Camille, Morgan and Samantha are pleased to share with you the latest Museum Textile Services Magazine, featuring highlights from our work during the last 18 months. In many ways, our clients and projects kept us focused during the Covid-19 emergency, and provided much-needed diversion and stability. We hope you enjoy. Our feature article Five Dresses, Five Voices presents different aspects of the study of women's clothing ranging across nearly 200 years. Each garment provides a different preservation challenge and tells a story unique to its maker and its wearer. Whether faced wit ..read more

​My name is Lauren Pardue, and I am the 2021 MTS Summer Program participant. I am a rising senior Art History major at Merrimack College in nearby North Andover, MA. During my eleven weeks of study, I worked with Associate Conservator Morgan Carbone, who introduced me to textile conservation and the principals of collections care.  MTS Summer Program participant Lauren Pardue from Merrimack College. My area of interest is early 20th-century art, so I was excited to research a dress in the MTS Study Collection that resonates with me as an example of Primitivism. Primitivism ..read more

​At Museum Textile Services we recently received a generous donation of textiles and costumes to our study collection, most of them dating from around the very early 20th century. The MTS study collection is primarily used for teaching and research, though it also contains our founder Camille Breeze's family textile collection and a few special purchases. In this newest donation, one item stood out: a single baby bootie that showed interesting signs of deterioration.  Infant Bootie. Image by MTS. ​The white kid-leather bootie has plastic buttons with metal shanks that show cle ..read more

A Rough Walkers hat came to Museum Textile Services from the Erie County Historical Society in 2020. The hat belonged to William C. Hegner who fought in the Spanish-American War. The members of the 1st Volunteer Calvary were commonly referred to as the “Rough Riders”, “Rough Walkers”, or “Wood’s Weary Walkers” in honor of their first commander, Colonel Leonard Wood. Front of the Hat Before Conservation. Image by MTS. Courtesy of the Erie County Historical Society. Proper Right Side of the Hat Before Conservation. Image by MTS. Courtesy of the Erie County Historical Society ..read more

A private client brought a framed 35-star flag to Museum Textile Services for conservation. The flag belonged to Henry Harrison Hadley (1841–1903) from Malta, OH. In 1862, Hadley joined the 90th Ohio infantry during the American Civil War. His leg was shattered and nearly amputated in Tennessee, after which Hadley was discharged for disability in 1863. He re-entered service in 1865 as Captain of Co. “D” of the 119th United States Colored Infantry at Camp Nelson in Paducah, KY. Hadley left honorably in 1866. Flag Before Conservation. Image by MTS. Courtesy of Client. ​The flag has a silk cant ..read more

Over recent years there have been many natural disasters that have impacted museums and other historic sites (i.e. flood at the Louvre in 2017, fires at the National Museum of Brazil (2018) and Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019). While most natural disasters result in extensive damage to artifacts, they may also reveal something new or exciting that would otherwise remain unknown.  ​In February, 2019, staff from Museum Textile Services surveyed several costumes and costume ensembles at the Maine State Museum that were impacted by ice and water damage to secure storage facility. Later that sam ..read more

In this MTS blog we highlight a lovely day dress brought to Museum Textile Services by the Friends of the William H. Johnson House in New Jersey. The owners are in the early stages of determining what their new acquisition needs for long-term preservation and display. They elected to have a full conservation assessment followed by a Vac & Pack. The dress is now safely housed in archival materials and back at the William H. Johnson House while a conservation plan is finalized.   Day Dress Before Conservation. Image by MTS. Courtesy of the Friends of William H. Johnson House ..read more

​A private client brought their grandmother’s embroidery to Museum Textile Services for conservation late in 2020. The embroidery was started by the client’s grandmother and later finished by their mother. The embroidery depicts the client’s grandmother’s family, who were held at an internment camp in the Philippines during World War II. The internment camp was at the University of Santo Tomás in Manila from January 1942 until February 1945.   Front of Embroidery before conservation. Image by MTS. Courtesy of private client. ​The lettering around the perimeter of the embroidery rea ..read more

Preserving historic textiles includes safely packing and storing them in a way that suits not only the artifact but also your available space and budget. Museum Textile Services' new Vac & Pack options provide a quick assessment, surface cleaning with a HEPA vacuum, and packing in an acid-free museum storage box, all for one lower price. Vac & Pack is an ideal solution for clients who do not need a conservation report or who aren't ready to commit to conservation at this time. Before your textiles are put in their new storage boxes, textile conservator ..read more

Detail of Scotch tape around arm before conservation. In this blog we examine the conservation treatment recently completed on our client's father's teddy bear, which we confirmed is an original Steiff. If you missed our other bear blog, you can read it here. ​The client’s Steiff teddy bear had tears in both arms where the excelsior (wood wool) stuffing was coming out. The proper-right arm of the bear had Scotch Magic tape wrapped around the tear as an old repair. The tape was carefully removed using swabs of isopropyl alcohol to soften the adhesive. Missing excelsior stuffing wa ..read more