The Henry Ford has one of the largest and most diverse collections in the nation. Our staff conservators have experience conserving a wide range of objects and materials, for purposes from museum exhibitions to operational use in living history programs. Whether they are agricultural or industrial machines, historic clothing or textiles, furniture or decorative arts, motorized or horse-drawn vehicles, documents or photographs, household or scientific equipment, or unusual modern materials such as aluminum alloys or plastics, the staff at The Henry Ford has worked with them.

Our professional staff will work with you to understand the preservation needs of your collection items and to develop a cost-effective strategy tailored to the goals of your organization.

Conservation Services provided by the staff of The Henry Ford include: Preservation assessments and surveys, assistance with grant writing, conservation treatments, training, lectures and workshops.

Conservation Assessments and Surveys
Conservation assessments or condition surveys of all or part of your collection holdings are the basis for developing a long-range preservation plan for your organization. A good preservation plan will help ensure that your organization makes the best use of its precious resources – staff, financial or material – in addressing collection needs.

Grant Writing
Grant application assistance can include identifying potential sources of funding, building and organizing a proposal, developing work plans and writing narratives for preservation based projects.

Conservation Treatments
Staff conservators with extensive expertise in the areas of paper, textile and object conservation are available to conserve historical artifacts for your organization.

Training, Lectures and Workshops
Training, lectures and workshops on a wide variety of conservation topics are available. Workshops can be customized to meet the needs of your organization. Sample offerings include Historic Housekeeping; Pest Control; Disaster Preparedness and Response; Artifact Handling; Packing and Shipping; Exhibit or Storage Consultation and Collection Care.

For more information about Conservation Services please call (313) 982-6020 or write to us at research.center@thehenryford.org.