EDIS_SOW.docx

Scope / Statement of Work (SOW) EDIS: Conserve Historic Recording Studio Phonographs at the Edison Laboratory

PMIS 176416A

Table of Contents

1.0 Project Description / Summary

2.0 Objectives

3.0 Background

4.0 Specific Work / Tasks

5.0 Optional Work / Tasks

6.0 Government Furnished Equipment / Materials / Other

7.0 Special Conditions / Requirements

8.0 Place of Performance

9.0 Performance Period / Schedule Requirements

Scope / Statement of Work

Task Order / Project Title:

Conserve Historic Recording Studio Phonographs at the Edison Laboratory

Park / Park Unit:

Thomas Edison National Historical Park

1.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION / SUMMARY:

This project will hire a professional conservator to provide stabilization and conservation treatment for seven of the thirteen Edison historic cylinder phonographs from the collection at Thomas Edison National Historical Park (EDIS). Treatment could include cleaning and repairs, inpainting of paint losses, and application of protective coatings. All work will be performed in accordance with National Park Service and American Institute for Conservation standards.

The conservator will conserve and stabilize the artifacts, and prepare Treatment Reports, including "before and after" digital photographs to illustrate the work. EDIS will file the Treatment Reports into the park’s permanent individual Object Care files, and notations regarding the treatments will be entered into the Interior Collections Management System (ICMS) catalog records.

To deliver the artifacts to HACE conservation labs, an NPS Museum Curator will pack the objects at EDIS, and a professional art mover will ship the boxes. To return the artifacts to EDIS, the Conservator will pack the objects, and a professional art mover will ship the boxes.

2.0 OBJECTIVES:

2.1 The Historic Architecture, Conservation and Engineering Center (HACE) will hire a contract conservator to treat items as identified.

2.2 Contractor shall provide treatment proposals, treatment reports and surveys as needed by the government.

2.3 Contractor shall provide advice to the client on conservation issues (e.g., storage and exhibit questions, object condition observations, etc.) and participate in meetings as needed.

2.4 Contractor shall record and maintain records of treatments and surveys in conjunction with NPS guidelines/ protocols.

3.0 BACKGROUND:

During the late 1890s and early 1900s, America’s most prominent inventor Thomas Edison, with his employees, designed and modified cylinder phonographs for professional use. The phonographs to be conserved in this project were each used in Edison’s professional recording studios to create and evaluate cylinder-format sound recordings. These special machines provide rare evidence that contributes to our understanding of early recording studio practice, much of which was kept intentionally private by Edison as "trade secrets". Each of the phonographs is unique, and very few other examples of this type survive outside the NPS collection at EDIS.

In 2008, NPS Conservators Larry Bowers and Sheila Payaqui surveyed phonographs in the Thomas Edison National Historical Park Collection. They found these recording studio phonographs to be actively corroding and in need of conservation treatment. Bowers and Payaqui summarized their findings in a report titled: "Phonograph Collection Condition Survey, Edison National Historic Site, February 2008, Harpers Ferry Center, by Larry Bowers and Sheila Payaqui." This project will further recommendations made in the Phonograph Collection Condition Survey (2008), the site’s Collection Management Plan (2013), and it will correct deficiencies for the Preservation and Protection of Museum Collections in the NPS Automated Checklist.

Visitors desire to see these significant and rare phonographs and researchers request access to study them. After treatment, they will be placed on exhibit in the Edison Laboratory "Phonograph Gallery Open Storage" display, providing visual access to visitors and researchers. This project will improve the preservation and interpretation of an historic collection, and increase visitor satisfaction and understanding of the resource, for over 60,000 visitors per year.

4.0 SPECIFIC WORK / TASKS:

Major Duties and Responsibilities of Contractor

4.1 Conservation Laboratory Responsibilities:

· The contractor will be responsible for performing a wide variety of conservation treatments, including difficult and complex technical analysis, testing, and treatment necessary to conserve objects of historic and artistic value.

