"Decontamination of ethnological collections using supercritical CO2" by Tello et al (2005)

Tello, H.; Jelen, E.; Unger, A.; “Decontamination of ethnological collections using supercritical carbon dioxide”, Collection Forum 19 (1-2) (2005) 45-48

Abstract:
Examinations of objects in the Ethnological Museum in Berlin showed that materials such as leather, fur, hair, hide, skins and feathers contained highly toxic arsenic and mercury compounds as well as chlorine-containing pesticides such as DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), lindane (γ-hexachlorocyclohexane) and PCP (pentachlorophenol). Normal cleaning techniques cannot remove the embedded residues from the heavy metals and pesticides that still remain in layers near the surface.
A series of tests was carried out using high-pressure extraction with carbon dioxide. This method utilizes the good solvent properties of CO₂ in its supercritical state (above 31°C and 73.8 bar). The survey was conducted in a laboratory plant for screening experiments of the Fraunhofer-Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT in Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
The experiments have shown that ethnological objects, with the exception of fur, can be decontaminated without substantial damage to the materials through the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) at 40°C and 350 bar.

Tanning of leather and fur by Rogers & Clarke (1962)

Rogers, J. S.; Clarke, I. D.; Home tanning of leather and small fur skins, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington (1962)
URL

Table of contents:
1. Having hides tanned
2. Buying leather by the side
3. Home tanning
4. Tanning hides and skins for leather
4.1. Preliminary operations
4.2. Bark-tanned sole and harness leather
4.3. Chrome-tanned leather
4.4. Alum-tanned leather
5. Tanning fur skins

Alaska Native Collections - Sharing Knowledge Project website

Alaska Native Collections Website
http://alaska.si.edu/index.asp

Among many objects, this website provides information about arctic clothing made from skin (leather and furs).

About the Project:
"Through the Sharing Knowledge project, members of Indigenous communities from across Alaska and northeast Siberia are working with the Smithsonian Institution and the Anchorage Museum to interpret the materials, techniques, cultural meanings, history, and artistry represented by objects in the western arctic and subarctic collections of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in Washington, D.C. The Arctic Studies Center, which organized and implemented the project, is a special research program within the Department of Anthropology, NMNH, with offices in Washington and at the Anchorage Museum in Alaska.

The goals of Sharing Knowledge are to make the Smithsonian collections accessible to all and to support cross-cultural learning among Indigenous home communities, in schools, and around the world. Interest in the extraordinary arts and cultural heritage of the North is truly global in scope. Participants in this project are Elders, scholars, artists, and teachers who invite all to explore, learn, and appreciate."

(excerpt from "About this project" available on the website)

Taxidermy by Hasluck (1901)

Hasluck, P.; Taxidermy: comprising the skinning, stuffing, and mounting of birds, mammals, and fish, Cassell, London & New York (1901)
InternetArchive

Table of contents:
I. Skinning Birds
II. Stuffing and Mounting Birds
III. Skinning and Stuffing Mammals
IV. Animals' Horned Heads : Polishing and Mounting Horns
V. Skinning, Stuffing, and Casting Fish
VI. Preserving, Cleaning, and Dyeing Skins
VII. Preserving Insects and Birds' Eggs
VIII. Cases for Stuffed Specimens

On Canadian Ground, stories of footwear: virtual exhibit (2005)

Stories of Canadian footwear include important contributions from Canada’s Aboriginal peoples who have lived here for thousands of years, and from those who came from Europe and the American colonies over the past four hundred years to make Canada their home.
This exhibit shows approaches to footwear by both aboriginal and immigrant populations as hand-made products by skilled individuals, and it explores how they affected each other. It tells how fully hand-made methods of making footwear gradually changed to a mostly mechanized one by the time of the First World War for most of us in Canada although the indigenous groups, particularly the Inuit, still make footwear using traditional methods.
(excerpt text from the website)

"El Museu de l'Art de la Pell, Vic" por de la Fuente Andrés (2004)

Félix de la Fuente Andrés; “El Museu de l’Art de la Pell: Collección Andreu Colomer Munmany (Vic)”, Ausa 21(153) (2004) pp. 323-346.
URL (Raco)

Fruit de la transformació d’una collecció privada en un museu de titularitat pública, el Museu de l’Art de la Pell de Vic resulta un museu atípic. Amb la perspectiva dels vuit anys de vida del museu des de la seva creació, l’estudi analitza el projecte museològic i la seva aplicació en l’àmbit local com a «museu de doble via», el projecte museogràfic i la definició dels espais, l’estructura funcional i la planificació d’activitats. Per acabar, s’estableixen possibles línies de treball per al futur.

Abstract:

The product of the transformation of a private collection into a publicly owned museum, the Museu de l’Art de la Pell deVic has emerged as a highly atypical institution. From the perspective of its eight years as a public museum, this study analyses the museological project and its application on the local level as a “two-way museum”, the museographic project and the definition of the areas, the functional structure and planning for activities. Finally, it suggests possible approaches for the future.