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I would be inclined to remove the labels
and mylar encapsulate them (and
any other relevant information about them) and then secure them to the objects with
a string in a way that a paper tag might be attached. I would definitely remove the pins from
the garments, but again save the pins in a mylar envelope, if they are historic. If you leave them on, the risk of losing
them entirely, or damaging the object are both real concerns, so I would prefer
the solution to preserve the labels separately from the textile in a way that
is both safe for the paper and safe for the textile. Prior to removal, photo documentation
would be recommended so that you would have a record of the original placement
of the labels. S. Textile Conservator -----Original Message----- I would appreciate the list’s
thoughts on a dilemma that we are facing with several new acquisitions. We have
recently acquired a large number of historic textiles, garments, and related
materials (palm fans, wooden textile beaters, etc.) from a defunct museum
collection that was formed in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. Many of the items in this collection, which was designed to
introduce Philadelphia’s entrepreneurs to the range of raw and
manufactured materials available around the world, have historic tags or labels
indicating such information as place of origin, cost of production,
manufacturing details, etc. My question is regarding whether or
not these tags should be preserved IN PLACE, or if it is preferable that they
should be removed and stored in a mylar envelope or similar enclosure
(appropriately numbered) in the accession file for preservation of this
information. In most cases, I should mention, these tags and labels are not
very securely attached to the objects (where the attachment is more or less
permanent, we would not remove them), and the tags themselves are brittle and
discolored. I’ll cite a few specific examples to give you an idea of the
situation: 1)a group of Philippine pina cloth samples with paper tags
indicating their town of origin and collection date pinned with straight pins
to the samples (all tags discolored, some creased and brittle); 2) a number of
heavy wooden cloth beaters with paper tags indicating origin on string looped
around the handles of the beaters – again tags are discolored &
embrittled, and the beaters tend to roll, even in a custom-made storage box,
thus threatening to bend and/or break the attached tags; 3) a wooden and woven
coir Chinese clog (pre-1895) with a brittle string & paper tag recording
origin & sale price looped around the also-brittle coir upper. The historic value of these textiles
obviously is tied closely to the documentation that these tags and labels
provide, and I hesitate to separate the two. At the same time, this documentary
evidence seems to be put at risk by leaving these tags in place, where they are
not firmly affixed; in addition, the acidic nature of these tags represents a
danger to the long-term preservation of the textiles themselves. I would
appreciate listmembers’ thoughts on how best we can balance these
seemingly contradictory preservation demands. Nancy
E. Packer Collections Curator The Design Center at Philadelphia
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