"Preserving Gravemarkers in Historic Cemeteries" - NPS Preservation Brief #48 --Is a Must Have for your Cemetery Preservation Library

Let me preface this post by stating that my hard copy of "Preserving Gravemarkers in Historic Cemeteries", Brief #48 a 20-page publication by the National Park Service, arrived in my mail this past Saturday.

I can attest that it is definitely well worth the small investment amount to purchase it -- $6.00! Free shipping from the U. S. Government Book Store! 

This expertly researched and presented publication is available online in PDF version, which is also great to save and access at any time. However, if you are anything like me (who is "old school"!) having an actual publication in book or booklet form, printed on good stock paper, is a thing of joy to hold for serious reading or even paging through for casual browsing. 

So, I can recommend this great publication as a helpful addition for anyone's home library collection on the subject of gravestone conservation and cemetery preservation.  The booklet offers a great start for learning more on this subject, or perhaps answering some lingering questions about it.  

You won't find a better value for your money on the subject of preserving gravemarkers from any source!

The NPS (National Park Service) and NCPTT (National Center for Preservation Technology and Training) know this subject well!  

NCPTT hold hands-on training sessions for gravestone conservation and cemetery preservation. Many who have attended these hands-on workshops have become professionals with this work and earned great respect in their field if they keep to the principles they were taught. 

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"Preserving Gravemarkers in Historic Cemeteries"

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"Cemeteries found across the country are not only places of burial, but they also provide a vivid record of community history. 

Whether large or small, well maintained or neglected, historic cemeteries are an important part of our cultural landscape. The vast richness of expression through form, decoration and materials informs our understanding of the individuals buried in historic cemeteries and their cultural significance.

While cemeteries are often considered to be perpetual, their most prominent feature—the grave markers—are not. They weather, naturally decay, often are poorly maintained and repaired and, on occasion, are vandalized. 

Grave markers are usually noteworthy not only for their inscriptions but also for their craftsmanship. 

Exceptional markers are considered works of art.

This Preservation Brief focuses on a single aspect of historic cemetery preservation—providing guidance for owners, property managers, administrators, in-house maintenance staff, volunteers, and others who are responsible for or are interested in preserving and protecting grave markers. Besides describing grave marker materials and the risk factors that contribute to their decay, the Brief provides guidance for assessing their conditions and discusses maintenance programs and various preservation treatments."

Beautiful, full color images.

Audience: 

"This brief would be helpful for community historians, history professors and students studying cemetery construction, preservation, and the concept of memorialization throughout history, Archaeologists and Anthropologists studying methods of burial, memorialization, and grave marker construction, Masons and stoneworkers engaged in constructing grave markers (specifically historically-influenced markers), and any member of the general public interested in learning how to preserve historic cemeteries and their value to the history of a community."

Happy New Year & Reflecting on New Year's Resolutions Worth Keeping

Wishing everyone a safe, healthy, and happy 2017!  

And may all of your New Year's Resolutions be kept!  

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If cleaning, repairing, or resetting your ancestor's gravestone in 2017 is among your New Year's resolutions in the coming year, please keep following the Do No Harm guidelines for conducting this type of work.  A perfect place to learn about these proper procedure and product guidelines is from the NCPTT -- The National Center for Technology and Training.  

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With this thought in mind, I wish to take this opportunity to thank Mary Striegel of the NCPTT for reaching out through her blog posts, in particular, that detail and promote safe, do no harm practices, that serve to protect and preserve grave markers of all types across America.  

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Through Mary's blog posts, like her most recent:  

December 12, 2016 - "New NPS Presentation #48"  titled:  

"Preserving Grave Markers in Historic Cemeteries" -- that includes a Link to the 20 page PDF Brief # 48 Document itself is a must read for anyone interested in learning more about cemetery preservation and gravestone conservation whether they have engaged in this type of work or not.

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**Mary Striegel**

"Dr. Mary Striegel is responsible for NCPTT’s Materials Conservation Program. Mary came to NCPTT in 1995 from the Getty Conservation Institute. 

Her past work has included studies of the effects of formaldehyde on inorganic materials, uses of thin-layer chromatography for the analysis of binding media, and applications of digital imaging and technical photography in the analysis of works of art. 

Mary earned her Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis, where she pursued interdisciplinary research on residual stresses in numismatics."

Sharing My Thoughts about the NPS #48 Preservation Brief: "Preserving Grave Markers in Historic Cemeteries"

This is my short commentary on the NPS #48 Preservation Brief: "Preserving Grave Markers in Historic Cemeteries" 

I definitely agree about cemeteries being deemed to be in the category of "historic" in their nature.  

