Saturday 24 May 2014

Update on Glasgow School of Art

Dear Val

The fire is now out and all spokespersons are saying that the remains of the building are viable and can be repaired. They are also saying that much of the precious contents has been saved. I would hope that it was rather like the fire at Windsor Castle where there was an established routine to remove works of art in event of such a catastrophe. 

The fire started in the basement when a projector blew up and then spread up through the building to the roof. The Library which in early reports was described as the most affected by the fire is described as one of the finest Art Nouveau interiors in the world. If the precious books and papers from the library have been saved many cold storage facilities round Glasgow will now be full. Conservators have found that the best way to prevent water damage in paper is to freeze the items until they have the time to work on them and all major Libraries and Museums have agreements to use cold storage facilities in case of need .

The BBC have a full and detailed report on http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-27553056  

Ginny
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