Preserving Civil War History
The first unique storage need was for saddles. Although saddles are designed to withstand years of rough wear and tear, they’re actually quite difficult for museums to preserve. Historic saddles were made from a combination of wood, leather, and other materials, which means they’re often heavy, awkward to handle, and vulnerable to damage and decay. Leather is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in heat and humidity and to stress from twisting and bending. The straps that connect a saddle with its two stirrups are among the weakest components of historic saddles because the straps were typically made of relatively thin strips of leather. These straps are often stretched and cracked from years of use.
Preservation professionals at the Civil War museum wanted to optimize space in their climate-controlled collections storage area, and at the same time they wanted to properly support the saddles, straps, and stirrups. Our engineers created the ideal solution. They designed sturdy steel mounts for the heavy saddles, as well as adjustable steel brackets to support the stirrups. The stirrup brackets can be moved up and down on 1-inch increments and then locked into place, thereby relieving pressure on the stirrup straps. The brackets can be moved from front to back in 4-inch increments for perfect positioning along the saddle. The mounts and brackets are compatible with Spacesaver’s cantilever racking system, which in turn was mounted on mobile carriages for high-density storage. This solution allows many historically significant saddles to be stored in a relatively small space while still providing appropriate support for each saddle and its components.
Spacesaver Storage Solutions was also called upon to help provide storage solutions for civil war furniture, dolls, knives, paintings and more. Please review our photos to see how we met these needs.
