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I have been pondering relics, which seem to be the in thing at the moment. You know, disembodied didgits, ears, eyes in jars, bones ect.

These items are expertly made, crafted with care.. the back stories, honed and full of factual titbits.

when handling these items, you should take note of shows like Antiques roadshow, who do you think you are, time team.... and don a pair of latex, or cotton gloves before touching these historic marvels. treat them with absolute reverence. this small detail adds reality to the things.

just an observation

So thats why my spectators left when I leapt onto the table and began hurling camel teeth across the room...

Don't know why I wrote that.

Anyway, thats a really good point. I never really considered it before, but I suppose that your audience looks to you for information on the object you just plonked down in front of them, so when you start treating it as ancient, rare, precious or scary then I suppose they will too. Thanks for the tip!

Interesting point! White cotton gloves are sold in Boots stores as well as Bodycare shops, about £2 a pair and most useful. If you know someone over 60 with a Boots advatage card they can get 10% off .

Thaumaturge's Talea ( see http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic36140.php ) features an ancient artifact, an oaken spike from one of Elizabeth Bathory's Iron Maidens, something like that ought to be handled with gloves and in future I shall do so - thank you!

Quite right, Dale. Of course, it depends upon how valuable and fragile they are. A Victorian era cigar box might be OK to handle without undue precautions, but one that might have belonged to Jack the Ripper might merit more care.

the very ceremony of removing gloves from their storage place, slipping them on, making sure that they fit, and removing them after the examination, is all part of the theatre of such items.

And in the case of ripper relics, then you wear the gloves for two reasons. To protect the relic, and to avoid your dna and finger prints from contaminating the evidence.

Excellent idea Dale, and one that I shall observe from now on.

Yes Dale! Brilliant idea!
The artefacts always create a sense of awe and horror/disgust!

I will also mention your other great idea to Mr Higley.

Great idea Dale, i shall think about that the next time i do a bizarre show.

Sounds like a neat touch. I'll probably utilize it myself sometime.

I'm not sure if archeologists use white cotton gloves. Biologists use white / blue latex or vynil sterile gloves, which in my opinion look more professional.

Please note three things:
1. You need to practice putting on and off the gloves. After a few dozen times it becomes easy. The first few times you can really fumble with them though.

2. The latex gloves usually have powder inside. Please make sure that you're not allergic to it (or to the latex itself).

3. When you take off latex gloves, a lot of the powder stays on your hands. I suspect it would throw off most card/billet/coin tricks that require palming.

I wouldn't recommend going down the surgical glove route. Even that sentence is an invitation to IB, and there's the rub: I worked for a few years in a facility where I was the only member of staff amongst several hundred who had reason to wear surgical gloves. EVERY time these are produced, someone will believe they are the first person ever to mime dropping their trousers in response. That's not the atmosphere you're trying to create in this situation. Surgical gloves = fnarr fnarr.
Also, you'll sweat inside those, and your hands will stink.
People associate the white cotton gloves with archivists, there is no inherent innuendo.

Another option is that you can get a box of 50 pairs of vinyl gloves from Wickes DIY for about £12. They are thicker than latex, don't really stretch, are powder free and are hypo-allergenic, unlike latex ones. They also don't dissolve in PCB etchant, as I discovered to my cost last summer.

Handling antiques, jewellery, ornaments and similar valuable items tends to see cotton gloves worn rather than latex, rubber, PVC etc. Why not nip down to the nearest Museum and see/ask what they use?

Are these any good: http://amzn.to/g2uhjn

daleshrimpton wrote:the very ceremony of removing gloves from their storage place, slipping them on, making sure that they fit, and removing them after the examination, is all part of the theatre of such items.

Absolutely, that's what made Derren's blockhead work so well.

These look very good. I take back my objection to cotton gloves.