[BCMA] A Matchbook Dilemma

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Just a note, but both urethane and nail polish are highly flammable.  What
a lot of people do to preserve matches/waterproof them is to dip the heads
in wax, either pure beeswax or paraffin.  Paraffin is a petroleum
by-product and might stain the paper it comes into contact with, though..
You might dip the match heads and then bundle them all into a small square
of parchment paper, too.. if the point is to preserve them intact, this
wouldn’t hurt anything.



Just my two bits!



Natalie Brekkaas



*From:* bcma-bounces at lists.vifa.ca [mailto:bcma-bounces at lists.vifa.ca] *On
Behalf Of *Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.
*Sent:* Wednesday, November 20, 2019 10:36 AM
*To:* bcma at lists.vifa.ca
*Subject:* Re: [BCMA] A Matchbook Dilemma



Hi Tammy,

I am no chemist, but I would think it would be effective to paint the
little heads with some clear urethane (Varathane) or clear nail polish to
keep them from accidentally igniting. I wasn't able to find a precedent for
this so you might want to proceed with care! Further, I think that these
are safety strike matches as opposed to strike anywhere matches meaning the
friction strip has a chemical that induces the reaction. Without this, they
are unlikely to ignite, made even more so by the age. BTW...Thanks for your
workshop at the conference. We are currently working your process through.



On Wed, Nov 20, 2019 at 8:50 AM Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv. <
bcma at lists.vifa.ca> wrote:

Hi, everyone,

We have recently acquired a scrapbook that, among many other things, has a
few matchbooks glued into it - complete with matches. My instinct tells me
that matches in a paper scrapbook is just a bad idea, but on the other hand,
they have been in there for the better part of 50 years and nothing terrible
has happened. Do I need to worry about them? They're not a hugely
significant part of the scrapbook itself - just little souvenirs collected
on international vacations, but the plane tickets and similar documents are
also there, so altogether it kind of speaks to the novelty of international
travel. I've thought about just cutting the heads off the matches, but it's
not often we see thin, flat wooden matches like that so I also hate to
destroy them...

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Tammy


--------------------------------------------------
Tammy Bradford, Manager
Creston Museum
219 Devon Street, Creston BC V0B 1G3
250-428-9262



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Todd Davidson

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