Thank you for your response Sarah.  I have had similar results when working
with adhesives on costumes.  As I see it overlays applied with low surface
bonding adhesives are not strong enough to withstand flexing unless they are
encased and with additional stitching.

Since this garment was not fabricated by a renowned 19th century
designer/dressmaker and is singular because of it's local provenance a
recommendation to replace the lining and save the original will be made.
After all the rest of the dress is in near perfect condition and their are
many other stable examples from this time period.

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

651 297-5490


-----Original Message-----
From: Reiter, Sara [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 12:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Replacing linings


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