Toxic Heritage

Crafts and Chemicals in Norwegian Open-air Museums

This article presents a historical overview of the role that chemical conservation methods played in Norwegian open-air museums as their building collections expanded during the first decades of the 20th century. The argument is that persistent hazardous residues are part of the heritage of the conservation discipline itself as it transitioned from a crafts-based to a chemically-driven conservation regime. The use of toxic preservatives and pesticides in building conservation is considered here as a specific method of caring for objects by detaching them from environmental degradation, which in turn shifts conservation from a traditional crafts context to a modern scientific chemical practice. We employ the term "toxic heritage" to refer to the material and cultural practices that became intimately connected with modern industrial chemicals in attempts to secure and enhance the longevity of these collections. The relationship between conservation and chemical agents is discussed in relation to the similarities between museum institutions and scientific laboratories, focusing on the manipulations that objects undergo in both settings.