By Camille Myers Breeze
On May 8th, 2012, Camille headed off to Albuquerque, NM, for the 40th Annual Meeting of the American Institute for Conservation. Located along the historic Route 66, Albuquerque was the site of reunions with old friends and gathering of new knowledge.
Historic Route 66 in Albuquerque, NM
The first thing Camille did upon arrival was hang the poster that she and Kate Smith co-authored, entitled "Crossing the Boundaries Between Conservation Disciplines in the Treatment of Asian Thangkas." This poster was a summary of our 2.5-year thangka project for the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College and our first opportunity to present our work to our other conservators. Judging by the verbal feedback and how quickly our handouts disappeared, our poster was very well received!
Camille Myers Breeze at the 40th Annual AIC Conference
View from the Stone House, Cibola National Forest, Sandia Mountains, Albuquerque, NM
Camille participating in the Great Debate at AIC
The biggest surprise of the conference came when Camille was invited to substitute for colleague Chris Stavroudis in the first ever Great Debate! Organized by Richard McCoy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Great Debate pitted teams of three conservators against each other to argue a topic relating to art conservation. Camille's teammates were Vanessa Muros, Staff Research Associate at the UCLA/Getty Conservation Program (and former student of Camille's in Peru,) and Kristin Adsit, IFA-NYU fourth-year intern from Indianapolis Museum of Art.
The best part about the Great Debate was giving conservators a chance to break out of our shells by acting loud and silly in front of our peers. Oh, and Camille's team won our debate! The debates were video taped and will appear soon on YouTube.
by Camille Myers Breeze
When the opportunity to purchase this 1837 New Hampshire sampler arose, I jumped on. The MTS study collection contains many such textiles that come into our hands in need of a conservator's attention.
Sarah R Hamilton sampler before conservation
Three lines of inscriptions read "Sarah R Hamilton born Oct 3rd 1825", "George L Hamilton born Dec 14th 1828," and the maker's inscription, "Sarah R. Hamilton aged 12."
The inscriptions have been tampered with over time
Close examination of these lines show several layers of intervention. Green silk thread had been used to go over parts of the two top lines. At an earlier time, all three lines were also traced in what appears to be pencil. Beneath these the original cross stitching appeared as a thin white silk thread.
 Reverse of green over-stitching
The reverse of the sampler shows the later green threads and original white threads below.
We decided to remove the new green thread along with as much of the pencil as possible. This photo shows the front of the sampler after this has been done.
Inscriptions after over-stitching and pencil are removed
In the closeup below-left you can see that green ink was also used at some point to touch up the lettering. Spot cleaning of the stitching with deionized water was successful in removing this green ink, seen on blotting paper below right.
Ink before removal
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Results of spot cleaning
| The reverse of the treated area held one additional surprise for conservators. By unspinning some of the original white embroidery threads it became clear that these letters were originally turquoise blue, a common color from the time period. Chemical processed had caused the silk thread to deteriorate and the dye to fail not only where it was exposed to light on the front, but everywhere except the core of the thread and at some knots.
 New blue over-stitching
In light of this new evidence, we decided to restore the inscriptions to their original blue color. We carefully matched the original dye with a new blue mercerized cotton embroidery floss.
New cross stitches were carefully placed over the deteriorated letters in these three lines as well as other places the same thread was used. The original thread was left in place and is now protected beneath the new stitches.
Before restoration
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After restoration
| The final image below shows the sampler after it was humidified, mounted and framed by Conservation Assistant Cara Jordan. The restored lettering makes the sampler more legible and reminds us of the cheerful colors originally chosen by 12-year-old Sarah Hamilton for her sampler.
Sarah R Hamilton sampler after conservation
The restoration of deteriorated lettering on the Sarah R Hamilton was an unusual treatment for Museum Textile Services. Having performed this treatment on an item in our study collection, we can now offer a similar restoration it to a client should the circumstances call for it.
This sampler now hangs proudly in the Museum Textile Services conservation studio.
by Camille Myers Breeze
It's not usually a favorite topic of conversation, but conservators can always bend your ear about bugs. As spring approaches, dormant eggs hatch, larvae grow and then pupate, and mature adults emerge days or weeks later capable of mating and creating more eggs. And this is when some of our most important work is done.
