I’m going to build a jersey display case for my father’s old baseball uniform. What type of finish would be good to use that won’t have a chance of causing the uniform to discolor over time? 

Just guessing but for the wood stay away for anything the "tanning"  (OAK for example). The display case should never be in direct sunlight as the sun can discolor anything.  Now wax and no direct contact with stain or dye.  Probably would top coat shellac or poly or laq and once cured are quite inert.  

I am sure other will comment shortly.

 

@kmealy

Keith Mealy is our resident finishing guru.  He should be along shortly.

Hey Steve, you can't go wrong with Shellac. The exterior you can have at it, it'll be in a home I assume so you have at it with whatever you want for the exterior of the case, but I'd go with a simple shellac, there is no one single correct answer here.

But the benefits of shellac are low odor, all natural, and won't rub off on on the Jersey.

One finish to stay away from for the interior is just plain ol oil anything, specially BLO, it'll stink for a loooooong time!

I like John's suggestion. Maybe an alternative might be to not put any finish on the inside, that's what i did wen I made flag cases. But if you do finish the inside shellac would be good, a waterbourne finish might be good as well...but nothing with oil in it.

I would agree that shellac is a good choice.  There is little reason to use polyoneverythane..

Another choice is to get some acid-free mat board for the background.  

You can also get glass that blocks UV, that should help with the fading over time.

@kmealy is that bench one of your creations?

17 minutes ago, John Morris said:

@kmealy is that bench one of your creations?

Yes, it was a kit that I did very early in my woodworking journey.

18 minutes ago, kmealy said:

Yes, it was a kit that I did very early in my woodworking journey.

Love it! Has that birdcage Windsor look to it. What a neat piece to have in the home!