Displaying your collection

In the first of a two part series, Edward Hallett looks at the different spaces that are available to militaria collectors to display their collection

In the first of a two part series, Edward Hallett looks at the different spaces that are available to militaria collectors to display their collection.

You have spent many years and a lot of money collecting up a truly impressive collection in your chosen field and now you want to be able to enjoy and share your collection. It is only natural for collectors to wish to display their collection, and there are many factors that should be considered. Over the course of two parts we will be looking at where you can display your collection, the factors that need to be considered and some pitfalls you need to be aware of, before turning to the actual business of display itself and looking at cases, mannequins, stands and lighting.

Where to display your collection

The question of where to display your collection will be individual to each collector and their own personal domestic arrangements, the size of their house etc. but some of the most common areas to consider are the spare bedroom, the living room, an office or study, an outbuilding or those underused parts of the house; the attic or the cellar.

Perhaps the ideal option for displaying your collection is your own room, here you can display everything you want, how you want and it will be out of the way of children or other household members who might not be as keen on your militaria collection as you. A spare room is usually part of the main house, with carpet, heating and lighting that all make it a comfortable place to spend time in. A couple of factors to consider are the light levels in the room. Ultraviolet light can quickly fade and degrade

items of militaria, especially posters and uniforms which were not produced using modern colour fast dyes. The easiest option is simply to draw the curtains to prevent light damage and whilst this will work, it does give a stygian-like gloom to the room which not only makes it a less pleasant environment to spend time in, but also makes it harder to appreciate the items themselves, if they are not well lit. One option is to consider fitting a UV filter film over the glass of the window. This is a cost-effective way of reducing the damage that UV light can cause to your collection, whilst still allowing light in.

Assuming you do not have access to a dedicated spare room in the house, one other option to consider is to look to those parts of the house which are underutilised which are usually the attic or the cellar. Especially in older houses, these can be large spaces that could be adapted to display your collection. A number of things to think of though include temperature and moisture.

Attics tend to have widely fluctuating temperatures, being very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter which can encourage condensation which in turn can lead to pests and fungal growth on items. It is therefore worth making sure an attic is well insulated before turning it into a collection room. A second issue is access, many attics are only accessible via a ladder and a small hatch. Whilst it is possible to get you collection up and down through such a hatch, you have to consider if this is something you want to do on a regular basis, and indeed if some of your larger items will fit through the hatch if it is particularly small. Finally there is the issue of weight, many items of militaria are heavy and the last thing you want is for your collection to fall through the ceiling! It is perhaps best to consider hiring a reputable builder to make such a conversion to ensure access, insulation and reinforcement are all done correctly. Once a loft has been converted though it offers an excellent space in which to put your collection. As attics slope down to the sides, you can fit display cases down either side, with room for storage behind and the highest part reserved for yourself and visitors to stand up in at the centre.

Cellars offer a different set of challenges, being underground they are usually damp and again this is not ideal for displaying militaria. Whilst ventilation and dehumidifiers can help reduce the moisture content, a better long term solution is to get a builder in to ‘tank’ the cellar and fit a waterproof membrane around the whole room. With this in place the room can be dried out and will stay dried out and can then be treated like any other room in the house. As cellars usually lack windows, there is a much larger amount of wall space that can be utilised for display and no dangers of light damage.

Assuming that you have neither a spare room, cellar nor attic then you might have to think about sharing space in the main living area of your home. This has all the advantages of being in a warm, well lit and dry part of the house as well as being able to enjoy your collection at any time just by looking over at it and it allows you to show off the collection to your friends and relatives when they visit. Again there are a number of challenges to be considered. Assuming you do not

When you have spent years building up your collection, what could be better than showing it off to friends and family

Blue UV film is available to go over the windows to protect your collection from ultraviolet light

Right: If you have a dedicated space to display your collection you can fill the space with helmets, uniforms and anything else that takes your fancy

You might not wish to display Third Reich militaria in the living room, but if you have a spare room available there is nothing to stop you going all out

Light is always a danger to a collection so keep the curtains drawn

Stairwells are an excellent area to display large flat items like maps, posters and photographs, suitably framed