Casemaking clothes moth damage. Photo courtesy of Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, MA, USA.
Most insect infestations occur in dark and moist areas where plentiful food is available and there is little disturbance. Ideal places include closets, trunks, boxes, plastic bags, suitcases, cupboards, and beneath carpets. You may know you have an infestation because you see the insects or their larvae, but just as often you see only piles of fiber, droppings (frass), webbing, and holes in your textiles.
 Silverfish Insects choose which textiles to infest based on what the material is. Most textiles fall into one of three categories. Protein fibers are made from animal products and include wool, silk, feather, fur, and leather. Cellulosic fibers come from plants and include cotton, linen, hemp, jute, and paper. Synthetic fibers are mostly man-made polymers, including rayon, a man-made cellulosic fiber.
The most common insect pest that causes damage to cellulosic textile fibers is the silverfish. Resembling a ½-inch-long shark, silverfish are attracted to starch found in food, building materials, paper, and textiles, as well as mold or fungi. They are often found in damp places, such as bathroom linen closets, and are mostly nocturnal.
 Varied Carpet Beetle Most structures are home to the carpet beetle, which subsists on protein (keratin). Varied carpet beetles, measuring as little as ⅛-inch long, are the species most common to the US north east. They are oval with a brown and tan striped pattern on their scales. Both the carpet beetle larvae its casing are fluffy and brown. Carpet beetles thrive around dead insects, human and pet food, natural history and taxidermy specimens, carpets, furnishings, and wool or silk clothing. They can be found near warm windows and light fixtures, especially in spring.
The two most common moths that infest household and museum collections are the webbing clothes moth and casemaking clothes moth. Both are frequent pests on wool and silk clothing, carpets, tapestries, upholstery, and craft supplies. Webbing clothes moths grow up to ⅜-inch long and are pale tan in color. They tend to avoid light, however they can be seen
flying around, especially in spring and summer.
 Casemaking clothes moth and larvae Casemaking clothes moths are smaller, measuring only ¼-inch long, and may be browner and faintly speckled. The larvae create a silky case and carry it around with them, depositing fiber and frass on it as they graze. The larvae cannot live outside their case. Casemaking clothes moth larvae are just as voracious as webbing clothes moths and will leave holes and large areas of denuded threads.
Despite their similarities, webbing clothes moths and casemaking clothes moths have key differences. The larvae of the webbing clothes moth will eat for 68–87 days, however the casemaking clothes moth larvae can survive as long as 2.5 years before pupating. The adult case-making clothes moth lives a mere 4–6 days, but the webbing clothes moth has up to one month to mate and lay eggs before dying.
Webbing clothes moth casings
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Casemaking clothes moth casings
| If you believe you have an insect infestation, contact a conservator immediately. Do not use pesticides, such as bug spray, moth balls, or boric acid because they are potentially harmful to pets, people, and your textiles. You may carefully vacuum the effected textiles and surrounding areas to remove insects, larvae, and eggs only if you are certain you can do so without damaging fragile fabrics. Quarantine effected items in zip-top or garbage bags and contact a conservator. For a more detailed discussion of insect pests that affect textiles, download the latest MTS Handout, Identifying and Mitigating Insect Infestations, from our website.
By Cara Jordan
Early in 2012, a curious textile arrived at our new studio. The hooked rug bears the proud image of a bulldog in a Yale sweater and an inscription reading “Handsome Dan II.” We were hooked (no pun intended)…who was this Handsome dog?
 Handsome Dan II hooked rug. Courtesy of private collector.  Handsome Dan I Clue to Handsome Dan II’s identity are his blue sweater and the football next to him. After some research, we learned that the tradition of Handsome Dan began in 1889 when Yale got its first official mascot, Handsome Dan I. Handsome Dan, a bulldog, was purchased for $5.00 from a local blacksmith’s shop by Yale student Andrew Graves. Handsome Dan attended Yale’s football games and was trained to “speak to Harvard,” whereupon he would bark ferociously. He remained Yale’s mascot until his death in 1898. Handsome Dan’s body has been stuffed and can still be seen today in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium.
Handsome Dan’s successor, Handsome Dan II, came to Yale in 1933. He was bought with saved pennies by the freshman class and nicknamed “Bad Dan.” In 1934 he was kidnapped by Harvard students and photographed with the statue of John Harvard. Handsome Dan II passed away in 1937 due to complications from a broken leg.