Many of us who visit what most would consider to be pioneer cemeteries, or the older sections of newer cemeteries, can attest that these are the burial grounds where those who were the creators of the area's earliest history rest -- hopefully in peace, yet the cemetery 'lives' on in the community in the midst of modern day structures standing as neighbors to folks like you and me. 

We sometimes walk past them, in some cases not even realizing they are there if they have been neglected for years.  Some are tucked away on side streets or off township roads, but they occupy land that holds the remains of those who came before us.  

These ancestors learned that they had to be hardy souls; and they walked more than they rode, they worked with their hands and hearts, they started the villages that grew and thrived, or in some cases remained the small towns we have come to know and love today.   

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Adhering to the proper Do No Harm practices of cleaning gravestones, and choosing an individual or company to hire who will adhere to them, are key decisions that profoundly affect a gravestone's quality of existence for many years to come.

This #48 Preservation Brief addresses many issues and helps us make wiser decisions that will best benefit the gravestones, gravesites, and cemeteries in our communities.   Early gravestones are fragile, one-of-a-kind historic artifacts that also mark the resting places of those whom we should remember, honor, and respect for their contributions and sacrifices.  

We must do our part to keep their gravesites as intact and presentable as we possibly can so those who come after us can show their proper respect as well.  

Spotlighting the Preservation and Restoration of Bronze Grave Markers and Memorials - Mr. Dennis Montagna, Historian of the National Park Serivce

Sharing the following statements about preserving and restoring bronze grave markers and memorials.  

As a blog update, this information is now listed as a permanent post on the right sidebar of this blog.  

There has been much interest expressed in the "Preserving Ohio's Cemeteries" Facebook Group for gaining a better understanding of how to properly preserve bronze grave markers (many of which are government issued military plaques for deceased veterans), as well as properly (again the key word -- as always! -- is properly!) restore those markers that have more serious condition issues due to the ravages of time and weather.  

I am proud to share this statement from the National Park Service's Historian, Mr. Dennis Montagna, who has a vast educational background and personal experience in this field with the preservation of bronze statues, monuments, and markers; and who has so kindly offered to accept serious questions and provide one-on-one guidance with an emphasis on adopting best practice procedures that will properly protect, preserve, and restore bronze grave markers.

So, it is with great pleasure that I share Mr. Montagna's statements and his NPS email address as his contact information.  I would suggest when contacting him to provide a good quality photograph of your bronze marker in need of care so Mr. Montagna can better assess its condition and the steps that should be taken to care for it.

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****Bronze Grave Markers****

Dennis Montagna, Historian at the National Park Service:

For those who have questions on the subject of bronze grave markers and memorials, please contact Mr. Dennis Montagna, Historian at the National Park Service at his email address below to ask questions for one-on-one guidance for their care and restoration:

dennis_montagna@nps.gov

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Statements from Dennis Montagna: 

January 27, 2016: 

"Most commercially produced bronze plaques for the last 40 or 50 years have a painted surface--usually a brownish background (letters and other high points burnished bright) and then the whole thing gets a clear topcoat. At some point, the coatings need to be removed and reapplied. Mild gel paint strippers usually work well, although folks who work fast and dirty will uses abrasives. If you're just doing a washing, I'd use a very small amount of any of the conservation soaps you're used to using...Orvus, Igepal, Triton-X...and the apply a cold paste wax that is free of abrasives. Sort of treat it like your car, but don't use car wax. Use the wax sparingly and buff it out. I like using shoe shine brushes. This may not make a big difference in appearance, but waxes will likely make the lacquer coating last somewhat longer.

From what I've seen, some foundries, like Matthews Bronze, apply long-lived coatings. They use a proprietary coating called Diamond Shield, and I don't know how it should be removed. It might be best to send it back to them for refinishing. Other producers seem to have less durable coatings, but they may be more easy to remove.

When coatings begin to fail, they usually do it at the edges of things, where it is thinner. Lacquer coatings want to pull away from edges and collect in recesses. Coatings on ground-mounted plaques fail faster because they get beat upon by weather and other things far more than do vertical ones. If you have a chance to influence placement, always push for vertical! Also, if you can maintain them from the beginning, that's best, if unlikely."

January 28, 2016:

"The methods used to produce a bronze plaque are not necessarily ones you would choose to conserve them. Always strive for a light touch. Just because power grinding and sanding tools were used to make a plaque, it doesn't mean they're a good idea in the preservation area. Aggressive cleaning means loss of surface...just like we see in misguided efforts to clean stone."