Trash or Treasure? Key West Art & Historical Society Offers Free Preservation Session on Personal Historic Objects

Do you have unique historic objects you would like to know more about, learn how to preserve, or be organized into a ‘life plan’ to pass on to friends and loved ones? Join Key West Art & Historical Society curator Cori Convertito, Ph.D., Monroe County Public Libraries archivist Breana Sowers, and Key West artist and architectural historian Sharon Wells during “Trash or Treasure” on Saturday, June 24 from 11:00am to 2:00pm at the Custom House Museum, 281 Front Street, as they share guidance on how to best catalog and preserve your items for future generations.

The Society will present examples from its own permanent collection, samples of archival-grade storage materials, archive and museum catalogs for perusal, handouts relating to digitizing photograph and paper collections, and information about collecting oral histories.

“Examples of objects that people are encouraged to bring to ‘Trash or Treasure’ include family photographs and albums, family bibles or books, local artwork, important family documents, documents relating to Florida Keys history and 3-D items such as textiles, jewelry, tableware and sculptures,” says Society curator Convertito.

The Society wants a safe and fun experience for all participants; firearms or any other potentially hazardous or illegal items are not permitted.  While this program has quite a few similarities with PBS’s acclaimed “Antiques Roadshow,” please note that The Society is unable to provide any type of monetary appraisals due to their non-profit status.

The session comes with free museum entry for participants, parking behind the museum, coffee, cookies, and tea. For more information, call Cori Convertito at 305.295.6616 x112 or visit kwahs.org.  Your Museums.  Your Community.  It Takes an Island.

IMAGE:
Those with collectables and the desire to learn more about them and how to preserve them are invited to attend the Key West Art & Historical Society’s “Trash or Treasure?” event from 11am-2pm on Saturday, June 24. Examples of unique collectables pictured here are, left to right: A Civil War journal kept by Matthias Euen, dated 1863, a Pan American Airways logoed shoulder-bag, and a watercolor on paper painting by Crawford Parker (1938) of a house purported to be former Key West brothel. (Photos courtesy of KWAHS)

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