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Brain-tan Leather Ration-Ticket Bag with Santee Beadwork, ca. 1890-1900 This bag is unique for several reasons, so 'not just anyone' who restores leather goods would have the knowledge, skill, courage, or motivation to tackle it. The reasons include: First, this little bag is over 100 years old. Both the leather and the cotton thread that holds the beads in place are stiff and brittle after so many years. Second, it is made from brain-tanned leather, which is the first kind of leather made in the world. Brain-tan is more prone to degradation from enzymes, skin acids, & such, than modern chemical-tanned leather is. Third, the beadwork and seams are sewn with cotton thread. Cotton does not wear or weather well compared to other kinds of thread of the 1800's, such as linen. Fourth, this bag is very small; with overall dimensions of 4" X 4.75". Small items of any kind tend to be overlooked, and so become damaged more than larger items might. They are harder to work on, too. Fifth, it is a ration-ticket bag, and so from the time on U.S. Indian Reservations when The People were required to show a piece of paper to get food – usually moldy or buggy – once a month. It is witness to great misery among us Indian People, and when the ration-ticket era ended, many of us destroyed the ration-ticket bags. It's hard to enough to risk making a mistake on an antique – worse on one as uncommon as this bag. The beadwork on this bag identifies it as Santee. We are of the Eastern Dakota people; who lived along the northern Mississippi before the Europeans came to Turtle Island. The beadwork of the Santee from this period is not commonly found today, mainly due to forced relocations. We Santee are part of what is commonly mis-called the 'Sioux', which is an epithet from the Ojibwe people meaning 'a treacherous snake'. Our name, along with Lakota and Nakota, means 'the allies' or 'friendly people'. * * * * When this bag first came into my shop, I took it to a friend who is the Curator of Collections of a State Historical Society, to compare his opinions of its age, condition, & likelihood of being restorable, with my own. He dated it at 1890-1900, older than anything in that Historical Society's collection. He felt the bag was so brittle it was beyond restoration, and that the best that could be done with it was to store it in an inert atmosphere to prevent further deterioration, so it could at least be studied. He asked that I ask the owner if she would consider donating it to the Historical Society for incorporation into their collection, so it's historic value would be preserved. He said he would very much like to see this bag when I finished my work with it, if I decided to attempt restoration. I believed then & I believe now, this was a 'test question', because I am known for 'working magic' with pieces others think beyond restoration or even, saving. I disagreed with his analysis of its condition as 'beyond restoration' although I knew when I first saw it that it was a challenge even to my abilities. Still, this bag is from my People, so I had more motivation to try than others might. Valuable antiques, but dirt and stiffness make them dangerously fragile. After examining the beadwork to determine the most fragile areas, I began to clean it. Brain-tan is usually coated with clay to renew its good looks, rather than washing it. The first cleanings were done with plain water, a very soft brush, and a brain surgeon's touch. Any leather must rest after a certain amount of work is done on it, but during this time, the surface also rehydrates to some degree. In this case, the surface was much more 'clay' than 'leather', so removing the clay required repeating this step and resting the bag – until the water showed no signs of cloudiness, which would indicate it was not yet clean. After cleaning with water, the bag was cleaned with the suds of a special soap, again using a very soft brush; and then rinsed thoroughly. Once the leather was clean and had rested, working with an eye loupe and excellent light, I began to reinforce the beadwork. This required using a blunted beadwork needle and cotton thread. The blunted needle helped to insure no new holes in the brain-tan; since holes weaken any leather. It was certainly not desirable to risk further deterioration of this leather's structure. Again, this required a very delicate touch, and much time. Patience is essential to successful restoration of antique leather. Once the beadwork was reinforced as much as I could easily do without straining either the brain-tan or the existing thread, I had to make a decision – whether to re-brain-tan this bag, or not. When a hide is brain-tanned, it shrinks slightly and it becomes stiff. Thus it would be necessary to block this bag so it would not shrink within the outlines of the beadwork, including the stems where the beads were individually stitched. Then, after it was re-brained, it would have be stretched, or 'broken soft' again. The re-stretching, or breaking soft, would be very tricky, because of the thread, so again, a very delicate touch, much patience and time were necessary. Because of the age of the bag & threads, I decided to add a little rendered buffalo fat to the brain mash, because buffalo fat is a superb emollient (softener). When I rendered the buffalo fat, I added some sage leaves and cedar greens, since they are excellent preservatives. After pasting the inside of the bag thoroughly with the brain-tan mash, I blocked it inside with acid-free paper. I then completely pasted the outside of the bag with brain mash & wrapped it in a thick layer of rags & set it to rest, checking it every so-many hours until it felt 'done'. Then I unwrapped it & rinsed off the brain mash, using plain water & a very soft brush; paying special attention to the beaded areas. I then began to break the bag soft again, using my fingertips and a very precise touch. Here, the challenge was to come within a hair's breadth of the stitches of the bag & its beadwork, but not stretch any stitched area. This is a considerable challenge requiring much time, patience, and solitude. When I took it back to my friend at the State Historical Society, he stared at the bag for several minutes. Finally, I said, "Have I done something wrong, in your opinion?" He stared at me & said, "Oh no! I'm amazed! I'm in awe! I didn't think anything could be done to save this bag, and you have! This is incredible!" The secretary must have thought I was crazy, because I sat there and chuckled and grinned. My friend asked "why the glee?", and I replied, "My client knows nothing about antiques, so she will be impressed no matter what I do. You have considerable knowledge of antiques, however, so it's you I wanted to impress; and I have. To impress someone with your depth and breadth of knowledge is always very satisfying." A picture being worth a thousand words, I show you these pictures: Clean, supple, re-newed. Priceless!