· The contractor will examine objects to determine the nature and cause of deterioration, and tests and selects appropriate conservation techniques for treatment

· The contractor will develop treatments in consultation with the park curators regarding final appearance and intended use of the object, and provides written documentation for the examination and condition analysis phase, treatment proposal phase, and following approval of the object’s custodian (usually the park curator through the park Superintendent), the final treatment phase in a comprehensive dossier for each object treated in the conservation laboratory, with complete photographic documentation of the object before and after treatment, and during treatment, if warranted.

· The contractor will draw from professional experience and practical research in selecting professionally established treatment techniques, and in developing new treatment methodologies, including selection of conservation solvents, reagents, compounds, materials and application techniques. Treatment procedures often involve extremely delicate techniques requiring highly developed hand skills and mature professional judgement in determining the appropriate extent of intervention, and the desired final appearance of extremely valuable and irreplaceable objects.

· The contractor will make contacts with parks for treatment scheduling and proposal review, and to make recommendations concerning collection care in the realm of both preventive and remedial conservation. Contacts are also made with parks as a result of their requests for conservation information or services. Contacts with NPS and non-NPS conservators are usually for the purpose of information acquisition or exchange.

· The contractor will be responsible for compliance with all OSHA and NIOSH regulations in laboratory operations by all personnel working in the laboratory.

4.2 On-site treatment projects:

· The contractor will assess the condition and treatment needs of objects on-site and develop treatment proposals.

· The contractor will submit written treatment proposals to the curator/superintendent for approval.

· The contractor will identify and arrange for procurement and scheduled delivery of conservation supplies necessary for on-site treatments. On-site treatments are primarily, but not limited to, treatment of outdoor sculptures, treatment of architectural finishes or ornamentation, treatment of large-scale sculptural plaster casts, and treatment of objects too large or too fragile to be transported to the HACE/Collections laboratory.

4.3 The following numbered phonographs will be treated as part of this project:

Total: 290 Hours

5.0 OPTIONAL WORK / TASKS NOT ON PMIS:

N/A

6.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT / MATERIALS / OTHER:

All supplies necessary to execute the treatment of this project will be provided by the HACE Object Treatment Laboratory and are included in the project cost.

7.0 SPECIAL CONDITIONS / REQUIREMENTS:

7.1 Contractor to adhere to all OSHA procedures and guidelines while in HACE Laboratory.

7.2 Contractor will consult with HACE Project Inspector during the project to ensure treatments are done in a timely and efficient manner.

7.3 Contractor to adhere to all local ordinances, such as, allowable work time and noise ordinances.

8.0 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

Historic Architecture, Conservation and Engineering Center Object Treatment Laboratory in Lowell, MA.

9.0 PERFORMANCE PERIOD / SCHEDULE REQUIREMENTS:

52-week period of performance. Start date September 2022.

9.1 Time

Regular Hours: The contractor shall provide coverage at the specified government sites during the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M (core hours); Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Overtime: Overtime will be authorized in emergency situations such as natural disasters and/or activation of the Northeast Region Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). The COR will identify which tasks are necessary during this emergency and what personnel will be required to report to work or work additional hours.

Travel: Occasional travel is required to various sites in the Northeast Region.

9.2 Invoicing

Invoicing shall be in accordance with the DOI ELECTRONIC INVOICING Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements – Internet Payment Platform (IPP) (September 2011) – See Contract Administration Data (below) for the full clause. The Period of Performance (POP) for each invoice will be one calendar month based on actual hours worked, beginning with the start date of this contract. The contactor shall submit only one invoice per month. Timesheets will be verified by NPS Contracting Officers Technical Representative monthly prior to payment.

9.3 Standards and References

· NPS standards and procedures will be made available upon task initiation.

· All work performed will be within the standards of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) Code of Ethics and Guidelines

One of the phonographs to be conserved, EDIS #881 image1.jpg image2.jpeg