It is preferable to store fans in closed positions when the condition of the fan allows. In closed positions, fans maintain their shape and alignment, which prevents any distortion in their sticks that may occur if left in an open position for extended periods of time.
The fans are stored in individual boxes, and held in place with soft bumpers or tied with cotton twill tape. Boxes are lined with PhotoTex paper, polyfil pillow padding with Tyvek covers, or white Volara foam sheets. Whenever possible, a card with an image of the fan opened is included to limit the need to repeatedly open and close the fan.
Closed fans can be stored in three positions:
1. on their guards on a padded surface: for fans with wide, decoratively carved, or jeweled guards, the guard gives strength to the fan when in use and protects the leaves when folded closed
2. on their sticks, flat: when the guards are thin or if the weight of the fan would compress the leaves, such as those made of lace
3. on a right angle: to more equally distribute weight on both sticks and guards
This prefabricated acid-free box has seven compartments lined with Phototex paper. Volara foam blocks prevent the fans from shifting, and cotton twill tape, usually tied near the rivet, secures them closed. Each fan can be lifted in their compartment and separated from the group.
This paper and ivory folding fan is stored in a closed position on its guard edge. It is tied into the custom 4-ply rag board box at the rivet and held in position with Volara squares.
The fan in its open position.
This fan is similarly tied into the box at the head and held in alignment with Volara squares. However, to prevent compression of the leaves by the gilded wood guard, the fan is stored on its stick edges.
The fan in its open position.
An ivory 'cockade' style folding fan on its stick edges.
The fan in its open position.
A tortoise shell folding fan on its stick edges, with tassels wrapped in soft Tyvek for protection.
The fan in its open position.
The brisé silver filigree folding fan is stored on its stick edges. The box has a Mylar window and is made of corrugated board lined with Corrosion Intercept, a material designed to remove pollutants that would otherwise corrode the silver filigree.
The fan in its open position.
This delicate brisé style fan with inlayed shell is positioned at an angle so that its weight is shared between the sticks and the guards. A V-shaped insert, lined with PhotoText paper, supports the fan.
A detail of the fan in its open position.
Similarly, this box in a horizontal zigzag configuration is made of Coroplast board and lined with PhotoTex paper. The inlayed shell folding fans are set loosely in the V-shaped sections of the box.
A design sketch for the fans pictured above.