Conservation Newsletter
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62\=66 TCX TEXTI LE CONSERVATION NEWSLETTER mi Number 27 FALL 1994 TEXTILE CONSERVATION NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS "FROM THE EDITORS" 1 TEXTILE OPEN STORAGE AT THE MUSEE ACADIEN 2 MISCOUCHE, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Reginald Porter CONSERVATION RIGHT NOW! 5 Evelyn Payton Tayler DUST COVERS 7 Leslie K. Redman and Helen Holt FIBER mENTIFICATION 9 Jane Merritt THE FANCY WORK OF GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK 1840-1859 12 FINDER'S AIDS NOW AVAILABLE ON MICROFICHE Barbara Mcintyre & Ruth Mills AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CURRENT USE AND 16 APPLICATION OF ADHESIVES IN TEXTILE CONSERVATION Ela Keyserlingk & Lynda Hillyer DYEING SAFELY 17 MASTER'S THESES RELATING TO MUSEUMS AND MATERIAL 24 CULTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA THE TEXTILE CONSERVATION CENTRE: ABSTRACTS 26 OF FINAL YEAR PROJECTS ANNOUNCEMENTS 33 TCN SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION 35 TCN SUBMISSIONS 35 Number 27 Fall 1994 TCN ROM THE EDITORS and also on the last page of this issue. THE NEW TEAM In our last issue, we made a plea for new leadership on the Textile Conservation LESLIE REDMAN is the Assistant Newsletter. We are pleased to announce that Conservator in the Dress and Insignia Lab at the newsletter is able to continue, and has the Canadian War Museum. A recent been taken over by a new enthusiastic team graduate from the Masters in Art of three co-editors. They are Helen Holt, Conservation Programme at Queen's Dress and Insignia Conservator, and Leslie University in Kingston, Ontario, she worked Redman, Assistant Textile Conservator b6th in the General Artifacts lab at the Canadian at the Canadian War Museum, and Lesley Museum of Civilization in Hull, Queb6c until Wilson, textile artist. They look fonvard to moving to her present position in May of taking the helm of TCN and will begin with 1994. She enjoys trying all forms of the next issue. The current team of editors needlework and is particularly interested in would like to thank these three for coming collecting old needlework magazines or forward. instruction books and composition or This issue presents articles on a range advertising dolls. of topics which affect conservators. Dyeing LESLEY WILSON has been in the Safely brings attention to the health hazards textile business as an entrepreneur, teacher posed by using dyes and gives safety and artist for a number of years and is recommendations. Conservators share their currently specializing in quilting and free solutions to problems in articles on textile motion, machine embroidery. She has edited storage, dust covers for large vehicles, and and produced a textile related newsletter in conservation of reproduction costume. We the past. She is interested in all facets of are also featuring an article on fiber textile production and decoration and collects related material. She has a fondness for identification reprinted from the Textile Society of America Newsletter. inexpensive snowballs (snow scenes in glass Bibliographic information is brought together or plastic balls) and admits to having 37 of them. in this issue with an index of Master's theses in conservation done at the University of HELEN HOLT has 15 years Alberta, and one of conservation studies done experience as a practicing conservator both in at the Textile Conservation Centre at private practice and museum labs, working in Hampton Court. Another article discusses a Canada and abroad. She has specialized in new microfilmed index of Godey's Lady's textiles but firmly believes the way of the Book. future lies in a diverse background of Your outgoing editors, Eva Burnham, experience. She is currently Senior Cynthia Cooper, and Ruth Mills wish to Conservator in the Dress and Insignia Lab at thank all our subscribers for your continuing the Canadian War Museum which includes support of the newsletter. Please take the work on medals, military headgear, leather time now to renew your subscription for accouterments, boots, and uniforms. She 1995-96 - our new Ottawa address and rates enjoys sewing for pleasure and has a definite can be found on the enclosed renewal form, fondness for dogs. Number 27 1 Fal 1 1994 TCN construction of the new museum, had EXTILE OPEN STORAGE AT experimented with various thematic displays. The result was that, more and more, artifacts THE MUSEE ACADIEN, that were irrelevant to current displays were MISCOUCHE, PRINCE EDWARD placed in a tiny storage area. This caused ISLAND unhappiness in the community because donors and their families wanted to see what In June of 1991 the Muse6 acadien at they had given whenever they chose to visit Miscouche, Prince Edward Island, was the museum. nearing completion. This large modem facility, the most sophisticated to be built on The other issue was an educational the Island since the Confederation