what kind of fur is this?

OMG, testify!

Some dead beastie (I think fox) that used to adorn one of my mother's coats was stored (by her) in a plastic bag in a cedar chest. For like, I dunno, 40 years?

I didn't care about it, but I reached in the bag to pull it out and it disintegrated.

It disintegrated all over everything.

And, like glitter, it will never be gone. Not all of it.

 

Never store organic material in nonbreathable material unless it’s for a short period to kill infestation in a freezer.

I’ve successfully killed moth infestation in vintage wool and fur by bagging and freezing for about 4 months and once de-infested an 80s NA 6’ totem pole by wrapping it in plastic and leaving it in the summer sun for 4 months but still never brought it into the house and sold it (with disclosure) after.

 

Hi,
I remember once asking a friend in Texas to send me several small pronged horns. He sent me seven small horns with part of skull and fur attached. Put them in a cardboard box under the bed. About three months later I finally decided to do some thing with them. Pulled out the box and the entire interior
was crawling with wormy like larvae. Well the entire box and contents went into a plastic trash bag and into the garbage can.
greg

 

I relate lol. My worst was a truly wonderful Afghani Shepherd coat that I bought on ebay for nothing (or so I thought). Full skin sheep to the ground, hand dyed and all hand embroidered. It was really magnificent and I thought I scored until I opened my cedar closet the next winter and it was infested with tiny white moths. Cost hundreds to deinfest it and my closet. Thankfully nothing else was eaten.

 

Wow, this thread turned into a horror story!

 

Fox, rabbits aren't stippled like that. (It's known as agouti type fur.)

I don't buy new fur, but I have my grandmother's vintage fox fur. It's stored in an old clean white cotton pillowcase. Those are perfect for furs and such like.

 

Funny, I was doing a crossword puzzle the other day and "agouti" was one of the answers.

 

The Canadian Conservation Institute has excellent, free on-line tutorials on how to archivally store any type of collection materials. Here is the link for leather and furs. https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/care-objects/leather-skin-fur.html
Identifying furs is a bit trickier, especially when you get into the mink and other weaselly animals, dyed or not. I had a lot of fur coats and collars to market for a friend and had to give up because I couldn't sort it out with only on-line resources. Good luck!

 

That site includes such a wide range of items, and it's well organized. It's being added to my bookmarks. Thanks for posting!