 Handsome Dan XVII, "Sherman" Since then there have been a long succession of Handsome Dans at Yale. The likeness of Handsome Dan has even appeared on Christmas cards and is part of the Yale team logo. The newest Handsome Dan, Handsome Dan XVII, known as “Sherman,” has been part of the Yale tradition since 2007. Yale’s adoption of the bulldog as its mascot was the first officially recognized U.S. collegiate mascot. Since then many other colleges have also adopted the bulldog as their own.
Family records tell us that this hooked rug was made by Blanche Paull, the great grandmother of owner’s partner Matthew Carter. Ms Paull was an accomplished artist whose son Tom attended Yale. The rug likely dates to Handsome Dan II’s tenure, between 1933 and 1937.
 Detail before conservation. MTS is looking forward to conserving this historic hooked rug so that the family can display it for future generations.
At the dawn of the 19th century, a young English woman by the name of Miss Grimshaw created a self portrait out of precious silk and watercolors. In the tradition of memorial embroideries of that time period, a piece of thin silk was first painted, then backed with a stiffer cotton, and finally embroidered through both layers.
Miss Grimshaw's portrait before conservation
The textile underwent quite a journey before arriving at Museum Textile Services. It was brought to America by Miss Grimshaw's son, D. Grimshaw, in 1838. This may be when the embroidery was placed in an ornate fluted frame over a wood board. Later, a paper mat with an oval cut-out was glued directly on top of the painted silk. The frame was again disturbed in the 20th century, as evidenced by some scotch tape holding the layers of board together.  Before conservation, the textile was acidified and brittle from age and contact with the wood board. The frame was weak, had been overpainted, and was losing its plaster.
The first step was to unframe and disassemble the embroidery to get to its core components. What we found inside was a layer of impossibly-fragile silk being held together entirely by the stitching and paint.
During desassembly
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Reverse of embroidery
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The silk to which the cardboard mat was glued had long since separated from the center. This allowed the mat to be lifted off, leaving behind a rough oval of silk and silk embroidery threads. Cracks were present in the painted areas and some chunks of silk had detached, revealing the cotton backing fabric.
Damage to the painted silk along the right side
The proposed treatment was an aggressive one; lining the back of the silk was not possible because the embroidery stitching passes through both the silk and the cotton backing fabric. Instead, a sheer conservation fabric treated with an adhesive film would have to be placed on top of the embroidery to ensure the self portrait remained intact. Adhesive treatments of this kind are not reversible, so they are used only when other treatment options are exhausted.
Printed silk being inserted behind losses
Before the sheer overlay went on, losses in the silk were addressed using a unique procedure. A photograph of the intact foliage on the left side of the image was flipped horizontally in Photoshop to match the foliage on the right side of the picture. This reverse image was then printed on silk fabric using a color laser printer. (Print-on fabric is available at http://www.dharmatrading.com).
Damaged area after compensation and adhesive overlay, and before new mat was applied
The new silk was placed carefully underneath the shattered edges of the textile to camouflage losses. The adhesive overlay was then completed, locking the old and new layers together. The embroidery was hand stitched to a fabric-covered archival mat board.
Miss Grimshaw's self portrait after conservation
A computer-cut oval mat was provided by our frame supplier and a new fluted frame was found that matches the old one almost perfectly. The textile was framed and the frame was sealed with Marvelseal barrier film.
Now that this fragile piece of history has been stabilized and preserved, it lives on to be enjoyed by its owner, Miss Grimshaw's great-great-great-great-great granddaughter!
By Sarah Berlinger Being the sports enthusiasts that we are, MTS was delighted to recently receive a collection of baseball memorabilia from the Museum of African American History in Boston.
Will "Cannonball" Jackman, pictured wearing a uniform identical to the one MTS is currently working on. Photo courtesy of The Cannonball Foundation website.
The twenty items, including shoes, socks, rosin bags, and a uniform, all belonged to Will "Cannonball” Jackman. A professional pitcher for over 25 years, he has been called “the best baseball player you’ve never heard of.”
Uniform jersey before conservation. Photo courtesy of Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, MA, USA.
