Conservation, Authentication & Appraisal Services

Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front National Historical Park has one of the most comprehensive collections of written narratives, oral histories, defense industry equipment, artifacts and ephemera, photographs, and personal belongings from the American World War II home front. In 2015, a significant addition to the museum collection included the acquisition of the Ed and Saryl Von der Porten collection of WWII artifacts and memorabilia. Collected over the course of several decades and including approximately 1,800 artifacts, the Von der Porten collection includes books, war bond and ration materials, toys, model kits, newspapers, magazines, posters, household items, and military souvenirs. The park anticipates multiple uses for the Von der Porten collection, such as temporary and permanent exhibits, research, and reproductions for sale in the Rosie the Riveter Trust book and gift store located in the park’s visitor education center.

Approximately 35% of the Von der Porten collection is comprised of paper based materials which have been organized into 8 categories: books (including booklets, scrapbooks, manuals, and yearbooks), magazines, newsletters, newspapers, photographs, posters and maps, prints, and miscellaneous materials (including correspondence, ephemera, and toys). When the collection was donated, most of the items were still housed in nonarchival enclosures and boxes they were purchased or stored in. In the course of processing a portion of the collection, park staff noted poor or fair conditions for a variety of paper- based materials which require professional conservation treatment and stabilization. Without treatment these materials will continue to deteriorate until they no longer have physical integrity or informational value.

The purpose of this contract is to perform conservation treatment for paper-based objects including posters, maps, books, magazines, photographs, prints, rationing and miscellaneous objects, and newspapers.