Laura Wahl

Abstract

This talk will introduce the ongoing project of preserving a series of prototype models of handles for consumer products created by designer Thomas Lamb. The items are components of a broader archival collection at Hagley Museum and Library, frequently accessed by researchers interested in mid 20th century design, accessibility, and ergonomics. A conservation survey at the Library in 2023 attempted to identify plastic objects using dating, visual characteristics, and odor to classify the polymer by feeding the data into an online plastics analysis tool. This method helped to narrow down the likely suspects, but often it was far from conclusive. There were concerns about the degradation materials (off gassing) and the possible impact on adjacent metals and other plastics. A more precise materials identification was desired. Object conservators were consulted, and some concepts for preventive storage were considered. In the spring of 2024, under the direction of Dr. Liora Mael, a group of undergraduate University of Delaware Art Conservation students performed FTIR analysis at Winterthur’s SRAL on some of the unknown plastic materials. The students worked as a team to document each handle and to organize the analytical work flow. Some of the identities were surprising. This is likely due to the experimental nature of some materials in the Lamb collection, being examples along a continuum of the design process, rather than final products.  The information generated by the students will soon be used to help improve storage and preservation of the collection. 

About the Speaker

Laura Wahl has been the Library Conservator at Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware since 2008. There she works to preserve a wide range of library and archival materials documenting the history of business and technology. Prior to Hagley she worked as a Conservator and Fellow at the Conservation Center for Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia. She graduated from the University of Delaware/Winterthur Program in Art Conservation where she majored in Photograph Conservation. Laura also has a BFA in Visual Communication/Photographic Illustration from Ohio University. Laura has recently been researching gelatin DOP photographic papers of the 1890s in the context of photographs by William H. Rau in the Hagley Library.