Throughout Jackman’s career, he played in Texas, Oklahoma, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. He came to play for the Boston Colored Giants in 1924, and proved his dominance in the Greater Boston Colored League. Jackman played baseball into his sixties; a truly amazing feat. According to Negro League superstar Bill Yancey, later a Yankees scout, Jackman was the greatest all-around ballplayer he ever saw.
Initials "W.J." written inside the waistband of the pants. Photo courtesy of Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, MA, USA.
The Jackman collection arrived at MTS for assessment to determine the feasibility of display in the upcoming MAAH exhibit, The Color of Baseball in Boston. The first course of action was to send the items to be treated in the anoxic fumigation chamber at Historic New England. Some items, Such as Cannonball's cap, showed damage from past insect activity.
Cannonball Jackman's cap prior to conservation. Photo courtesy of Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, MA, USA.
 After fumigation, the collection was surface-cleaned with a HEPA vacuum to remove particulate matter. All but four of the clothing items will be washed gently to reduce deterioration products without removing signs of past use.
The shoes have been reinforced for pitching. Photo courtesy of Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, MA, USA.
Stitched repairs will be kept to a minimum but crucial restorations will be undertaken to camouflage insect damage. A custom-built Ethafoam mannequin will then be constructed
to allow the uniform to be exhibited.
A historic newspaper photo of Jackman, possibly taken in 1971 when he was honored by the city of Boston with "Will Jackman Day."
Jackman chose to make Massachusetts his home because of how well he was treated here, and he stayed in the area until his death in 1972. While playing, he also held a job as chauffeur. He drove during the day, pitched nights and weekends, and then kept his chauffering job after retiring from the sport.
We’re very excited to have a role in the preservation of artifacts belonging to such an important member of Boston sports history.
By Cara Jordan
In a time before “A League of Their Own” there were the Boston Olympets. The Olympets, or “Pets” as they were known, were a professional women’s softball team who played ball inside the Boston Garden.
Boston Garden c.1930 Photo courtesy of museumofthecity.org
The Olympets were created by Boston Garden owner, Walter Brown, to draw crowds to the Garden during the summer “off season.” Starting in the late 1930’s until 1943 the Olympets did just that. As team member Mary Pratt recalls about playing ball inside Boston Garden, “They took the diamond and put it on a diagonal and they put a post down by first base and as a lefty you could quite readily hit into the stands, but that would only go for a single, but to hit it to left field was a long, long distance at the Garden.”
Boston Olympets outfield brigade at the Boston Garden, photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library
 Olympets uniform top. MTS study collection. The Olympets uniform consisted of red satin shorts, a white and blue uniform top with red, white, and blue lettering. The team name "Olympets" was spelled out across the front of the uniform top and the player’s number was positioned on the back. The letter “B” was also positioned on one of the sleeves. Players footwear consisted of leather laced sneakers. The team also had yellow satin jackets that they wore for away games. The jackets had blue ribbing at the waist and cuffs and the team nickname “PETS” was spelled out in blue lettering across the back.
 Olympets away jacket. MTS study collection. Many of the women from the Olympets went on to play in the AAGPBL, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, formed in 1943. Some of the teams that became part of the AAGPBL, such as the Racine Belles and Rockford Peaches, were portrayed in the film “A League of Their Own.” Several of the women featured in this film got their start as Boston Olympets.
Uniform shorts with no number. MTS study collection.
Camille Breeze was fortunate enough to obtain four pieces of an Olympets uniform to add to the MTS study collection. We are now in possession of an away jacket with the number 6, a pair of red shorts with the number 6, a pair of red shorts with no number, and a jersey with the number 14. According to the seller, Martha Stickney, the uniform belonged to Virginia MacCarthy of Wakefield, Massachusetts. A photograph of Virginia is known to exist. Martha, who graduated from Wakefield High School in 1981, had made some baseball history of her own by being the first girl to play on the boy's baseball team.
Hopefully, further research will shed light on who Virginia McCarthy was and when she played for the Boston Olympets.
Museum Textile Services has a new studio! After an exhaustive three-week effort of painting, cleaning, and moving, the new facility opened for business on January 16, 2012. In its previous life, our new location was Wool Storage Building A of the Ballard Vale Mills. It was constructed in 1878 of brick with a slate roof, and was renovated/restored in 1994.
