Museum Textile Services
  • About MTS
    • Our Team
    • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Client List
    • Press Room
  • Textile Conservation
    • Architectural Interiors
    • Asian Art
    • Ethnographic Textiles
    • Flags & Banners
    • Historic Clothing
    • Quilts and Coverlets
    • Samplers & Embroideries
    • Sports Memorabilia
    • Tapestries
  • Collections Care
    • Surveys
    • Disaster Response
  • Education
    • LL >
      • LLFF
    • Porto
    • C3 >
      • C3 readings
    • IPSC
    • HPRH
    • Becoming a Textile Conservator
  • Resources
    • MTS Magazine
    • Textile Conservation Basics
    • Textile Stabilization
    • Textile Storage
    • Displaying Historic Costume
    • Displaying Flat Textiles
    • Museum Pests
    • Disaster Response
    • Advanced Topics
    • Class Readings
    • Staff Publications
    • Resources in Spanish
    • MTS Videos and Slide Shows
  • Blog
  • Andover Figures™
    • Our Mission
    • The Andover Figures System
    • Choosing a Form
    • Purchasing Andover Figures
    • AF Contact Form

LL 2020: Announcing our Second Year of Classes

12/3/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
We are very excited to announce the schedule for the 2020 season of the Museum Textile Services Learning Lab. With the help of participant feedback, we are introducing two new classes, as well as repeating 2019's sold-out Photographing Museum Textiles and Fiber and Fabric Identification classes.
New for 2020 is Creating 3-D Support Mounts. This class will address the display and storage needs of three-dimensional textiles such as hats, shoes, fans, gloves, and more from the Museum Textile Services study collection. Instructors will guide participants with their best tips for making seamless support mounts with archival materials that can be used in a wide array of circumstances.
Picture
Our other new class. Costume Mounting Techniques, will teach participants how to determine the display needs of a garment, to establish the correct silhouette, and determine when something is not in good enough condition to be displayed on a manikin. We will practice retrofitting commercial store mannequins and dress forms to adequately support museum costume. Finally, participants will be introduced to our Andover Figures® display forms, which are a reversible, archival, and customizeable costume mounting system.
Picture
For the first time, we will also offer a Learning Lab Masterclass in advanced textile cleaning for professional textile conservators who are looking to update or expand their understanding of the chemistry and methodology behind conservation wetcleaning. The date for the Masterclass has not yer been announced.
Registration is now open for all LL 2020 classes through our website at www.museumtextiles.com/LL.
0 Comments

The MTS Learning Lab is an Unbridled Success!

11/13/2019

0 Comments

 
In honor of our 20th anniversary, Museum Textile Services launched its first in a series of educational and outreach programs in Spring, 2019. The MTS Learning lab opened our Andover, MA, studio up to learners of all skill levels who want to study conservation and collections care. 
Picture
Participants of the Fiber & Fabrics ID class.
In our first class, Fiber and Fabric Identification, participants examined fibers and textiles both macro- and microscopically, learning their origins, uses, and inherent vices. Participants took home a study set of fiber and fabric samples that will help them identify objects from their collections. The first class sold out, so we added a second session of Fiber and Fabric Identification in August. 
Photographing Museum Textiles was our second class. Participants worked together with DSLR cameras and cell phone cameras, different backdrops, and various lighting conditions to find the ideal way to photograph a variety of small and large textiles. We practiced photographing some of the most common textiles encountered in historic houses including samplers, quilts, and historic costume in various condition states. 
In the Condition Reporting Textiles Learning Lab, we discussed the importance of having an institutional lexicon for describing fashion and textiles, and provided copies of our MTS condition reporting terms. We reviewed our favorite resources for identifying the anatomy of samplers, quilts, and historic dress. ​Participants had a chance to use condition worksheets as well as long-form condition reports. After writing descriptions of a variety of textiles, participants mapped condition issues on textiles using mylar tracings of artifacts and touch-screen tablets.
Picture
Using a cell phone for museum photography.
Picture
Conservator Kayla Silvia instructing students in the Vac & Pack class.
The last learning lab of our inaugural season was Vac & Pack Textiles. Participants learned about archival materials and commercial substitutes, as well as the different circumstances in which each type of storage is appropriate. They also had the hands-on experience of surface cleaning historic textiles with a high-efficiency filtered vacuum and methodically folding the artifact with support to fit into an archival corrugated polypropylene box. The class ended with a "stash flash" in which the students packed a group of objects safely into the box provided, and then wrote a packing/unpacking guide.
For the 2020 Learning Lab season, we will add two new classes, as well as a mid-career refresher on cleaning techniques for textile conservators. Later in the year we will also launch a Learning Lab Lecture Series featuring regional and visiting colleagues. Stay up to date with our classes at museumtextiles.com/LL.
0 Comments

