My question is.. I've got an old black bear skin blanket/rug sewn to a backer fabric its well over 80 years old i got it from my grandmother about ten years ago she said it was her dads and remembered it when she was a child but she,s passed away now, god bless her. it measures 66"X 57" sq overall its condition is great ,but the fur seems to fall out fairly easy in areas is there anyway to stop this from happening?
And if anyone knows about what something like this is worth ive got pictures i took recently if yould want to take a look.
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The oldest rug I have refurbished in my 17 years as a rugmaker was a Sumatran Tiger that was also 80 years old. Hair loss usually means dermestid or moth infestation. If indeed this is the case, putting the rug in a large plastic garbage bag and spraying a good aeresol bug spray into the bag and sealing it very tight and leaving it sealed for a month or so should do the trick to kill the dermestids.
Is it indeed just hair loss or are small pieces of skin attached to the hair? This would be indicative of old friable dry rotted leather.
If not too far damaged this can be repaired by a process of vulcanization, which would preserve this trophy for many more years to come.
As far as the value on a bear rug this old, it is just "sentimental" to you and your family, as a fresh skin can be purchased for a few hundred dollars and for another few hundred dollars , can made into a new rug. I have seen old animal rugs at antique shops, but they sell for very little money.
Give me a call or drop me an e-mail if you have any furthur questions.
Kindest regards,
Mary Hilliard-Krueger 623-582-0237
Since I,ve had it its been stored in a plastic trash bag in my closet before that it was up in an attic for a long time not wraped i assume.I dont see any skin attached to the hair so i will try spraying it down,thanks for the help,Tony