On behalf of the membership of this distlist, I want
to thank Sara for being so open in discussing her
treatment for this kind of problem.

We need to be less afraid of sharing our experiences,
and more open to discussion in this kind of format.
The entire profession would be better for it.

Thanks again, Sara, for being so willing to share your
experiences.

Michele Pagan
--- "Reiter, Sara" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> At the Philadelphia Museum of Art we recently
> completed several lining
> treatments for our exhibition of Elsa Schiaparelli
> costume.  The majority of
> them were on jackets and coats dating from 1930
> through the early 40s.  None
> of the linings were completely SHATTERED but some
> were pretty close.  We
> were extremely stressed for time (who isn't) and
> most of our treatments had
> some type of adhesive component (10% Lascaux
> 360HV/498 HV 50:50 in
> de-ionized water, applied by brush to silk crepeline
> and reactivated using a
> heat spatula).  Some treatments consisted of
> alignment of the damaged areas
> and adhesive patches in situ.  For badly damaged
> areas, the lining was
> partially released from the garment, humidified and
> adhered to adhesive
> coated silk crepeline.  In some instances an
> additional layer of crepeline
> (with or without adhesive) was placed on the top.
> Some treatments included
> additional stitching, some did not.
>
> We just (as in yesterday) completed the after
> exhibition evaluations of the
> garments and without having spent a lot of time
> studying all the reports
> this is the general consensus:  The treatments that
> only  involved patches
> placed over the damaged areas did not withstand the
> rigors of dressing as
> well as those that had some additional tacking. On
> almost all of these the
> edges of the patches lifted  - a stronger adhesive
> solution may have
> prevented this - something else we need to look at.
> For almost all the
> linings there were areas of additional damage beyond
> where we patched.  The
> linings that held up the best were a set of sleeves
> that were completely
> removed, adhered to silk crepeline with both
> adhesive and stitching and
> reattached to the coat. This was only one round of
> exhibition - the show is
> traveling to Paris this spring, we've done some
> first-aid and will continue
> to monitor the treatments.
>
> If the dress you are going to be working on will be
> exhibited on a yearly
> basis I think your idea of replacing the lining is a
> good one, especially if
> you do lots of documentation of the original.
>
> Several years ago someone gave a paper about silk
> linings that included a
> survey of treatments and opinions.  It may have been
> at the Harper's Ferry
> "Silk" symposium in the early 1990s or a AIC annual
> meeting around that
> time.
>
> Good luck.
>
> Sara Reiter
> Associate Conservator of Costume and Textiles
> Philadelphia Museum of Art
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Frisina, Ann [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 11:56 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Replacing linings
>
>
> Recently I was brought a 19th century wedding
> costume by a curator to dress
> on a mannequin.  Currently it is in fair and stable
> condition overall with
> exception to it's lining.  The lining, fabricated of
> weighted silk, is
> shattering and too fragile to with stand exhibition.
>  Embellishments such as
> gathered pleated rucheing and bows are secured to
> the perimeter of the hem.
> This dress has a strong provenance, it was worn by a
> prominent St. Paul
> family member to her wedding, and is a beautiful
> example of sumptuous 19th
> century dress making.
>
> The lining needs to be stabilized.  However, because
> of 3-dimensional form
> and large size I don't feel that encasement with
> stable-Tex is a good
> choice.  Especially since encasement would require
> us to disassemble the
> lining entirely, encase each component, and then
> reunite.  We would in
> effect be structurally altering the garment.  Also,
> the silk will continue
> to breakdown due to a yearly exhibition schedule.
> Eventually  I fear we will
> end up with stable-Tex bags of dust.  So in the end
> what am I really saving/
> protecting?
>
> I am proposing to remove the existing shattered
> lining and replace it with a
> suitable fabric similar in fiber, color, and weave
> structure to the
> original.  The original embellishments will be
> removed from what remains of
> the original lining and secured to the replacement
> one.  All work will
> imitate the original as much as possible.  While
> this treatment requires
> many hours we will have a more stable costume for
> yearly exhibition.
>
> I am wondering if anyone else has come across these
> needs and issues?  Has
> anyone else felt compelled to replace linings due to
>  structural
> instability?
>
> Thank you.
>
>
> Ann Frisina
> Textile Conservator
> Minnesota Historical Society
> 345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
> St. Paul, MN. 55104
>
> 651 297-5490


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