Photographing Museum Textiles

6/11/2019

2 Comments

 
The second session of the MTS Learning Lab took place on Saturday, June 8th at our studio located in Andover, Massachusetts. The topic was Photographing Museum Textiles and attracted a small but passionate group of collections care professionals, independent curators, and textile enthusiasts. 
The day started with MTS administrator Leah Ceriello giving in-depth presentation on the basics of operating a camera, how to decide which camera is right for your institution, and how you can effectively document textiles without investing in expensive camera equipment. The group also discussed how light, a fundamental part of photography, causes photo-degradation, and how textiles are in the category of museum objects that are the most at risk. We then discussed which auxiliary lighting systems are cost effective for small institutions and independent professionals, and which types of light are the safest for photographing textiles
Picture
A Chinese Embroidery from the Museum Textile Services Study Collection photographed with Directed LED Light and a DSLR fitted with a Macro Lens.
PicturePhotographing a sampler using directed LED lights and a Samsung Smartphone.
Associate conservator, Morgan Blei Carbone, allowed attendees to get hands on experience preparing samplers and a pair of shoes for photography. In this exercise, attendees learned the basics of setting up both their object and their work station for photography. They employed the use of color cards and white mat board to white balance their cameras, and learned how to pin an un-framed sampler to a fabric-covered board.
​
​Participants were also challenged by Morgan to photograph a framed sampler without showing any glare or reflection in the glass, a task which can only be accomplished by the use of supplemental LED lights and careful set up of their workspace. Attendees enjoyed using DSLR cameras provided by Museum Textile Services, and seeing the differences in image quality from camera-phones manufactured by Apple, Google, and Samsung. 

Picture
Morgan Carbone and Learning Lab attendee and MTS volunteer resources manager Marya Van't Hul practice hanging a quilt for photography.
After breaking for lunch, Morgan continued to lead students in photographing textiles commonly found in local and regional institutions. By using objects from the Museum Textile Services study collection, attendees were able to pin Velcro and magnetic hanging systems onto quilts in good condition, and see how a quilt in poor condition can still be photographed by laying it flat on a table. Attendees learned proper handling techniques for quilts in both good and poor condition, and proper health and safety techniques for hanging and photographing objects while using a ladder. 
Picture
Associate Conservator Morgan Carbone and Learning Lab Attendees discussing condition issues on a 3rd quarter 19th century bodice.
The hands-on part of class concluded with a demo of different mounting systems for photographing historic costume, and most importantly, a discussion of common condition issues that can make an historic garment ineligible for mounting. Attendees learned proper handling techniques for an early 20th century walking dress with a heavily shattered silk lining and prepared it for flat photography on a table. The group also discussed using Andover Figures® ethafoam manikins and padded hangers to mount a vest, a dress, and a bodice. Each of these objects presented its own specific complications, due to their size, material, and color. Attendees learned how to set up lighting to reduce harsh shadows, and how to position manikins in order to appropriately document the condition issues of complex three dimensional objects.

The day concluded with Leah showing attendees how to upload their images to a computer using a USB camera card reader. She also discussed basic file management, and revealed how MTS syncs and backs up its own extensive collection of images. Attendees then viewed a demonstration of image editing in Windows Picture Manager, Adobe Photoshop, and a free open-source imaging software called GIMP.

There are still spots available in upcoming Learning Labs! Fiber and Fabric Identification is on Saturday August 3rd, Condition Reporting Textiles is on Saturday September 21st, and Vac & Pack Textiles is on Saturday November 16th.
We hope to see you in the lab!   
Picture
2 Comments

Handling History with Care

5/22/2019

0 Comments

 
Museum Textile Services received a special flag recently from our friends at the St. George's School in Middletown, RI. The framed relic, which had hung on campus for decades, is a small American flag made of silk. What makes it extraordinary is that the flag traveled with the then-lieutenant Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. and Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett on their May 9th, 1926, flight to reach the North Pole. 
Picture
Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. and his aircraft. Image courtesy http://scihi.org/richard-e-byrd-aviator-polar-explorer/
The historic flight lasted more than fifteen hours, with a route from the Norwegian islands of Svalbard to the Pole and back. Upon their return, this flag was granted to Vincent Astor, one of the financial sponsors of the expedition. Astor was an alumnus and trustee of St. George’s School, and must have felt it important enough to gift it to his alma mater. It is a tangible symbol of the United States’ mechanical and scientific achievements in the early 20th century.
Picture
The Byrd flag, before conservation. Image by MTS. Courtesy of St. George's School.
The 2- by 3-foot, 48-star flag is machine made of red, blue, and undyed silk. Its 93 years of life had embrittled the silk, and decades of display in a bright office with no UV filtration has severely faded the colors. Just how fragile the silk was became immediately apparent when we removed the stitching holding the flag to an acidic board and a thumb-sized chunk of silk fall away. Flat textiles in this state cannot withstand stitching, and therefore become candidates for adhesive linings. 
Picture
Loose fragment before reincorporation. Image by MTS. Courtesy of St. George's School.
MTS Associate Conservator Morgan Blei Carbone cast out an adhesive lining for the flag using a 75% solution of BEVA archival adhesive and water onto silk crepeline. The team helped Morgan carefully position the brittle flag, including the small fragment, on top of the silk lining before she reactivated the adhesive with a warm tacking iron. The flag is still vulnerable to abrasion on its upper surface, but it will not break easily again. The lined flag was then centered on a fabric-covered, solid-support panel and pressure mounted behind UV-filtering acrylic. A new black powder-coated aluminum frame from Small Corp, Inc. was chosen that mimics the original black wood frame. Although our procedure is normally to minimally stitch all pressure-mounted textiles, this flag would not allow even the finest of needles to pass through it without exposing un-faded fibers from the back of the silk. 
Picture
Byrd flag after conservation and framing. Image by MTS. Courtesy of St. George's School.
​Whether or not Byrd and Bennett actually reached the North pole has been the subject of controversy since the 1950s; if they did, their flight would be the first to have done so. If not, that record would belong to another flight performed only three days later. Byrd was made a commander after his success, and Bennett a machinist (a warrant officer rank), and both received a Medal of Honor from President Calvin Coolidge that December.
The flag now proudly hangs in the office of the new Head of School, Alixe Callen,
where it is now protected and stabilized for another fifty years of magisterial display.
​

Picture
Kenna Libes is a Public Humanities MA student at Brown University. She got her start at the Smithsonian, and then fell in love with New England while sewing at Plimoth Plantation. She is looking forward to starting the FIT program this fall in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice.
0 Comments

The Bright World of Susan Colesworthy, Angler & Broideress

5/7/2019

0 Comments

 
A call last fall from the Nantucket Historical Association brought this spectacular embroidered mantlepiece to Museum Textile Services for remounting and reframing.​ Made of silk, wool, and metal-wrapped threads on linen, it is attributed to Susan Colesworthy, c 1765. Referred to as a ‘fishing lady’ embroidery, it is one of a series of works that stands out in the realm of American Colonial needlework for its focus on women’s courtship and agency.
Picture
Overall front of Fishing Lady mantlepiece by Susan Colesworthy, 1765, before conservation. Image by MTS. Courtesy Nantucket Historical Association.
​When MTS Associate Conservator Morgan Blei Carbone removed Sarah Colesworthy's embroidery from its 20th century board and flipped it over, the original yarn colors were revealed to be much more vivid than expected. Absence of light and inherent chemical stability had preserved a snapshot of the true Colonial color palette. What had first appeared to be a silver or white frock coat on the man turned out to be cochineal pink, defying modern beliefs of gender norms. Together, the yellows of the woman’s dress, the blue of the sky, and the greens of the landscape, transform the image from bucolic to dramatic. The original colors would have been magnificent over a mantel, as originally intended.
Picture
Detail of reverse of Susan Colesworthy embroidery, before conservation. Note the original vibrancy of the unexposed threads.
Most works of early New England embroidery are samplers, meant to showcase skill, or practical items like wallets and linens. A smaller quantity are pastoral scenes and art pieces, meant instead to display affluence. The known fishing ladies probably number around twenty examples and were made across the length and breadth of New England between 1730-1790. Almost all known examples use the same motif of a woman at a fish pond who is holding a rod and has a basket full of fish at her feet, looking toward a male figure who seems to be interrupting her idyllic (and successful) work. The two are dressed luxuriously and surrounded by rolling hills. An embroidered mantlepiece is a larger work of art, meant for ostentatious display. The Nantucket example, which is intact and not a fragment, may have been intended as part of a triptych, like the MFA example appears to be. 
Picture
Embroidered mantlepiece by Eunice Bourne with original frame, 1745–50. Wool, silk, metal-wrapped thread, glass beads on linen. Museum of Fine Arts.
Author Andrea Pappas in her seminal work “’Each Wise Nymph that Angles for a Heart’: The Politics of Courtship in the Boston ‘Fishing Lady’ Pictures,”  theorizes how the series represents the fleeting time during courtship in which women have control: when a man has been ‘hooked’ – declared his intent and offered his hand – and the woman may accept or reject him. Various artists illustrate this in different ways, with figures, background, and background activities altering to suit their purpose. ​We know that Susan Colesworthy never married, and yet she gave birth to a daughter in 1773 – perhaps she so firmly believed in the moment of freedom emphasized in her embroidery that she never wanted it to end. 
Picture
Fishing lady embroidery, Boston, 1745–50. Wool, silk, glass beads on linen. Historic New England.
​Fishing lady embroideries invariably show these women as skilled, with baskets full of fresh fish that were caught before the man ever wandered over. This motif stands out clearly when compared with contemporary prints of fishing activities made by male engravers, in which women are shown being helped and overseen by men.
Picture
Sarah Colesworthy's fishing lady mantlepiece, after conservation with reproduction frame. Image by MTS. Nantucket Historical Association.
The Nantucket embroidery was humidified and blocked to reduce the inherent slant of overcast, or tent stitching. MTS Director Camille Myers Breeze then mounted it to an acid-free, fabric-covered board with hand stitching. To complete the treatment, Morgan located a modern frame in a similar style as that seen on the MFA's fishing lady mantlepiece.  Sarah Colesworthy is one of the few Colonial American women whose names managed to remain with their work over the generations, and we are fortunate to play a role in her embroidery's preservation.
​

Picture
Kenna Libes is a Public Humanities MA student at Brown University. She got her start at the Smithsonian, and then fell in love with New England while sewing at Plimoth Plantation. She is looking forward to starting the FIT program this fall in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice.
0 Comments

Fiber & Fabric Identification

4/16/2019

0 Comments

 
The inaugural MTS Learning Lab took place on Saturday, April 6th at our Andover, Massachusetts, textile conservation studio. The topic, Fiber & Fabric Identification, attracted 8 attendees from across New England and as far away as Kansas and Wisconsin. 
PictureAssociate Conservator Morgan Blei Carbone monitoring fiber burn testing in the Learning Lab.
MTS Director & Chief Conservation Camille Myers Breeze started the morning off with an in-depth presentation about fiber origins. The attendees were given 24 samples of natural and synthetic yarns to create a fiber-reference card while discussing their behavioral properties. When examined in their staple forms, yarns can be compared for strength, elasticity, texture, and shine, which illuminates why they are used for different kinds of fabrics and clothing.

Picture
Attendee Debora performing fiber microscopy.
Associate Conservator Morgan Blei Carbone began the fiber identification portion of the day by teaching attendees how plant, animal, and synthetic fibers react to flame. Whether the fibers self extinguish or not, whether a bead forms, and what the burned fibers smell like all provide key evidence for this most basic of diagnostic methods.
The attendees were taught how to use bright-light microscopes to identify fiber slides Morgan taught them to make from fiber samples. They were especially excited to learn safe fiber-sampling techniques using clothing and textiles from the MTS Study Collection, which they can practice after returning to their home museums. All of the microscopy demonstrations were made easier with our new LabCam for iPhone, which allows for easy group viewing and instant photo capture using our AmScope T690C-DKO microscope.
Picture
Instructor Morgan Blei Carbone demonstrating microscopic analysis and imaging using the AmScope T690C-DKO and a LabCam for iPhone.
In the afternoon, the class switched gears to discuss fabric structures while creating sample books of modern and historic materials. Many of our swatches were generously provided by our friends at Testfabrics, Inc. The day concluded by gathering around examples of textiles and costumes commonly found in museum collections for a hands-on conversation about why understanding what artifacts are made of is a key to their preservation.
Picture
​Due to the success of this first Learning Lab, Fiber & Fabric Identification will repeat on Saturday, August 3rd. Once again we will spend the day learning how the microscopic characteristics of fibers impacts their macroscopic behaviors, making them so essential to human survival. Come be a part of Museum Textile Services and learn new skills in collections care.
0 Comments

Mazel Tov! The Merin Wedding Garments

3/20/2019

0 Comments

 
MTS has recently finished a project with a lot of emotional weight: the conservation of two garments that were worn in the Netherlands in the fraught years before World War II. Margaret Freidman married Mark Merin in 1939 and sported two dresses for the occasion: a silk chiffon and satin wedding gown and a silk taffeta departure dress, which remained together in the succeeding years and were donated by Margaret’s son Harry to the Nancy and David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Picture
Margaret and Mark Merin at their 1939 wedding. Courtesy Holocaust and Humanity Center.
These dresses are important artifacts of pre-war Jewish life, and we were honored to be given care of them for crucial cleaning and repair. Their wear shows how valued they were, and their survival is amazing given the terrible times that they weathered. Margaret and Mark went into hiding in 1942 and were separated from their son Harry, then just a year old, who was found and sent to a concentration camp; the couple were constantly on the move and encountered terrible events every time they tried to catch their breath. Watch their oral history recording here. 
Picture
Margaret Merin's silk wedding dress with jacket, after conservation. Courtesy Holocaust and Humanity Center.
​The most interesting evidence of wear—and perhaps some merry partying—is a large wine stain on the center front of the dress. The Holocaust and Humanities center, as well as the Merin family, were adamant that the stain not be removed. Our testing showed that it was not soluble and so we were able to successfully wetclean the dress and other elements. We then secured loose petals and repaired the ripped chiffon under the arms of the jacket. The satin was all in relatively good condition, but the chiffon was fragile throughout the ensemble.
Picture
T​he wedding ensemble is somewhat unusual. Both the dress and its matching jacket are composed of a sheer silk chiffon layer over a more fitted garment of synthetic satin, with satin petal details all around the necklines. Designed with the boxier silhouette of the late 1930s in mind, the jacket has gathered shoulders and the dress is styled with a unique gathered front. (The elastic underneath has lost flexibility with time.) It also pairs with a belt, decorated with the same petals, and an elegant little garter.
Picture
Wine stain from the wedding. Courtesy Holocaust and Humanity Center.
Picture
Wedding dress and belt during wetcleaning. Courtesy Holocaust and Humanity Center.
​The other dress is delicately beaded, with floral motifs around the neckline and large bows around the hem. Conservators worked around these motifs carefully, so as not to dislodge any of the beading, which is the most impressive part of this garment. The dress is currently sleeveless but appears to have originally been a long-sleeved style; a single deconstructed sleeve was given to us to work on. The ensemble also includes a collared lace jacket, typical of late ‘30s style. Everything was wetcleaned and pressed before repairs were attempted. These included closing seams on the jacket, replacing a missing ribbon, patching a hole, and general reinforcement.
Even though we have the provenance of these clothes, there’s always a mystery to be found! The seams of the beaded dress were let out as much as possible at some point in its life; this is particularly notable because the dress has more seams than usual, so it allowed for more room than a typical alteration could create. As they are now, the dresses are two entirely different sizes. Did Margaret wear the dress later in life? It does make sense that the less formal departure dress would have been the one worn again, as wedding dresses were rarely repurposed by the original wearer. It’s also possible that the dress was altered another family member. As one of the few things she chose to bring with her during those turbulent years, Margaret Merin may have seen fit to lend her dress to another woman with too little of her own.
​
Picture
Kenna Libes is a Public Humanities MA student at Brown University. She got her start at the Smithsonian, and then fell in love with New England while sewing at Plimoth Plantation. Currently, she is working on editing her first paper for publication.
0 Comments

The New MTS Learning Lab

3/5/2019

0 Comments

 
In honor of our 20th Anniversary, Museum Textile Services is proud to announce the first in a series of educational and outreach programs. The MTS Learning Lab opens up our Andover, Massachusetts, studio up to learners who want to study aspects of collections care and conservation using our equipment and our study collection. Our full-day classes are priced at just $150 each or $500 for all four.
Picture
The first of our Saturday classes, Fiber & Fabric Identification, will be held on April 6th, 2019, and is ALREADY SOLD OUT. A second date has been added for AUGUST 3, 2019. The instructors are Camille Myers Breeze and Morgan Blei Carbone. Participants will spend the day learning about the origins of fibers and their transition into fabrics. Using both burn tests and polarizing-light microscopes, participants will learn how minute characteristics of each fiber impact a textile’s behavior and preservation. Students will take home a fiber sample card and fabric swatches. Classes are limited to 10 so register soon. 
Our classes are designed for anyone from textile collectors and specialists to museum volunteers and emerging professionals. If you have any questions, please contact Leah Cereillo at 978-474-9200 or email Leah@museumtextiles.com
0 Comments

The Black Cats of Amherst Banner

2/13/2019

1 Comment

 
​In October 2017, Jim Hamilton, Amherst College alumni and author of The Writing 69th, began researching for his newest book, The Black Cats of Amherst. Upon this visit to the college’s archives, he found an embroidered silk banner folded up in a box along with fragments of a red and green ribbon, Croix de Guerre medal, fourragère, and long flag staff ribbons. Hamilton would soon learn of the significance of this banner and military accouterments with respect to the history of the Section Sanitaire Etas-Unis 539 (S.S.U. 539) known as the Black Cats of Amherst. Recognizing that the banner would need professional conservation, Mike Kelly, Head of Archives & Special Collections at Amherst College, contacted Museum Textile Services to assess the condition of all the objects. Now aware of the scale of the project, Hamilton turned to the Amherst alumni to begin an, ultimately successful, fundraising campaign to save the Black Cats’ banner. The double-pointed banner is made from ribbed cream silk lined with cotton, two-sided, embellished with silk and couched metallic embroidery. The two panels are assembled by machine, trimmed with metallic bullion fringe around the perimeter. The hoist edge features three leather straps with buckles used to secure the banner to a staff.
Picture
Hamilton's first encounter with the Black Cats' banner stored in Amherst's Archives. Image by Jim Hamilton. Courtesy of Amherst College Library Archives & Special Collections.
​The Black Cats was an ambulance unit formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, shortly after the United States officially joined World War I, June of 1917. They trained in Allentown, Pennsylvania and sailed to France in August of the same year, serving alongside several French army divisions. Ambulatory unit S.S.U. 539 adopted the black cat as the mascot of the unit, which they thought of as a good luck charm; contrary to the bad luck stereotype typically associated with the feline. The black cat emblazoned the unit’s vehicles, banners, and correspondence, becoming the unifying symbol which has endured beyond the end of the war. The Black Cats returned to the US in April 1919, proudly adorned with multiple military commendations for both individual and unit achievements. A group of 22 Black Cats made a symbolic march back to Amherst College on April 23, 1919, where they were welcomed home by college President Alexander Meiklejohn and Dean George Olds. The unit colors: an American flag, and two silk banners (one bearing the unit’s iconic black cat); were presented to Dean Olds who accepted them on behalf of the college. The banner to be treated at MTS does not appear in the photography from the day and it is presumed that it was made and presented to Amherst at a later date.
Picture
Amherst College President Alexander Meiklejohn welcomes the Black Cats home on, April 23, 1919. Image courtesy of Jim Hamilton and Amherst College Library Archives & Special Collections.
​Addressing the condition issues of the banner and components was complicated, requiring thorough support within the confines of the project. The ultimate goal of treatment was to stabilize for safe display and be delivered to Amherst in time for the 100th anniversary of the Black Cats’ return march in April; a challenging, though certainly not an impossible task. The greatest challenge was addressing the shattering silk and detached fragments on both sides of the banner, while minimizing additional damage, and particular care to not accidentally sew the two sides together. An additional obstacle was mounting the banner to a solid support that included a viewing window which would allow the wording on the French flag side to be seen after treatment was completed. The cream silk was in poorest condition on the French flag side; actively breaking with more overall detached fragments. On the American flag side, silk deterioration and loss is limited to the bottom of the banner, coinciding with discoloration of the cotton lining near the bottom-most leather strap. The top-most leather strap was broken, though the fragment was retained. The green and red ribbon paired with the medal was in very poor condition, having broken into several pieces. All metal components were moderately tarnished.
Picture
The "Black Cat" banner, before treatment. Image by MTS. Courtesy of Amherst College Library Archives & Special Collections.
Picture
Croix de Guerre medal, fourragère, and ribbon, before treatment. Image by MTS. Courtesy of Amherst College :Library Archives & Special Collections.
​Treatment was relatively straightforward, though several puzzles required solving. Camille undertook the task of re-aligning the fringed red and green ribbon which was in a number of disassociated pieces. The fragments were encased in a silk crepeline sandwich and consolidated with the archival adhesive, Lascaux. The shattered silk of the banner was a compound challenge as either side had to be addressed independently but with caution to the opposite side. The silk was carefully flipped, rearranged, aligned, and secured with nylon net to the entirety of the face of the front and reverse. Stitching was strategically placed at the edges of all design elements, voided areas of lost silk, and along the border. Both banner and accessories were mounted to padded and fabric covered aluminum panels then framed with UV-filtering acrylic to create an ideal display environment; both supportive and accessible for viewing. The panel for the banner did get a custom window cut out to allow the text on the reverse to be seen, all covered in Mylar to protect the still delicate silk.
Picture
MTS Conservation Assistant, Danielle, strategically arranging the silk fragments back into place. Image by Jim Hamilton.
The Black Cat banner and it’s accessories will be returning home to Amherst College in time to be on display in Frost Library beginning in late March, for the 100th anniversary of the Black Cats’ return in April, graduation, and through the end of summer. Visit The Black Cats of Amherst, Jim Hamilton’s research blog bursting with in depth information about the Black Cats.
Picture
The Black Cat banner, after treatment, before framing, ready to return to Amherst. Image by MTS. Courtesy of Amherst College Library Archive & Special Collections.
Picture
​Danielle has an MA in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice from the Fashion Institute of Technology, NY and BA in Theatre Studies, Magna Cum Laude from Montclair State University, NJ. She is an avid knitter with a penchant for super bulky knits, natural fibers, and her dog Jameson Rose.
1 Comment

"Longfellow Yellow": Could it be Synthetic?

12/14/2018

0 Comments

 
We close out our series of three MTS Blogs on the subject of Fanny Appleton Longfellow's Spanish-style dress with an exploration of the synthetic dyes available in the 1850s. 
If the color of the dress is not due to a natural dye, another potential material is the first of the coal-tar, or chemical, dyestuffs: picric acid. Its proper formulation was discovered in 1845, and factories existed for its production by at least 1855. Contemporary findings note that it was more colorfast than any of the vegetable dyes discussed previously, but subsequent research proved that it was not up to the standard of mineral and chemical alternatives. Despite this, it continued to be used throughout the nineteenth century on a variety of materials, and the vibrancy and purity of the color on this dress could be attributed to it.
Another option, aniline dyes, were both bright and colorfast, which made them extremely popular in a very short amount of time. ​Textile conservators at Museum Textile Services determined that the Longfellow yellow silk is colorfast in water, like an aniline dye. If it were dated to just a few years later, it could feasibly have been one of the first silks dyed this way; however Charles Mène’s "aniline yellow" was created in 1861, the same year that Fanny Appleton Longfellow died. 
Picture
Aniline yellow swatches, 1880. Smith, David. Smith's Practical Dyer's Guide.
The last contemporary possibility is a mineral dye. At least one was in use for yellows by 1820: chrome yellow, which the modern reader will recognize as the color of American school buses. It comes from a mineral called crocoite, which was first discovered in the 1790s and is a standard paint color still used by modern artists. The French chemist Vauquelin began by synthesizing pigments from the mineral, and it took thirty years for a breakthrough on chemical dye use. By 1820, dyers were able to achieve a deep and striking yellow with lead chromate (a combination of lead acetate and either potassium chromate or dichromate). The name ‘chrome yellow’ derives from these chemical mordants rather than from appearance or a comparison to nature, and thus does not seem to have been used in fashion magazines like Godey’s and Peterson’s until much later in the century. In the 1850s, the brightest of chrome yellows were probably referred to as ‘canary’ or ‘sulphur’ yellows. The term ‘chrome yellow’ does appear occasionally, but only in reference to paint pigment for craft projects and home décor. It was a popular choice all around; within only a couple of years of its initial manufacture, George IV of England chose it to color the wallpaper of his Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
But while chrome yellow could easily have produced the color on the Longfellow gown, it is unlikely to be the cause. While early dye books suggest its use on silk (with potassium chromate), they also mention that it is not at all colorfast when washed. Research into later manuals suggests that dyers switched to potassium dichromate in order to improve fastness, but that the dichromate severely injured silk - to the point that it “[gave] it the appearance of cotton, on which account it is never used by experienced silk dyers." (Partridge, 98.)  From the 1830s onward, chrome yellow was recommended only for use on calicos and some woolens.

In summation: Mrs. Longfellow’s dress was most likely dyed using either quercitron bark or picric acid. It was spot tested and found to be not entirely wash-fast; with soap, a very small amount of the yellow dye bleeds out. But it is relatively wash-fast, and a dress like that would generally not have been washed during its period of use, which is why it still appears so even and bright today.
Picture
Yellow dress, c. 1827. Silk & cotton gauze. LACMA M.2007.211.937
These articles have given a historical overview of the most likely dyestuffs; without in-depth analysis, it can be very difficult to tell what a fabric was colored with. Swatches can aid visual identification, but in a case like ours, where quercitron can create the same colors that weld can, there is an obvious difficulty. There are various techniques that are able to break this barrier, FTIR and mass spectrometry, but all require more resources than what we have at the MTS studio. Low tech, non-invasive dye identification is an area sparse in scholarship, and often historical research can be a conservator’s--and a curator's-- best bet.
Picture
Kenna Libes is a Public Humanities MA student at Brown University. She got her start at the Smithsonian, and then fell in love with New England while sewing at Plimoth Plantation. Currently, she is working on editing her first paper for publication. ​​
0 Comments
<<Previous

    MTS Blog

    Want Answers?

