sentimental souvenirs made of leather that I would like to preserve and store away for furture generations, what is the best way to do so? Thank you.
Like most things, the basics that you can do at home are pretty simple: keep them in a climate-controlled area (heated and cooled), with as little temperature and humidity fluctuations as possible. Keep them out of direct sunlight, away from damp or water, and away from acidic papers such as newspaper and cardboard. Also keep them away from any type of plastic sheeting or wrap that might contain chlorine. (This means NO bubble wrap or plastic packing peanuts.)
Where to store this is a bit tricky, as some wooden (esp. oak) chests and cases can give off gases that deteriorate artifacts. If you are able, purchase an acid-free / lignin-free archival-quality box from an archival storage or museum products company. With the leather, I think I would go with pH-neutral tissue paper rather than pH-buffered.
If you’re really serious, handle these objects only when you’re wearing soft, clean cotton gloves to prevent the oils from your hands damaging the items.
The exact nature of the items might determine other things. For instance, if these items are garments made of thin leather, it might be good to pad them a bit to keep the folds from cracking.
There was always a difference of opinion as to how to to preserve thick leather objects, such as saddles. Some conservators recommended NOT using any type of saddle soap or neatsfoot oil. A common-sense curator used saddle soap or a mild solution of ivory soap to clean certain objects. Be aware that any type of preservative you use could darken or damage the item as the chemicals degrade. Certainly you would NOT want to apply any type of water-based cleaner on suede or a dyed leather object that might discolor.
If you will give me exact info, I may be able to help you further.
