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One of our clients is a legend at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (also known in Chicago as "The Merc"). He asked his assistant, Jill, to have us create vitrines or plexiglass showcases for three very prized possessions. One of the items is a first edition book called "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" by John Maynard Keynes, considered the father of modern economic theory. The other 2 items were paired in one display case and are the original binder with the Rules of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the first commodity exchange of its kind in the USA, developed in the 19th century as a clearing house for the sale of grain, cattle, lumber, and other non-money commodities, along with a gavel from the time of his tenure as chairman.
He wanted access to the items, but at the same time needed them to be protected from dust and environmental pollutants, fingerprints, etc. We had our plexiglass fabricator create a pair of vitrines with black, acrylic bases, using regular plexiglass to create the easels on which the items would rest within the vitrines, along with Optium Museum Acrylic exterior cases, that protect against 99% u/v radiation. Also, Optium is scuff resistant and anti-static, so it is the ideal material to use for this purpose. Since it cannot be thermo-formed, regular acrylic was used inside for the easels.
As you can see, the base and back are one integral piece of opaque black acrylic. The top, sides and front slip onto a groove in the top of the base, which holds it in place.
Vitrines designed by Dana L. Fisher, MCPF
Images shown by kind permission of Jill Rogers and Leo Melamed