Gemmary Web Site Update - Fall 2007 Catalog & Book List

We have just updated The Gemmary's web site with our Fall 2007 Antique Scientific Instrument Catalog and Science Book List. We invite everyone to browse these catalogs - we have added a number of very exceptional instruments.

Rick & Faye Blankenhorn
The Gemmary, Inc.

Gemmary Status Update - We are home

Faye & I returned to our home on Friday at 11am. Our next door neighbor kept watch over it and let us know that it was ok; however, we did not know how close the fire actually came to us. The fire came up to our street 2 houses above us and crossed the road to start burning leaves under the avocado trees. The fire fighters planned to make their stand on Canonita, so there were fire trucks on our road all during the fire. They put out the small burn on our side of the street and stopped the fire from any further crossing - all of this about 150 yards up Canonita from us. Two houses on the next street north were totally destroyed down the hill from the burn that reached Canonita - very scary. Our house had power all week, so we did not even lose the food in our refrigerators and freezer. We are so thankful.

We are going to return to Vince & Cathy's today to pick up the Suburban that we filled with our most valuable instruments and books, and to bring our birds home - Oski (blue & gold macaw) and Chewie (black headed caique) are fine, but they both want to come home and the air quality here is good and getting better. Surprisingly, very little ash around, but a few scary large pieces of black embers that could have started burns on our property if they were still burning when they landed. Again, Faye & I want to thank all of our friends around the world who have emailed their concern for our safety. All in all, it was an experience that we do not want to have again.

Fallbrook Fire and Gemmary Status

We had to evacuate our house in Fallbrook at noon on Monday due to the Rice Fire coming down Reche Road from I15 towards us. Faye & I and the two birds are staying with Vince & Cathy at their house in Murietta, 20 miles north of Fallbrook. We finally got confirmation this morning that all of the houses on our street survived - our next door neighbor sneaked back into Fallbrook last night and we talked to him at his home. Two houses at the top of our street were damaged and their groves were partially burned; at least one house opposite us on the street just north of us was destroyed, so it was a very close call. The Rice Fire has burned over 7500 acres in Fallbrook and destroyed over 200 homes at this time; the fire is still burning north of town, but is currently not a threat to us (however, it is reported to be only 15% contained, with full containment not expected until Sunday). The hot dry Santa Ana high wind conditions should subside today and be replaced with higher humidity cooler air flow from the ocean. If all goes well, we should be able to return to our house Thursday, or Friday at the latest, and try to get The Gemmary back in business.

Faye & I want to thank all of our friends around the world who have emailed their concern for our safety. It looks like we dodged the bullet this time and we look forward to returning to our house. I will post again when we get home.

Preservation, Conservation, Repair, or Restoration

There are several different levels of "care" for antique scientific instruments that should be considered by all collectors, ranging from preservation (least invasive) to restoration (most invasive) which can be simply defined as follows:

Preservation: Actions designed only to arrrest or slow physical deterioration and finish degredation - damage is left as is, but prevented from going further. Preservation activities are not intended to try to return a piece to its original condition.

Conservation: Actions designed to preserve as much of the original materials and original finish as possible, while trying to bringing the piece back to as close to its original condition as possible.

Repair: Activities involving structural repairs or reinforcements to original parts and replacement of missing or damaged parts - including the addition of new materials.

Restoration: Actions designed to bring the piece back to as close to its original condition as possible, including structural repairs or replacements and finish repairs or refinishing.

In our opinion at The Gemmary, preservation is considered manditory, conservation is considered highly desireable, repairs are undertaken only if they are required to prevent further damage to a piece or to make a piece suitable for display (minimal repairs), and all out restoration is considered only as a last resort to preserve a rare piece in very poor condition.

In future postings, I plan to discuss some of the products and options available for the materials most common in antique scientific instruments, including wood, paper, leather, and metals.