In Part 1 of this blog, Museum Textile Services Director Camille Myers Breeze shared her experience attending the opening of Charting the Divine Plan: The Art of Orra White Hitchcock (1796-1863) at the American Folk Art Museum. In this episode, we go into detail about the conservation procedures undertaken to prepare twenty early-19th-century painted textiles for exhibition.
The opportunity to address damage to twenty of the twenty-one most fragile textiles came about in 2018 when the entire collection was requested by the American Folk Art Museum for their comprehensive exhibit of watercolors, pen and ink drawings, prints, and classroom charts that Hitchcock created between 1810 and the 1840s. All were humidified and pressed where needed to reduce folds and wrinkles. Two textiles needed no further treatment and were repacked after humidification.
Five textiles had substantial holes or tears requiring full backings to enable exhibition. The lining material we found most compatible is Holytex, a nonwoven polyester that is light-weight, stable, and resembles the classroom charts in its slightly papery behavior. 1 mil BEVA film was ironed to the Holytex using a Rowenta Steam and Press iron set to 65 degrees Celsius. Higher heat caused the Holytex to curl and pucker, so we used additional pressure with the iron to achieve a good bond. The textile was first placed face down on an ironing surface. The adhesive side of the Holytex was placed over the textile and minimally tacked with a D&K tacking iron set to 50 degrees Celsius. The textile was flipped face up and ironed again from the front side, through a piece of silicone-release film. Excess Holytex was carefully trimmed from the perimeter of the textiles with small scissors.
The final stage of conservation was to advise the American Folk Art Museum on safe methods of display. From the very beginning, they expressed excitement about the potential of neodymium, or rare-earth magnets, the use of which we have been developing at Museum Textile Services over the past few years. After discussing ways of camouflaging magnets with paint or fabric, the museum came up with the perfect solution. Pairs of tiny silver-colored magnets were used in plain sight, blending in with the modern support systems of clear acrylic and black fabric-covered boards. At the conclusion of this conservation project, Museum Textile Services conservators had spent ninety-four hours assessing, testing, cleaning, humidifying, and stabilizing twenty of the sixty-one known classroom charts made by Orra White Hitchcock. To see them on display, visit the American Folk Art Museum before the exhibit closes on October 14, 2018.
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![]() On Monday, June 11th, 2018, Museum Textile Services director and chief conservator Camille Myers Breeze attended the opening of the long-awaited new exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum called Charting the Divine Plan: The Art of Orra White Hitchcock (1796-1863). Curated by the museum's acting executive director as well as deputy director for curatorial affairs and chief curator Stacy Hollander, the exhibit unites nearly all of Orra White Hitchcock's cotton classroom charts along with manuscripts, botanical and zoological samples, and fossils.
Edward was not afraid to engage his students in geological controversies, such as the origin of the great sand and gravel deposits found throughout New England. While some believed they were caused by a Biblical-style flood, others argued they resulted from the movement of glacier ice. Likewise, Orra’s depictions of megafauna like mastodon and ichtheosaurus clearly acknowledge that prehistoric animals differed from those known in her time. The couple were openly supporting a belief that the earth is dynamic and changing years before the 1839 publication of Charles Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle and On the Origin of Species (1859). Charting the Divine Plan: The Art of Orra White Hitchcock (1796–1863) will be at the American Folk Art Museum through October 14, 2018. In Part II of this blog, we will go into the conservation treatments undertaken by Museum Textile Services to prepare the classroom charts for display.
According to author Carl L. Bankston III, "Social scientists estimate that there are between six and seven million Hmong in the world. Until recently, almost all Hmong lived in the mountains of southern China, Laos, Thailand, and northern Vietnam. Chinese oppression during the nineteenth century and the rise of communism in Vietnam following World War II pushed many Hmong into Laos, where about 300,000 Hmong lived peacefully during the 1960s. After the royal Laotian government was overthrown by Communist forces in 1975, about one-third of the Laotian Hmong were killed, another third fled to Thailand, and the remaining third stayed in Laos. Many of those who took refuge in Thailand found homes in France, Australia, or the United States. Overall, about 95,000 Hmong have settled in the United States.
In addition to researching the fascinating history of Hmong culture, I also spot tested the textile for soiling and bleeding of colors, luckily with few results. I then made a custom fabric covered board, and archivally mounted the textile by sewing it to the board using a blind stitch. I then framed it behind glass, using spacers to prevent the textile from touching the glass. The Hmong textiles that I researched and worked on from the Museum Textile Services study collection are only the tip of the iceberg in an amazing array of things that I am learning as an MTS intern. I’m grateful for the chance to research and conserve something that spoke to me, and to be able to share this knowledge with others through the MTS Blog.
