Conservation Lighting

The display case is made of steel with an exterior facing of solid walnut. It is fire resistant, climate controlled and equipped to deter theft. To limit further exposure, the documents are rotated. At any given time one of the three documents on display is a facsimile copy.
In the right light
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, can be considered the birthplace of the United States. Historical documents which shaped the history of the new nation are displayed here, illuminated with fiber optic lighting from SCHOTT.
The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States were all drafted in Independence Hall in the formative years of the new nation. Together these writings represent the “essential” ideas of representative government in the US and are invaluable national documents. Although they are over 200 years old and their conservation a top priority for the National Parks Service, protecting them from the ravages of time in a hermetically sealed dark safe is not an option.
Encapsulated in Argon

Further the display case is climate controlled to keep temperature and humidity constant. There is also no heat in the cabinet since fiber optic lighting is used to illuminate the invaluable documents. The light source, or illuminator, is not in the case, rather it is located 20 feet away. The light is filtered in the illuminator to eliminate the ultraviolet and infrared part of the spectrum. Likewise, light intensity is controlled directly at the illuminator with metal screens.
Multiple points of light
Each document is illuminated by two “Light Bars” from SCHOTT Fibre Optics
in Doncaster, England. Multiple points
of light set off in two rows provide
even lighting at low conservation
levels. “Producing even lighting without shadows was a major concern and
the “Light Bars” worked extremely well,” said conservator Larry Bowers of the National Parks Service. “Because of the variance between the types of paper and the amount of exposure that each document has had over the years, we lit the documents at different levels between three and five foot candles (30-50 lux) to achieve the same effect for all documents.”
Another advantage for Bowers was the low maintenance of the lighting. “There is no deterioration factor to consider with the fiber optics,” he said, “and since the illuminators are long lasting, they are user-friendly for maintenance staff.”
All the documents on display in Independence Hall are original printed copies made for distribution to delegates in the respective ratification processes. The signed hand-written originals are on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C..
Another advantage for Bowers was the low maintenance of the lighting. “There is no deterioration factor to consider with the fiber optics,” he said, “and since the illuminators are long lasting, they are user-friendly for maintenance staff.”
All the documents on display in Independence Hall are original printed copies made for distribution to delegates in the respective ratification processes. The signed hand-written originals are on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C..
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