White Flannels, worn with a blazer.
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The Ballard Vale Mills produced "white flannels," a term originally given to clothing worn while playing cricket but later generalized to mean casual mens' pants of the 1880's.
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Attic space with remains of the rope hoist.
While moving some of our items to the third-floor attic, we discovered wool fibers still clinging to the ceiling beams. It was very exciting for us to find physical evidence of the past function of our new space. There still exists part of a large pulley system, or "rope hoist" used to lift bales of wool to each floor.
A drawing of the Ballard Vale Mill complex, completed by A.H. Barber in 1912. We are in building "A."
Our new building has all of the modern conveniences while still retaining its historical charm. The studio space has increased by fifty percent, which has allowed us to give a permanent home to the tapestry tensioner and photographic equipment. Our new space has also given us another precious foot of ceiling height, allowing us to display and work on larger objects in-house. One of the long walls in the studio space showcases the building’s lovely brickwork.
The new studio space.
Other improvements include a permanent hookup for our large wash table, and the installation of a new stainless-steel darkroom sink to allow us to wash smaller textiles with greater ease. A larger storage room accommodates a table designated for object intake and examination, as well as a place to meet with clients. Additionally, there is a separate office for Camille, Cara and Courtney.
The new office space
We’re very pleased with our new facility and look forward to years of productivity and creativity!
 by Sarah Berlinger "The most important thing is not to win but to take part!" Coined by International Olympic Committee founder Pierre de Coubertin, this phrase has served as a motto of the Olympics since 1908. We at Museum Textile Services were very excited to receive several items of Olympic memorabilia for conservation from the Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts. An alumnus of the prep school, one Gordon Smith, donated his jacket, cap, and hockey pants from the 1932 Olympic Games to the school’s collection, and they have elected to have it conserved as an important piece of American Olympic history.
Gordon Smith was a member of the 1932 and 1936 United States Olympic ice hockey teams. The 1932 games, where these objects were used, took place in Lake Placid, New York. That year, the team won the silver medal. In the only game Smith played in that year, he scored a goal. In the 1936 games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen,Germany, the team earned the bronze medal. Smith played in all eight games, and also scored one goal that year. Undoubtedly, Gordon and his team believed in de Coubertin's maxim.
The objects submitted to MTS for conservation include the jacket and cap used during the Opening Ceremony and worn by athletes throughout the games, as well as a pair of hockey pants that were most likely worn during competition. The objects have piqued interest in the studio, as several of us are avid hockey fans. It has been wonderful to learn the history behind such unique and meaningful items in the Olympic History of the United States.
 Click here to see an image of Smith and the U.S. ice hockey team from the 1936 Winter Games.
by Camille Myers Breeze I am naturally skeptical about small art books, especially when they’re part of a series. However, on a recent trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art bookstore I picked up Looking at Textiles: A Guide to Technical Terms by former MMA textile conservator, Elena Phipps. I made the $18.95 investment largely because of my familiarity with the author and her previous work including The Colonial Andes: Tapestries and Silverwork, 1530-1830. The compact nature of the book led me to read it before any of the large and shiny volumes I also purchased for our Museum Textile Services library that day. An approachable 95 pages long, Looking at Textiles has a 15-page introduction followed by 72 pages of fabric glossary illustrated with beautiful textiles, historic images, diagrams, and depictions of textiles in other forms of art. I have read many, many introductions to books about textiles that aim to summarize the complexity and wonder of this medium in a few pages, and Phipps’ is as good as it gets. As the author puts it, “This book is a guide to help answer [questions] through a presentation of the vocabulary and ideas used in examining and describing textiles. Our aim here is not to present the whole story of textiles but to elucidate some basic and important terms that we hope will increase understanding of the materials and techniques used to create them.” I learned and relearned countless details about fabric structures from this book, aided by the large and colorful illustrations. Anyone who writes about textiles on a daily basis will find the glossary an excellent tool to have on hand to help maintain the accuracy of terms and descriptions. Moreover, Looking at Textiles is an approachable and unintimidating volume for people who are new to textiles. It will now become required reading for everyone in MTS’s Intern Certification program. This 2011 book is part of the Getty Publications “Looking At” series, which includes other titles such as Looking at Photographs, Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts, and Looking at European Frames.
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