TIANLICHUJU — PERSONAL VERIFICATION WORKSHEET
A Living Room for Collectors Who Want to See What They Own
https://tianlichuju.com/journal/a-living-room-for-collectors-who-want-to-see-what-they-own/

PROPOSED CHECKS — NO MEASURED RESULTS SUPPLIED
Date: __________________  Units: __________________
Room / product reference: __________________

1. Selected display group
Where: On one cleared representative shelf viewed from the entrance and usual seats.
Record: List the actual pieces chosen, their dimensions with units where useful and the connections known by the collector; note what becomes easier or harder to see.
Your observation: ______________________________________________
Interpretation: Breathing space can reveal individual objects without requiring a fabricated provenance or a universal sparse style.
Alternative: Reduce the group or change its location while storing other pieces appropriately.

2. Support and handling
Where: At the proposed shelves, cabinet fixing and the route used to lift each object.
Record: Identify actual dimensions, relevant weights or load information, wall conditions and reach difficulties; record where fragile pieces meet a narrow passing route.
Your observation: ______________________________________________
Interpretation: A visually light installation is not evidence of suitable support or comfortable safe retrieval.
Alternative: Use an appropriate supported system and relocate heavy or vulnerable pieces before filling the display.

3. Exposure and reserves
Where: At display light, windows and the storage for items not currently on view.
Record: Name sensitive materials, available preservation guidance and intended protection; note direct light, reflections and the handling needed to rotate or dust.
Your observation: ______________________________________________
Interpretation: Unseen reserves still need care, and a decorative spotlight is not automatically appropriate for every collection.
Alternative: Seek relevant preservation advice, reduce exposure or choose a better protected display and storage method.

PRACTICAL TRIAL
1. Trial one shelf before purchasing more furniture, checking whether the resident enjoys individual pieces more clearly.
2. Retrieve and return representative objects without reaching across fragile neighbors or using improvised climbing.
3. Plan a manageable cleaning and rotation rhythm, keeping object identification and appropriate protection with reserve items.

COMPARE THE SAME SCOPE
- A selected display with suitable reserve storage
- Existing furniture upgraded for verified support and protection
- Additional cabinetry only for a demonstrated collection-care need
Cost drivers: Appropriate load support and anchoring; Protection, preservation advice and suitable lighting; Maintenance area, reserve storage and repairable cabinet details
Choose another route when: Open display is unsuitable where the objects' environmental, security or handling needs cannot be met by the proposed location and furniture.

EVIDENCE BOUNDARY
The collector records object-specific facts; the worksheet does not establish provenance, value, conservation suitability or a tested cabinet load.

PHOTO REFERENCE
Two broad low tables sit in front of a long cabinet; their horizontal forms dominate the composition.
https://unsplash.com/photos/20qxeXC0-kU

DECISION CONDITIONS
choose: Choose a selected display when individual objects remain legible, its supports suit their actual loads and the items left off view have appropriate retrievable storage.
alternative: Keep a denser collection if that is genuinely enjoyed, but reserve useful working surfaces and correct unstable or inaccessible storage independently of the visual preference.
stop: Stop a display plan when the location or handling routine cannot support appropriate care, or when attractive light and shelving conceal unresolved material or stability requirements.

PUBLISHED REFERENCES
Canadian Conservation Institute: Caring for Photographic Materials
https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/preventive-conservation/guidelines-collections/photographic-materials.html
For photographs within a collection, CCI recommends suitable enclosures and cabinets and explains that ordinary framing buffers only limited short-term environmental changes. A closed cupboard is therefore not automatic preservation. The reserve display needs material-appropriate storage, especially when photographic layers or mounting are sensitive.
Scope: This note concerns photographic materials within a mixed collection; it does not prescribe identical environmental or enclosure choices for ceramics, books or every keepsake.
Photographer: Francesca Tosolini
Licence: Unsplash License https://unsplash.com/license

Notes: ________________________________________________________