Florida Artifacts Road Trip!

In February, the National Museum of Civil War Medicine was contacted by a cardiologist in Ocala, Florida, looking to donate a large collection of Civil War medical items.  Since the collection was a rather large one, measures had to be taken here in Frederick to ensure that we had the space to accept the artifacts.  The work room for the curator was crowded with risers and cases and needed to be cleaned out.  Shelving would also have to be brought in to store everything on.

With this work completed, Tom and Jake headed down to Florida to pick up the artifacts.  Arriving on Sunday, they worked with the doctor to pack three rooms worth of medical artifacts.  Not only were there items from the Civil War, but there were many post war items, and a large amount of pre-war items.  There were commissions, photos, tools, and many different medical cases.

Tom and Jake worked for six hours loading the collection, after which they left for the long drive north.  They drove through the night, stopping only for food and gas, and to switch driving duties.  Two hours on, two hours off.  They made great time.  They arrived back in Frederick at 4:30 am.  After dropping Jake off, Tom came to the museum at 5 am and unloaded all of the artifacts off of the truck and into the lobby.  Finally exhausted, he slept for an hour in the office, after which he moved all of the boxes into the quarantine room.

The next day, all of the boxes were unpacked; the artifacts were placed on the shelves in their temporary home.  This is where the collection will “live” for the next few months, while they are cleaned, preserved, and cataloged in hopes that soon they will be placed on display.

Items cannot simply be placed right back into the collections room. The first step is to place them into quarantine.  The reason for this is to ensure that items have not been exposed to materials that may cause damage to the artifacts in the collections room.  The most common concerns may include bugs and mold.  While the artifacts are in quarantine, they are checked for anything that could damage not only themselves but other artifacts.

 So, stay tuned, and hopefully soon you can see some of these items on display!

Thomas Frezza

 Photos courtesy of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, except where otherwise noted.