Any suggestions..???

[Kcwalc33]

My DH has had this framed collage of Democratic National Convention badges and cards along with a signed letter from President Roosevelt back in the early 1940's handed down thru the years. He wants to take off all the ribbons, cards, pins, etc. off the carboard backing. They appear to be glued on. The metal pieces came off very easily but the ribbons are on there pretty good. They are really old and brittle and will rip or tear if I force them off by prying with my fingernail. Is there maybe a way to get these off without damaging the ribbons? We want to get these off and put in small shadow boxes to be displayed in downtown Denver for the Democratic National Convention.

Any ideas would be really appreciated....

[hopeky94]

Without knowing exactly what kind of glue was used and what material the ribbons are made of, it would be really hard to say what would work for this.

My thought is to find someone in your area who does restorations on old photos, furniture, or other antiques and get their advice. They'll probably want to see it before they can evaluate or give tips on how to remove them.

But if the "experts" say it can't be done without destroying the ribbons, my only other advice would be to cut the carboard as close to the glued area as possible (you might be able to peel a layer or two of the cardboard off the back) and leave the rest attached, hopefully hidden behind the ribbon itself.

HTH, and good luck!

[oceanbreeze]

I would leave it all intact, then just have it put in a shadow box. May deplete value if you remove them from the original backings.