[Nhcoll-l] How to display herbarium specimens without color fading

[Taylor, Sarah]

Hi Rebecca,

I'm not aware of a way to display herbarium specimens without fading. When we have specimens that we want to put on display without causing fading, we have our graphics department print out life-size high-resolution photos of herbarium sheets to use instead of the specimens themselves. Behind the glass of a display case, and at the distance that viewers typically stand, it can be pretty convincing.

Cheers,
Sarah

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Sarah Taylor, PhD


Collections Manager, CONN

George Safford Torrey Herbarium
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Connecticut
75 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3043
Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043
U.S.A.

P: 860.486.1889
F: 860.486.4320
http://bgbaseserver.eeb.uconn.edu/

From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Hawkins, Rebecca Keanni
Sent: Saturday, March 5, 2022 5:11 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] How to display herbarium specimens without color fading

*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*

Hello everyone,

Is there a way to display herbarium specimens without color fading? As I understand it, exposing an herbarium specimen to sunlight (and maybe even artificial light?) will cause the specimen's colors to fade to various shades of brown. This question isn't for any specific project or exhibition, just something I've been curious about ever since I helped an herbarium make a small university display and its specimens turned brown after a few months of summer sun.

I did try an informal experiment where I put an herbarium specimen in a glass picture frame with UV blocking window film. However, the specimen's color faded just as fast as a control specimen without the film. This suggests that there was fault with the film itself or my application of it, or even that UV light alone is not what is causing the color of herbarium specimens to fade.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Rebecca Hawkins (she/her)
M.A. Student in Museum Studies
University of Kansas
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