@nationalpostalmuseum

The National Postal Museum recently received 92 original works of art which were used to create postage stamps issued over the past decade. These items are part of a larger collection of over 6,000 works of art that constitute the Postmaster General’s Collection held by the United States Postal Service. The art was reviewed by the museum's accessions officer and paper conservator, and condition reports were created for each object. The art represents a broad range of mixed media works, many of which consist of acrylic and pastel on board. 1️⃣ Recent work has focused on stabilizing the most fragile of these items, including six unfixed pastels on paper used for the Great Film Directors Forever Stamp Series (2012) featuring John Ford, Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, and John Huston. 2️⃣ Masking tape, which can result in permanent stains and embrittlement of paper if left in place too long, was removed from the surface of the artwork using a combination of heat and low-level mechanical pressure. 3️⃣ Careful removal of the tape was necessary in order to avoid tearing the paper or disrupting the fragile pastel surface. Once the tape carrier was fully detached, residual adhesive was removed with a crepe eraser in order to avoid the use of solvents. 4️⃣ The artwork was re-mounted onto acid free matboard with non-adhesive corner mounts and placed in custom designed boxes which allow for easy display and secure long-term storage in the museum’s climate-controlled storage area. 5️⃣ Great Film Directors First-Class Forever stamps. ©United states Postal Service. All rights reserved. #philately #BehindTheScenes