Baer Charlton
SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
One of the local curators brought me a wonderful gift about a month before I sailed.
I just finished sorting the pictures and thought I would share one of the "free range" projects that occasionally comes along. Even with constraints.
What he brought in were three items. A 1/2 pint hand blown bottle for Pike's Peak Rye, a photo in need of TLC and a rolled up letter.
We sent the photo out for restoration via scan & photoshop. And we got back a print to fit our needs.
The letter was flat scanned and a color copy made and printed with archival ink and rag paper.
The bottle was, and will be in perfect condition.
The letter reads basically: "Your great uncle took this bottle up Pike's Peak in 1849. His son's wife filled it with camphor for him to use during the Civil War. It was at the battle of Shenandoah and Vicksburg and returned home safe and sound."
So how to frame it?
I started from the basic time of the person that the letter was written to... (my clients grandfather).
Then we had fun with it. . . the story we created was, "when he was older and understood the historical importance of what he had (1944), he found a frame that was about the right size, and then took a dynamite box and made the risers (keeping the tattooed logos on the box). [Hey! Times were tight then.] He then stained the sides to kind of match the frame.
He then placed the bottle, photo (now in leatherette travel folder) and the letter into the frame and sealed it up.
So here is what it looked like.
The frame is next to the box. Note the logo.
Dog toothed joint was standard for Dynamite boxes.
The whole interior was barrier-ed.
The objects were mounted in a linen covered tray mat.
Then the tray (Artcare mat-board) was sealed to the Museum glass and the package was slide into the frame and secured.
The backing was the piece d'resistance.. actual newspaper Sunday May 28, 1944 mounted to Artcare mat-board then secured to the frame with PVA.
Customer loved it. He's now running a museum in eastern Oregon that deals with the end of the Oregon Trail... So this will go great in their new/old ranch house.
I just finished sorting the pictures and thought I would share one of the "free range" projects that occasionally comes along. Even with constraints.
What he brought in were three items. A 1/2 pint hand blown bottle for Pike's Peak Rye, a photo in need of TLC and a rolled up letter.
We sent the photo out for restoration via scan & photoshop. And we got back a print to fit our needs.
The letter was flat scanned and a color copy made and printed with archival ink and rag paper.
The bottle was, and will be in perfect condition.
The letter reads basically: "Your great uncle took this bottle up Pike's Peak in 1849. His son's wife filled it with camphor for him to use during the Civil War. It was at the battle of Shenandoah and Vicksburg and returned home safe and sound."
So how to frame it?
I started from the basic time of the person that the letter was written to... (my clients grandfather).
Then we had fun with it. . . the story we created was, "when he was older and understood the historical importance of what he had (1944), he found a frame that was about the right size, and then took a dynamite box and made the risers (keeping the tattooed logos on the box). [Hey! Times were tight then.] He then stained the sides to kind of match the frame.
He then placed the bottle, photo (now in leatherette travel folder) and the letter into the frame and sealed it up.
So here is what it looked like.
The frame is next to the box. Note the logo.

Dog toothed joint was standard for Dynamite boxes.

The whole interior was barrier-ed.

The objects were mounted in a linen covered tray mat.

Then the tray (Artcare mat-board) was sealed to the Museum glass and the package was slide into the frame and secured.
The backing was the piece d'resistance.. actual newspaper Sunday May 28, 1944 mounted to Artcare mat-board then secured to the frame with PVA.

Customer loved it. He's now running a museum in eastern Oregon that deals with the end of the Oregon Trail... So this will go great in their new/old ranch house.
