Shoe Trees - Museum Professional Forums, News, Jobs, Articles, Books

Ontarian · 01-21-2009, 10:31 PM

I am faced with shoes from the 1940s that still have "shoe trees" in place. Original owners insert "shoe trees" into their new shoes so that shoes keep their shape. What is the common preservation practice? Should the "shoe trees" be removed from the shoes before archival packing? Also, Should laces be removed from shoes?

StephGaub · 02-01-2009, 04:17 PM

When I pack shoes, I leave the laces as is, but I remove anything else from inside the shoe (such as what you are talking about) and am sure to put enough acid-free tissue inside the shoe to help it maintain its original shape. The shoe tree wouldn't be visible when on display anyway since I would cover my tissue with cotton felt or other museum approved fabric before placing the shoe on exhibit. I would be sure to make a notation in the catalog record for the shoe tree and the shoe that the two were once stored together by the original owner. I would also place a relation between the two items in my database.

I hope this helps!

01-21-2009, 10:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
Ontarian New Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Ontario, California Posts: 1	Shoe Trees I am faced with shoes from the 1940s that still have "shoe trees" in place. Original owners insert "shoe trees" into their new shoes so that shoes keep their shape. What is the common preservation practice? Should the "shoe trees" be removed from the shoes before archival packing? Also, Should laces be removed from shoes?

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02-01-2009, 04:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
StephGaub New Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 247	When I pack shoes, I leave the laces as is, but I remove anything else from inside the shoe (such as what you are talking about) and am sure to put enough acid-free tissue inside the shoe to help it maintain its original shape. The shoe tree wouldn't be visible when on display anyway since I would cover my tissue with cotton felt or other museum approved fabric before placing the shoe on exhibit. I would be sure to make a notation in the catalog record for the shoe tree and the shoe that the two were once stored together by the original owner. I would also place a relation between the two items in my database. I hope this helps!