Conservation Assessment of the Howard-Hart Curtain Quarter Coach

FAIN: PG-50217-07

Rensselaer County Historical Society (Troy, NY 12180-3928)
Stacy Pomeroy Draper (Project Director: May 2006 to June 2009)

A condition assessment of the Howard-Hart Curtain Quarter Coach, a town coach used by the Hart family of Troy, New York, from the mid to late nineteenth century. A team of specialized conservators would assess the condition of the coach's original materials, participate in a roundtable discussion with carriage historians and curators, and propose appropriate conservation treatments to preserve the coach.

This project is focused on bringing a team of conservators with expertise in fabrics/upholstery, leather, wood, glass, metal, and paint to assess the condition of the Howard-Hart Curtain Quarter Coach, a circa 1830s town coach made by Collis & Lawrence for William and Rebecca Hart and owned from 1845 to c. 1890 by their daughter, Betsey Howard Hart. Mrs. Hart was owner of the Rensselaer County Historical Society's historic house museum, known today as the Hart-Cluett House. Due to the rarity of the vehicle (one of four surviving vehicles of this type), its relatively untouched state, and the complexity of the construction and materials used, a team approach is being recommended for the assessment.