Centre of one. The Board and curator believed strongly the Arts in 1964, was the result of years of that visitors with special interests should be dedicated lobbying, planning and the able to view the entire collection, or at least auspicious conjunction of museum and portions of it, with relative ease, while the political stars. security of the collection was maintained. In spite of advice to the contrary from this The Museum was designed to be a consultant, it was found necessary in the end multi-purpose building with facilities for a to locate all the different collections in one permanent exhibition on the history of the room of 137.5 square metres. Acadians on Prince Edward Island, as well as space for changing exhibitions and Further complications arose from a educational activities. The Museum was also desire to make all space as flexible as to serve as the home of the Centre des possible. Next to the 137.5 square metres of Emdes acadiennes (primarily an important designated storage space it was decided to genealogical facility with storage for the install a movable wall that could be extended museum's archival collection) and sufficient into the storage area to gain an additional office and administrative space. At the back 43.75 square metres of exhibition space in the of the museum there was a receiving / temporary gallery. This provision was workshop area near the various mechanical designed to accommodate possible large systems. Most significant of all, there was to travelling or temporary exhibitions. This be an open storage facility. meant that, to keep the appearance of the extended temporary gallery consistent, carpet This concept arose from a desire to had to be installed in that area extending into solve problems concerning strong local storage. It also meant that the storage area feeling and educational policies. The original might have to be compressed into an area of Muse6 acadien had been established in 1964 93.75 square metres. at a time when museums were new on the Island and when they tended to resemble a The challenge of an open storage community attic. The Board of the new concept that went against current museum museum wanted to depart from the practice practice (in that various categories of artifacts of exhibiting everything in the collection at would not be physically separated) was once, and in the several years preceding the frustrating yet exciting for the designer. Number 27 2 Fall 1994 TCN Knowing that no other alternative was The problem of designing textile acceptable to the board the solution illustrated storage units that would match all the other below was proposed. units for the remainder of the artifacts in the collection was a difficult one. A collections analysis was conducted, and it was found r possible to gage the amount of space needed 1.1.1 1.1 Cl: in for all the other categories of objects that, following current practices, would be grouped IM. J './ together. This called for a variety of storage 1 -U = 1-1 units, all glass fronted, all lockable, all PLAN = capable of adequate low-level illumination, 0 1:100 all capable of many combinations of storage - H 1 solutions within their spaces, and all suitable i /17-1 H for the types of artifacts they would contain. 1- Ultimately, the solution consisted, as can be 11 1-=1 seen in Figure 1, of designing four types of L------- wall units, labelled A-D. Large objects, such as looms, small kitchen and heating stoves, Figure 1 - Plan of the open storage area with a movable larger pieces of furniture etc. Were intended wall rApahle of increasing theitemporary exhibition space. to be arranged in a pyramidal display on a Figure 1 - Plan of the open storage area with series of bases of several standardized a movable wall capable of increasing the heights. The bases could be used alone' or in temporary exhibition space. combination depending upon the size of the artefact to be displayed. The possibility of As can be seen in the plan, the 43.75 mobility had also to be kept in mind, and so, square metres area that could be taken over heavy concealed casters were placed on all for additional exhibition space, and which larger base units. was carpeted to match the adjacent gallery, provided a storage area for the museum's At the beginning of the planning very important collection of framed portraits process for this project the current literature of notable Island Acadians. These were was studied in order to provide an up-to-date attached to steel and mesh panels mounted on concept and to avoid as many mistakes as heavy casters so that they could be easily possible. The Canadian Conservation Institute moved or realigned when the wall was in Ottawa, with the particular assistance of extended back. Eva Burnham, then a Senior Conservator in the Textile Division, provided the current The textile storage area was kept in a basic bibliography of relevant material on the tight grouping that permitted a number of open storage concept.