Just learned from a museum tour guide that Victorian funeral wreaths often used arsenic-treated flowers to preserve them.

Found that out at the history museum in St. Louis, and now I'm wondering if any of you have ever come across truly wild old-school floral preservation methods in your work?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles4421mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, those old methods were wild. Honestly, just stick with silica gel now, way safer.

reeseperez1mo ago

So the arsenic was just a bonus feature?

elliot_barnes27d ago

Man, those old school preservatives were absolutely no joke. I actually had to figure this out a few years back when I found some old family documents that had that whole treatment. @charles442 is right that silica gel is way safer, but if you're dealing with something already treated, just keep it sealed and handled minimally. Honestly, I'd just leave it alone in a dry spot and call it good.