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Welcome to this online supplement and companion to the book...

Artifacts in Use
The Paradox of Restoration
and the Conservation of Organs

Using pipe organs as a case study, Artifacts in Use explores broad issues in caring for historic objects that continue in use. The book describes the vulnerability of historical evidence during conventional restoration, and how evidence can be preserved during restorative conservation and subsequent use. It examines an object’s value as a historical "document," and the diverse values we each hold as users, conservators, restorers, and caretakers of the material past. The restorative conservation approach depends on collaborations between restorers trained within a craft tradition and professional conservators, and can be applied to many types of complex, preservation-worthy objects.

The recent restorative conservation of a 1799 combination pipe organ and piano at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation was a proving ground for the concepts and methods detailed in Artifacts in Use. Photographs, videos, audio recordings, blog postings, and historical background featuring that instrument and its restorative conservation are published online.