The article deals with Ben Shahn's 1938 federally commissioned murals in the Bronx Central Post Office in New York. After a brief description of the tempera technique of the murals, (as described by Shahn's wife), and their history and subject, the article describes the 1970 restoration of the murals by Hyram Hoelzer of New York on commission by the federal General Services Administration. While it is noted that Hoelzer did not make a practice of filing detailed (treatment) reports (There were none in G.S.A. files.), in conversation with the author, Hoelzer describes the pre-treatment condition of the murals and his treatment of them, which involved the use of Calaton. However, only seven years after the Hoelzer restoration, the murals are described by the author as looking rather decrepit and suffering a relapse. The article then describes other damages to the murals resulting from building renovations. -- AATA