Students of book conservation at West Dean College are encouraged to find work experience during the summer between first and second year,  so while looking for something appropriate, I found an advert for ‘Collections Store Volunteer’ at the Museum of the Order of St. John. It was the first time I had heard of the museum, but after arriving for an interview, I fell in love with this hidden gem and could not wait to start at the end of July.

I was introduced to the collection and immediately got stuck in, picking objects that had unfortunately not been packed away all that well, and making decisions about re-packing them in a more suitable and conservation-friendly way.

I found a ceramic brigade figure in its original packaging. The packaging was, however, far too big and was stuffed with packing peanuts and strips of paper, neither of which were conservation grade. In order to keep the figurine and the original packaging together, I decided that the box would need ‘padding out’. I did this with foam board, or Plastazote, encasing the ceramic figure so he fit snugly inside the original packaging (see photo below). I then adapted a negatives box, again padding it out with Plastazote, to accommodate the figurine and his packaging. I added handling and care instructions on the side of the negatives box to make the figure easier to find in the store room.

Finding a draw full of model ambulances was fascinating, as was working out how I could store them in a safe way so they could each be easily accessed. I decided to make a ‘garage’ for the cars, using sheets of corrugated archive plastic (Correx) to divide the individual sections. The ambulances were nested in Plastazote and given temporary labels.

One of the most interesting objects I handled during the summer was a reverse glass painting, where the smallest details are completed first, and then gradually built up from behind. After some thought, I made a brand new box for this object, generously lined with Plastazote complete with handholds cut into it, so lifting the painting would be easier. I am really pleased with the result, as it is now safely stored.

As well as re-packing, I also cleaned all the objects beforehand. Other objects I got to handle included old hat boxes, a collection of medical glass medical equipment, an old board game, and even a cigar box full of cut-throat razor blades.

When I wasn’t working in the store room, I spent time in the Archives, learning what it was like to be an archive assistant and even using my skills from West Dean to make a couple of phase boxes for books. The Archive is a truly fascinating place, full of so much material that tells the story of the Order, and I wish I could have spent a bit longer exploring it.

In my last week, I was lucky enough to clean and prepare uniforms for storage. As they were being taken down from the display, it was discovered that there was a moth infestation, which certainly made the work more interesting. I am planning to write a blog post about my experience with the uniforms over on westdeanconservation.com, so watch this space!

Overall I had a really joyful time at the Museum. Everyone was so friendly and I found myself loving going to work. Although my summer work experience didn’t relate exactly to book conservation, I was able to handle a wide variety of objects and use familiar materials in different ways. I have come away from my summer with a great experience of a small museum, and I hope to use the skills I’ve learnt in my future career as a conservator.