>> Charlotte Giles: Thank you
everyone for joining us today
for our event, "The Preservation
and Presence of Textiles
in Library and Museum
Collections: A Panel
and Discussion," hosted
by the Asian Division
at the Library of Congress.
My name is Charlotte
Giles, and I am joined
by my colleague Jonathan Loar.
We are the South Asian
Reference Librarians
with the Asian Division, and we
will be moderating this event.
Before we begin, just a couple
of housekeeping notes
-- not rules.
We will be recording
today's event.
So, that is Number 1.
If you have any issues,
please let us know.
The second note is that our
program will involve five
to seven-minute long
presentations,
of our five speakers, with the
final 20 minutes left for Q
and A. Since we did get a
little bit of a late start,
we'll be going probably
a little bit over 3.
I hope that some of you will
be able to stick with us
through that to leave.
Jon, if you could go
to the next slide?
To leave questions and comments
for that Q and A session,
please locate the
Chat at the bottom,
right-hand of your screen.
Please ensure that the
question is sent to everyone.
So, there's that
little drop-down menu
where it says, "To."
And please make sure that it
is sent to "All Panelists."
And you're more than
welcome to share also
with All the Attendees as well.
That is totally up to you.
And third, everyone except the
panelists will remain muted
throughout the event.
So, we won't be taking
any verbal questions.
So, please just put
those in the chat.
The Library of Congress
is an amazing place,
home to over 170 million items,
over half of which are
international in scope.
Here you may find a plethora of
resources in a variety of forms,
like textiles, that
you may not think
of when you think of a library.
Textiles, like the
text in a book,
may be read to gain new insights
about the places, cultures,
and peoples who created them.
Throughout presentations
today, we will see a small
but powerful sample of
resources that we hold,
and how we ensure
their longevity
for future generations.
Access to our collections is
free and open to the public,
and not dependent
on U.S. nationality.
Our speakers for today
include Eiichi Ito,
a Japanese Reference Specialist
with the Asian Division
at the Library of
Congress, Kathy Woodrell,
a Reference Specialist
in the Decorative Arts
and Architecture Section of the
Researcher and References --
Reference Service Division
at the Library of Congress,
Yasmeen Khan who is the Head of
the Paper Conservation Section
in the Conservation Division
at the Library of Congress,
Dan Paterson who is
a Senior Conservator
at the Book Conservation Section
at the Library of Congress,
and Maria Fusco, the
Chief Conservator
at the Textile Museum at the
George Washington University.
So, if our first speaker
is ready, let's -- is --
do we have Eiichi with us?
I don't see him.
Perhaps he's having some
connection difficulties.
So, Kathy, if you feel
comfortable going up,
it's all yours?
>> Kathy Woodrell: Good.
Thank you, Charlotte.
I'm Kathy Woodrell.
I'm the Decorative Arts
and Architecture Specialist
in the Main Reading Room
at the Library of Congress.
In 2019, I recommended four
volumes in collaboration
with the Rare Book and
Special Collections Division.
I'll be showing designs
from these volumes,
and I'll also mention a
few significant cultural
and technological
events that took place
when these volumes were created.
Paris was the most
influential peak
of western decorative
arts in the 19th Century.
These volumes of
original design drawings,
intended for printed textiles,
complement existing collections
of textile and clothing
resources, fashion plates,
wallpaper samples, and early
journals and periodicals.
The brothers Francois Jean
Claude and Victor Jean Claude,
founded J. Claude Freres et.
Cie in 1834.
By the 1840s, the firm
offered a subscription service.
They were actually
pioneers in the production
of sample textile designs,
marketed through fabric
swatches, and distributed
to textile manufacturers in
Europe, British, Britain,
and the United States.
Some of the designs are drawn or
painted directly in the album,
and others are mounted samples.
These are clearly in need
of preservation apropos
for this panel.
And the designs are housed
in 19th Century linen-backed
boards,
and in 20th Century
portfolios with ties.
