Matthew
You've ask a question I have been addressing within the Minnesota Historical
Society for some time.

Different types of storage furniture i.e.. Cabinets with shelves, drawers,
and padded hangers on rods are all necessary for successful storage of a
diverse collection. A variation of museum quality storage furniture was
chosen to meet the collections needs within the Minnesota Historical
Society. My first piece of advise when creating a new storage area is to do
more than just purchase the appropriate museum quality furnishings.   No
matter how good your storage furniture is, there are other needs to be
considered especially when storing items in drawers.

Mounts to support and cradle artifacts for storage, study, and movement
within an institution are equally important.  It is not enough to place
several trim fragments within a drawer and call it done.  Opening and
closing these large drawers often results in items shifting to the back in a
pile.  Also, for a truly active study, collection artifacts are moved
frequently and handled by museum professionals as well as the general
public, resulting in flexing and stressing of textiles. Storage mounts will
facilitate movement in the institution and hopefully inhibit handling by
scholars or designers.

The great thing about storage mounts is that once designed and streamlined,
volunteers can be culled to help manufacture and assemble them. For
instance, at MHS we are currently working with volunteers making storage
mounts for our bandolier bag and sampler collections. The bandolier bags are
in sunken padded mounts that are made to meet the needs of each bag due to
irregular sizes, diverse materials, and construction techniques. Prior to
this the bandolier bags would often inadvertently slide to the back of the
drawer during opening and closing. In contrast, the sampler window mounts
were standardized to facilitate stacking in drawers.  This prevents the
samplers from being flexed over and over as people flipped through the
layers searching for a particular item. As a bonus, bringing in the public
is always a good move for any institution.

Unfortunately, supported textiles often end up being larger once placed in a
mount which can push an institutions storage area to the breaking point.
Which is why I feel you need to identify these needs and allocate the
necessary space early on.

In answer to your question on storing large textiles and rolling verses
flat, I don't believe there is any definitive answer.  It all depends on the
needs of the textile, which are too numerous to list here.  I can imagine
some window treatments that are strong and stable could be hung for storage
on painting style racks, while others could be rolled or would need to be
stored flat.  I personally have experienced no damage due to rolling or
folding flat textiles when executed properly.

Finally, I would like to add one thing about moving larger items in and out
of storage.  If these items are heavy due to a metal rod supporting an acid
free tube around which you have a rug rolled, then place it lower to the
ground and hire people with the strength to move it.  Maybe a star notifying
people of a heavy item could also be placed next to the accession number.
Too many times women in their 50's have been asked to climb up flights of
rolling stairs and take down a rolled quilt supported by a metal rod heavy
enough to cause anyone strain. It truly is a testimony of their dedication
and love for the museum world that they complete these tasks at all.

Thanks for your time in reading this lengthy reply.

Ann Frisina
Textile Conservator
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
St. Paul, MN. 55104

651 297-5490


-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Scott [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2003 12:28 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Textile Storage


Hi

I am asking for advice from institutions with textile/ decorative arts
collections in storage.

The Resource Centre of the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales
(based in Sydney, Australia), has a diverse reference collection of
domestic decorative items from the 19thC and 20thC available to
researchers and the general public.

The collection includes furnishing fabrics and trimmings, upholstery
remnants, cushions, hassocks, curtains, carpets, rugs, linoleum,
oilcloth, furniture fittings/hardware, wallpapers, architectural
elements and garden ornaments.
The Resource centre has out grown its current space and will be
relocated to a new facility, increasing its profile and level of public
access.
We would like to aim for ideal storage, knowing that compromises will
inevitably be made along the way, but hoping to avoid the worst.
Any information regarding your institutions existing methods of storing
large textiles and similar would be greatly appreciated.
Some of our general questions include:
What style of storage do you use for your textiles/decorative items,
i.e shelves, plan drawers, cabinets etc.  Why was this style of storage
chosen?

Was consideration given to the organisation of frequently used items.
Does it differ from less called upon objects?

What have been the pros and cons of this storage system?  Has it met
expectations or failed

Rolling vs flat.  Has anyone found rolling resulting in damage to the
textile? What criteria do you use to decide whether to roll, hang or
store textiles flat

Has anyone experimented with hanging textiles in storage?

What compromises should be avoided?

Matthew Scott
Conservation Officer
Collections Management Unit
Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales



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