On May 11th, 2018, Museum Textile Services conservators attended the long-anticipated opening of the exhibit "Leisure Pursuits" at the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts. Part of the 100-plus special places in Massachusetts overseen by the Trustees of Reservations, Fruitlands hosted this display of clothing and textiles from several Trustees locations. This show is one of eight MassFashion exhibits in 2018, all of which showcase the different facets of fashion and how it connects to the modern day individual and history.
The largest group of dresses worn by a single woman belonged to Helen Stevens Coolidge, descendant of one of the founding families of Andover. The country house she lived in with her husband John, the Stevens-Coolidge Place in North Andover, is one of the finest Colonial Revival estates in the northeast, with many acres of farmland and gardens to explore around the mansion. John Coolidge was the great, great grandson of Thomas Jefferson and a nephew of Isabella Stewart Gardner. This status is reflected in Helen's wardrobe, which contained both day-to-day essentials like lawn dresses, and elegant evening gowns by Paris fashion house Worth. Senior Curator Christie Jackson spent over two years researching the vast collections found throughout the Trustees 16 historic houses. After researching Worth gowns, Christie dated Helen's two dresses to c 1895. She later discovered that Helen and John Coolidge met in Paris in 1895, which begs the question whether it was one of these dresses that caught John's eye. The Trustees commissioned Museum Textile Services to build custom archival manikins for their two Worth gowns. This provided yet another opportunity for our Andover Figures® system to be an affordable solution to safely display even ornate, heavy costume. Starting with our basic Ethafoam core, we used additional Ethafoam, polyester batting, and nylon tulle to create individual silhouettes for the two slightly different dresses seen above. Take a trip out to beautiful Harvard, Massachusetts, to see "Leisure Pursuits" at the Fruitlands Museum through March 24, 2019.
Museum Textile Services Director Camille Myers Breeze has been chosen as one of the five instructors participating in the inaugural season of a new collections care program at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. The Center for Collections Care uses two campus museums--the Logan Museum of Anthropology and the Wright Museum of Art--which feature a vibrant archive, and historic costume and natural history collections. According to a 2018 external review, “Beloit College is a recognized leader in the academic field of Museum Studies,” and “… one of the greatest strengths of the Museum Studies Program curriculum at Beloit is its emphasis on experiential, hands-on learning and practice.”
The Center for Collections Care at Beloit College provides important training for all current and emerging museum collections professionals. To register for Introduction to Textile Conservation or any of this summer's programs, visit the Beloit College website: www.beloit.edu/ccc.
Four trapunto quilts arrived at Museum Textile Services this winter for conservation. Three belong to Hammond-Harwood House of Annapolis, MD, and a fourth is being donated to the New England Quilt Museum, in Lowell, MA. These wonderful examples beautifully showcase this historic style of quilting that was popular in America in the mid-nineteenth century. The quilts varied in condition, but were all treated in a similar way and exhibit a wide spectrum of this style of whitework.
Similar to other textile art such as mourning pictures, images quilted in these such as urns, cornucopias and flowers hold symbolic meaning and can tell a story. Traditionally, the threads would be moved aside with a needle from the back of the quilt and tiny amounts of stuffing or cording was pushed into the voids made by the quilting pattern. This created a raised effect that was beautiful, yet subtle. Once an area was stuffed to satisfaction, the threads at the back that had been moved aside are again worked back together to make the entry area invisible. One of the Hammond-Harwood House trapunto quilts has a more delicate backing fabric, which allowed it to be more easily stuffed. This style of quilting is believed to have originated in Sicicly in the the 14th century, and continued to be popular across Italy and Europe through the 18th century. Immigrants brought the technique to America with them and it enjoyed popularity from the early 19th century, peaking mid-century. It became less common by the 20th century, as it was so time consuming and the country was being vastly changed by the industrial revolution. The trapunto quilt belonging to a private collector is a fine example of one made in America in 1823 and prominently has the name “Elizabeth North” across the top, possibly having been made for her as a wedding gift. It also features two urns of flowers and an overflowing cornucopia of flowers.
Cleaning discolored textiles is always rewarding, and restoring the legibility of these three-dimensional trapunto quilts is no exception. Viewers will enjoy seeing the results of conservation when the quilts are exhibited in their museums.
