HOMING IN ON THE MANGE MUSEUM SAVES BUFFALO COATS.Byline: Amy Raisin raisin, in botany and cooking raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapevines bearing grapes with a high content of sugar and solid flesh. Although the fruit is sometimes artificially dehydrated, it is usually sun-dried. Staff Writer NEWHALL - Using cotton gloves and soft brushes, volunteers carefully went about cleaning 13 Hart Museum buffalo coats Saturday, the scent from the brown, thick-maned pelts conjuring images of Old West determination and American history. Included in the estate of silent movie cowboy William S. Hart after his 1946 death, the genuine buffalo coats - many purchased by Hart himself for his films, some as old as 130 years - now rest in the museum that bears his name. ``It's a history of the United States “American history” redirects here. For the history of the continents, see History of the Americas. The United States of America is located in the middle of the North American continent, with Canada to the north and the United Mexican States to the south. as these were commonly worn items, but it's also a piece of movie history and a part of Williams S. Hart's legacy that he left the coats,'' said Janis Ashley, a museum administrator. Eight volunteers set about cleaning the hides, first gently sifting the dense fur for tiny moths and ``frass'' - a mixture of insect excrement excrement /ex·cre·ment/ (eks´kri-mint) 1. feces. 2. excretion (2). ex·cre·ment n. Waste matter or any excretion cast out of the body, especially feces. , carcasses and flakes of hide on which the bugs feast, effectively shearing the fur from the hide. As a result, volunteers working in Hart Hall identified the loose patches on each coat and removed pieces of fur as effortlessly as pulling at a piece of cotton candy. Beth Werling, a collections manager with the Los Angeles County Museum Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, Calif. The original museum opened in 1913. Among its important patrons was William Randolph Hearst, whose enormous collection brought the museum major status among the country's art houses. of Natural History, said the coats were generally worn by men, as the 35-pound wraps required considerable strength. ``The coats became popular and were issued (by the military) after the Civil War,'' Werling said. ``But buffalo became so over-hunted that they were on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of extinction,'' around the turn of the century. Hoping to preserve the specimens, the crew spent hours brushing and cleaning the furs, readying each for black bags before undergoing a 48- hour freeze to kill any insects or eggs. Werling added that the weight of the coats - at least one is always on display at the museum - has caused pulling at the seams when hung on hangers hangers used for hanging x-ray films to dry. There is a clip type, with a clip at each corner, and a channel type in which the film sits in channels in the sides of the frame. , so each pelt pelt the undressed, raw skin of a wild animal with the fur in place. If from a sheep or goat there is a short growth of wool or mohair on the skin. will be measured and stored in a specially designed box for storage. As Ashely sealed some of the heavy garments, she wondered about their history. ``I always wonder - Hart had so many of them - what movies they were used in. Did Bill (Hart) wear them? An unknown actor who went on to be a star?'' she said. ``You always wonder what the history is.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Volunteers Joanne Grosh, left, Jackie Cullen and Sheila Miller clean buffalo coats from the Hart Museum collection. (2 -- 3) Beth Werling, collections manager at the county Museum of Natural History, examines an antique buffalo skin coat for damaging insects or larvae Larvae, in Roman religion Larvae: see lemures. . Below, an original sales tag still adorns a buffalo skin coat acquired by western film star William S. Hart and now part of the Hart Museum's collection. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion