The Mary Baker Eddy Peace Flag, Part IV

The reinstallation of the Mary Baker Eddy Peace Flag went off without a hitch on Monday, March 30th, despite President Obama being in town and the flurries that reminded us of all the snow that fell while the flag was under our care.

Newly dyed silk borders are pinned to the fringe border.

The final week of conservation was not without some drama. After deciding that the original ivory silk borders were unsuitable for continued display, new ones had to be made. Camille set about dyeing 16-mm Silk Habotai using Jacquard acid dyes, both purchased from Dharma Trading. After one test bath that produced too dark a shade of ecru, she was able to dye the final four strips of silk the perfect color. After washing and ironing, they were laid out and pinned to the original fringe border.

Corner miters are aligned and pinned.

Seams are blind stitched with a curved needle.

Seams are top stitched with cotton thread.

Each of the four mitered corners had to be aligned perfectly to meet the corners of the flag, as well as the corners of the fringe. We pinned the seams open, blind stitched with a fine curved needle, and then top stitched in two rows. Sewing through multiple layers of silk was a bit like sewing through Jell-O®! This was only slightly preferable to stitching through the thick trim around the flag and the fringe, which broke several of our larger curved needles.

Megan Creamer and Cara Jordan stitching the flag into its new border.

Megan Creamer trimming the back of the new ivory silk borders.

After we attached all of the original elements, we gently flipped the flag over and trimmed the new ivory silk borders. A dust cover made of cotton plain weave was constructed, to which we machine sewed a strip of Velcro-compatible fabric. We pinned the dust cover to the top edge of the flag and hand stitched through the machine stitching holes using straight needles. Because the ivory silk borders are semi-transparent, we made a deep turnback in the dust cover, which ended just below the top of the central flag. By mitering the turnback to follow the corner border seams, we avoided any distracting shadows.

Adjusting the invisible Velcro slat.

Camille Breeze carefully sliding the rod through the silk bows from which the flag originally hung.

We carefully rolled the flag up for transport to the Mary Baker Eddy Library, taking special care to keep the fringe tidy and not to crease the central flag. Upon arrival, we unrolled the top edge of the flag in order to press the Velcro slat to the Velcro on the back of the flag. Library staff lifted the roll up to Camille and another staff person, who hung the slat off of the four original hooks inside the case. The flag was unfurled and small adjustments were made. The visible ends of the slat were camouflaged with beige cotton caps. Finally, the original brass rod from which the flag had hung was threaded through the silk bows and placed on the hooks. 

Peace Flag before conservation, inside its case.

Peace Flag after conservation, in the lab.

The success of this project came from the Mary Baker Eddy Library's willingness to allow conservators to make decisions in the best interest of the flag that will permit continued display in its historic location. The end result is a cleaner, more stable, and less distorted flag that preserves the appearance of the original while making much-needed improvements. 

Camille Myers Breeze founded Museum Textile services in 1999. She is a prolific author, and educator of museum personnel and emerging conservation professionals in the US and abroad.