Laura Ingalls Wilder is known as the writer of the “Little House” books, and I only recently discovered that she also was a quilter. A quilt was sent to Museum Textile Services by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum in Mansfield, Missouri. It is one of two crazy quilts made by the author in the early 1900’s. Unlike other quilts she made, mention of this one does not appear in any of Laura's writings. However we know that this particular quilt was made not too long after she moved with her husband Almanzo and their daughter Rose to Mansfield, where they purchased a plot of land, and began building their homestead.
Laura Ingalls Wilder is believed to have created this crazy quilt is toward the end of the peak of popularity of crazy quilting in America. The fascination began in 1876 at the Philadelphia Exposition where the crazed pottery of the Japanese Pavilion inspired American women to incorporate similar patterns into their quilting. The top layer of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s crazy quilt was comprised of many differently patterned silk, cotton, and velvet pieces. Crazy quilts are typically assembled out of any spare fabric present in a household, and this quilt is no exception. In particular, many of the pieces of silk Laura used were badly worn and in need of support before the quilt could be safely displayed.
While the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic House & Museum does sell quilt patterns in their online store, you’ll have to look elsewhere for a crazy quilt pattern. Or better yet, create your very own.
MassFashion is an exhibition bringing together eight Massachusetts museums to showcase the different facets of fashion, and how fashion connects to the modern day individual and history. Each museum has a unique exhibit relating to clothing that ranges from mid-seventeenth century to modern day. Some exhibits focus on hats and shoes, while others focus on the important individuals and events that are connected to that piece. Museum Textile Services has been busy conserving and readying pieces to be displayed for several of the museums associated with the MassFashion exhibitions.
Each exhibit is unique and a fantastic opportunity to learn about fashion, history, and the local connections to Massachusetts and the New England area. Fashion connects us all, be it artistically or functionally, we are all connected through this industry. Concord Museum, Fuller Craft Museum, Historic New England, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Old Sturbridge Village, the Peabody Essex Museum, and The Trustees of Reservations are exhibiting this connection through MassFashion. Check out all the current and upcoming exhibits from each museum that is participating in the MassFashion exhibition!
MTS conservators stabilized the slits using three different techniques, depending on the severity of the damage. Small slits were closed with a traditional whip stitch using a cotton-polyester thread. Longer slits were mended with tabby reweaving, where the repair thread was passed over and under alternating warps to restore a network of stability while closing the tear. Where groups of splits were most severe, such as along the middle where the area rug had been folded, we employed patches of cotton duck to which we made our tabby and slit stitching. In this case we had to work with one conservator standing over the rug on tables and another conservator lying on the floor beneath a gap in the tables. Losses to the binding edge were stabilized with new cotton warp yarns and Appleton wool yarns from England. All four corners of the area rug were also supported with cotton duck patches to prevent future damage. Finally, the fringe edges of both rugs were reinforced by floating cotton/polyester thread through each knot on the reverse. The two William Morris Hammersmith rugs will be displayed this spring at the Breakers, one of the most famous of the Newport mansions run by the Preservation Society of Newport County.
In Part I of this blog, we told you what we've learned so far about the history of the Rochester Union Greys banner. In this blog we'll tell you how we managed some challenges faced by the textile conservators at Museum Textile Services.
Once the cleaning of the banner was completed, it was moved to a solid-support panel that we had covered with Polyfelt and cotton poplin. We began reassembling the banner by centering the bottom layer face-down on the panel. A piece of hi-loft polyester padding in the shape of the embroidered wreath was placed in the center of the banner to ensure sufficient pressure against the acrylic. In order to compensate visually for losses in the top layer of the banner, a piece of cream cotton was then placed on top of the padding. The top layer of the flag was rolled out over the cotton and pinned into place. The final layer of support was a full overlay of sheer cream-colored nylon net. Once all the layers were in place, the flag was hand stitched to the support panel around the edges and through the embroidery. Any areas of weakness in need of additional support were also stabilized, such as loose areas of embroidery. The sections of fringe were placed around the banner and tensioned to their maximum length. The client agreed to allow us to start the fringe further from the sleeve end to provide the length necessary to minimize gaps between sections. We hand stitched the fringe along the perimeter, and any errant strands were tacked down by hand. We decided to pressure mount the banner under UV-filtering acrylic in order to minimize the amount of stitching necessary to hold the fringe and support the fragile banner. A sheet of UV filtering acrylic was screwed to the front of the panel through pre-drilled holes. An aluminum powder-coated frame was then screwed into place to complete the pressure mount. In just under one year, this beautiful silk banner was salvaged from a trunk full of rodent-damaged memorabilia, identified as being an important historical document, and returned to stability and splendor through textile conservation. We are grateful to its owner for trusting us when we proposed this extensive treatment, and recognizing the value of preservation.
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