[Nhcoll-l] Guata / Watte for curation subjects

[Simon Moore]

The terms for cotton wool and others tends to gets rather mixed in Euro languages. Watte means (used to mean?) cotton wool in German as opposed to Baumwolle which meant lint. Perhaps someone can help here?

Anyway, I have found that mollusc shells stored in cotton wool (this was early 20th century cotton wool) acquired a very unhealthy coating of Byne’s disease after a particularly damp winter (RH rising to average 70%). The same phenomenon also happened to some bird eggs stored in VOC active wooden cabinets - the eggs smelled of acetic acid and lost their markings. 

 I have always found that p-ester batting is (so far) good for storage of these vulnerable materials.

With all good wishes, Simon

Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR
Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian,

www.natural-history-conservation.com



> On 6 Oct 2021, at 17:48, Sergio Montagud <montagudsergio at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>  
> Thank you very much, Mariana and Paul for your answer. The link of Byne’s disease is very interesting.
>  
> And yes, we will be careful with the batting and the eggs. I presume this methodology is better than to keep them as they are, in a wooden tray with cotton!
>  
> Thanks again!
>  
> Sergio
>  
> Sergio Montagud
> Museu [UV] Història Natural
> 
> Universitat de València
> 
> C/. Dr. Moliner, 50
> 
> E-46100 Burjassot (Valencia). Spain
> 
>  
>  
> From: Mariana Di Giacomo <maru.digi at gmail.com>
> Date: Wednesday, 6 October 2021 at 18:16
> To: "Callomon,Paul" <prc44 at drexel.edu>
> Cc: Sergio Montagud <sergio.montagud at gmail.com>, "nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu" <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>, Sergio Montagud <montagudsergio at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Guata / Watte for curation subjects
>  
> Hi Sergio,
>  
> "Guata" is batting, so hopefully it is polyester batting, although you should ask just to be safe. For short term transport it is ok but make sure that if they're using this material for permanent storage, that it is placed correctly because eggs are so light that they can spring if the batting is compressed. Another thing to keep in mind is if you have broken eggs, because the batting can get caught in the cracks, so whoever is manipulating these, should be very careful. In short, it is an acceptable material with certain caveats that you should examine for your specific case.
>  
> Let me know if you have any other questions, estoy a las órdenes.
> Best,
> Mariana
> 
> Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD
> Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum
> Associate Editor, Collection Forum, SPNHC 
> Secretary/Communications APOYOnline
>  
>  
>  
> El mié, 6 oct 2021 a las 12:09, Callomon,Paul (<prc44 at drexel.edu>) escribió:
>> Hi Sergio,
>>  
>> “Watte” is the Japanese word for cotton wool, so I think it’s an international term. If they are using polyester batting (sold for stuffing pillows, toys etc.) then there’s no problem. Short-term use of cotton wool is also OK, but it is not suitable for long-term storage in closed environments as it is cellulose and can thus (theoretically at least) cause “Byne’s Disease” in calcium compounds.
>> https://conchologistsofamerica.org/bynes-disease-questions-and-answers/
>>  
>>  
>> Paul Callomon
>> Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates
>> Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
>> 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
>> prc44 at drexel.edu Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Sergio Montagud
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 6, 2021 11:27 AM
>> To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>> Cc: Sergio Montagud <montagudsergio at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Guata / Watte for curation subjects
>>  
>> External.
>> Hi everyone, 
>>  
>> Yesterday, a company that helps us to transport specimens for a coming exposition, come to the museum to prepare all the material. I help them in the process and when we want to arrange a large box of bird eggs, I see they wanted to use a thing close to the cotton to ensure the samples. They told me that that material was "Guata" (I think watte in English), and I can use it extremely well to ensure individual each egg on his box. My question is if anybody has used this material in his museum work and if somebody knows negative effects for the specimens, such as acid components in the fiber that can damage thespecimens or something like that.
>> Thanks for help!
>> 
>> Sergio
>>  
>> Sergio Montagud
>> Museu [UV] Història Natural
>> 
>> Universitat de València
>> 
>> C/. Dr. Moliner, 50
>> 
>> E-46100 Burjassot (Valencia). Spain
>> 
>>  
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> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
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