    Get the Blog

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Abigail Brooks Adams
    Adams National Historical Park
    Admiral Perry
    AFL
    Africa
    American Institute For Conservation
    Amherst College
    Andover Figures
    Armor
    Arts And Crafts Movement
    Assuit
    Awvs
    Ballardvale
    Ballard Vale Mills
    Bamboo
    Banner
    Banshou In Temple
    Baseball
    Bed Hangings
    Bicorn
    Bleach
    Bombing
    Boning
    Books
    Boston
    Boston College
    Boston Marathon
    Boston Strong
    Brooks Brothers
    Bulldog
    Burnham
    Button
    Buttonwoods Museum
    Campbell Center
    Casablanca
    Chinese
    Christening Gown
    Christmas
    Civil War
    Cloak
    Cold Water Army
    Colonial Dames
    Concealed Objects
    Concord
    Copley Square
    Corset
    Costume
    Cotton
    Cotton Net
    Coverlet
    Crewel
    Crochet
    Digitally Printed Textiles
    Display
    Dog
    Dress Form
    Duchesse De Choiseul
    Echo Lake Aquarium
    Education
    Egypt
    E Magazine
    E-Magazine
    Embroidery
    English
    Ethafoam
    Exhibition
    Exhibits
    Fairbanks House
    Fancy Dress
    Farnsworth Museum Of Art
    Father Diman
    Featherbone
    Felting
    Filet Darning
    Fire
    Flag
    Flags
    Folly Cove
    Frame
    Framing
    France
    Ft. Knox
    Fur
    Furniture
    George Patton
    Gore Tex
    Gore-tex
    Handsome Dan
    Hat
    Henry Adams
    Hermansville
    Higgins Armory Museum
    Historic Replica
    Hitchcock
    Hockey
    Honest Marketing Revolution
    Hooked Rug
    Hopedale
    Huaca Malena Museum
    Infestation
    Insects
    Installation
    Intern Ryan
    Internship
    Ixl Museum
    Japan
    Jifu
    Journeymen Tailors Union
    Judaica
    King Louis
    Knitting
    Ky
    Lacquer
    Laundry Bluing
    League Of Their Own
    Leipzig
    Lily Yeats
    Ma
    Mannequin
    Marines
    Mary Baker Eddy
    Mascot
    Massachusetts
    Mead Art Museum
    Middlesex School
    Military
    Mold
    Mon
    Monuments Men
    Moths
    Mourning Wmbroidery
    Moving Messages
    Natural Sciences
    Navy
    Nazi
    Needlecraft Magazine
    Negro League Baseball
    Nema
    New England Museum Association
    New Hampshire
    New Hampshire Historical Society
    News
    Oberlin College
    Olympets
    Olympics
    Painted Textile
    Painting
    Peabody Historical Society
    Peace Flag
    Peru
    Pests
    Phillips Academy
    Presidential Seal
    Quilts
    Rayon
    Religious Textiles
    Restoration
    Reverse Painted Glass
    Robe
    Rug
    Sack Suit
    Salescaster Inc
    Sampler
    Samurai
    Self Portrait
    Shaker
    Shakespeare's Tomb
    Shawl
    Sheer Overlays
    Shelburne Farms
    Sign
    Silk
    So Clan
    Sodium Borohydride
    Softball
    Soot
    Sports Uniforms
    Stays
    St. George's School
    Storage
    Study Collection
    Swatch Book
    Synthetics
    Tapestry
    Textile Conservation
    Textile Manufacture
    Textiles
    Thangka
    Trapunto
    Trustworth Studios
    Tru-Vue Optium
    Tsushima
    Uniform
    Uniforms
    Union Railroad Station
    Velour
    Versailles
    Vietnam War
    Waves
    Wedding Dress
    Western Task Force
    Wheaton College
    Will "Cannonball" Jackman
    Wisconsin Land Lumber Co.
    Women
    World War One
    World War Two
    Yale
    Yarn

Join Our Mailing List

Picture

Museum Textile Services, LLC

P.O. Box 5004
Andover, MA 01810
info@museumtextiles.com
​
978.474.9200
  • About MTS
    • Our Team
    • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Client List
    • Press Room
  • Textile Conservation
    • Architectural Interiors
    • Asian Art
    • Ethnographic Textiles
    • Flags & Banners
    • Historic Clothing
    • Quilts and Coverlets
    • Samplers & Embroideries
    • Sports Memorabilia
    • Tapestries
  • Collections Care
    • Surveys
    • Disaster Response
  • Education
    • LL >
      • LLFF
    • Porto
    • C3 >
      • C3 readings
    • IPSC
    • HPRH
    • Becoming a Textile Conservator
  • Resources
    • MTS Magazine
    • Textile Conservation Basics
    • Textile Stabilization
    • Textile Storage
    • Displaying Historic Costume
    • Displaying Flat Textiles
    • Museum Pests
    • Disaster Response
    • Advanced Topics
    • Class Readings
    • Staff Publications
    • Resources in Spanish
    • MTS Videos and Slide Shows
  • Blog
  • Andover Figures™
    • Our Mission
    • The Andover Figures System
    • Choosing a Form
    • Purchasing Andover Figures
    • AF Contact Form