Preserving your family treasures

Family treasures can link generations. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Family treasures link generations in a deep, personal way and they can never be replaced once they have gone.

Anyone who has seen their great-grandmother’s baptismal gown, grandfather’s fob watch, or a photo of a young relative going off to war, knows how moving these pieces of history can be.

These treasured items passed down from generation to generation provide insight into the lives of our ancestors and a richer understanding of our family’s history.

I remember the day when my mother gave me a package wrapped in tissue paper and said to me, “This is the last item of clothing from when I was a little girl, and I would like you to have it”.

Inside the tissue paper was a small, knitted dress that had been made with silk knitting yarn and four photos of my mother wearing it, some of the photos include her with her parents, my grandparents.

The dress had been knitted by my grandmother and when first made the bottom was adorned with swansdown. It was the sweetest little dress and as she grew it stretched and grew with her until she was about 3 years old. The swansdown has long gone, but I knew I had to preserve the dress otherwise the moths would get it and it would be gone forever.

I had the dress framed and along the bottom ran the photos of my mother wearing it. It hangs in my bedroom and in years to come, will be passed on to her great-granddaughter who shares her middle name.

Humidity and sun are two of the main causes of damage to your treasures. I have seen beautiful paintings ruined as they have been in the direct line of sunlight, and books that have shown the tell-tale signs of being left in a damp garage.

Old leather chairs need a feed of leather conditioner to keep them subtle, remember leather dries out and then goes hard.

If you are wanting to preserve a book to pass on to family, I think it is worthwhile finding a professional who will repair that special book so it will be around for the next generation. Especially if it is a large family bible that may have family christening dates written on the inside front cover, that history is irreplaceable.

I have seen a cushion made from ties that once belonged to a friend’s late father, family wedding photos restored, an old tapestry finished, but never framed, made into a gorgeous cushion and a menu from a memorable overseas restaurant, framed and hanging in a friend’s kitchen.

Sometimes you find the thing you want to preserve is of no monetary value, it is the link to the family generations that is irreplaceable.