Bacco is the Italian name for Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and intoxication. The legendary festivals in his honor were devoted to wild drinking, freedom, and sexual promiscuity, and the word Bacchanalia has become synonymous with orgy. However, scholars debate the specifics of these events and are left with limited resources for interpretation. The...

April showers bring May flowers, but these buttons tell a more interesting story. In the 1940s plastics were quickly being incorporated into all aspects of everyday life. Lightweight, inexpensive, and available in a wide range of colors, plastic was popular with designers and manufacturers of countless goods—including women’s accessories. Nylon was invented in 1938 allowing...

Developing a preservation system at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum to protect Product Design and Decorative Arts collection objects on new compact storage units began with identifying specific design requirements (see Design to Preserve: Part 1). Object Conservators at the Museum are currently selecting and testing archival materials to create adaptable and effective support components for...

A critical element of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum’s Re:Design project is a new off-site conservation, study, and storage facility, designed to the highest preservation standards and built over the past several years. In order to maximize the space, the new storage facility is outfitted with mobile compact storage units as well as static units...