My delight at acquiring
these volumes is obvious,
but this is the only
image I have
of the portfolios with ties.
Here's a shoutout to Mark
[inaudible] for this photo.
This 1847 volume is filled with
floral and botanical drawings,
some realistic, and
others quite abstract.
The drawings can be
found in watercolors,
pen and ink, graphite, Gouache.
Some were unfinished, as --
is the one that you
see on the right.
Could these be designs
for ribbons?
Could they have been designs
for wallpaper borders?
In this era, scrapbooking
and paper crafts were a
very popular activity.
So, just curious about that.
There are many, many images
of flowers and bouquets.
Although flowers have been
assigned meaning for hundreds
of years, the language
of flowers was a popular
concept in the 19th Century.
This volume holds over 100
botanical drawings in red ink,
some with graphite, as
you see on the right.
This series is painted
on patterned papers.
Notes suggest future
measurements,
instructions for
color, etcetera.
The invention of the cylinder
printing press drastically
increased the publication
of magazines,
including fashion-related
journals
that broadened the global
view, and contributed
to an increasingly literate and
culturally aware population.
This volume includes 37
Japonesque assemblages.
And this one has strips
of roscoesque [phonetic]
painted color stripes.
The notes in Volumes 4
and 6 occasionally include
a designer's initials.
It's very likely that the
designers from the Freres firm,
attended the Great
Exhibition of 1851,
held at the Crystal
Palace in London.
There they would
have seen textiles
and industrial equipment
from many other countries.
How did the Great Exhibition
change their design aesthetic?
Two of these volumes
were created before 1851.
Two were created afterward.
They certainly would have seen
cashmere shawls or fabric,
made since the 17th Century
with a distinct design,
a teardrop with a bent tip.
The Buta or Boteh, meaning
literally, "flower,"
inspired one of the
most awesome,
repeated textile designs and
motifs that we now call paisley.
The appropriation and history
of cashmere cloth is laden
with political and trade factors
much too numerous to outline,
however authentic
cashmere shawls
and shawl cloth were
valuable and coveted.
Therefore copying the design
and the shawls themselves,
was a lucrative decision.
This sample, which I
find really interesting,
appears to have embroidered
motifs throughout the pattern.
You can see them at the
lower edge or on the right,
and actually in the
Boteh itself.
It also includes fringe, which
emulates cashmere shawl cloth.
Here's an unfinished design.
I find it so intricate
and exotic.
And I also wonder, "Were they
waiting for another color way?
Were they going to try
a different color?"
These volumes provide numerous
ways to study the influence
of French textiles
on global fashions.
By the late 19th Century,
the J. Claude Freres Firm was
the leading fabric subscription
service in Paris.
They were awarded a prize at the
Exposition Universelle in 1878,
and they were in
existence for 150 years,
under the same name, until 1979.
American mills, using a French
fabric subscription service,
could copy and manufacture
fabric in three weeks' time.
In 1856, a teenage chemist
accidentally synthesized the
color mauve from the byproducts
of the coal/tar industry.
Then called mauveine,
or aniline purple,
mauve was an instant sensation,
followed by its cousin, magenta.
The discovery of synthetic
dyes revolutionized the textile
industry, and instigated a new
industry, organic chemistry.
Germany excelled with textile
discoveries and innovations.
This textile design
volume, dated 1900,
is a brand-new acquisition
in rare book I have not
yet had my hands on it.
It has over 400 original
designs from Wuppertal, Germany.
The designs are for tapestries,
damask, brocades, silk,
and other high-end textiles
for the luxury market.
The notes include
technical information
and the designers name.
Founded in 1891,
the Noss [phonetic]
and Lucas [phonetic] Mill
specialized in exotic fabrics
for the luxury market.
Designs with art
nouveau and arts
and crafts influences
are also included.
In closing, these volumes hold
over 1,000 original
textile designs.
The research possibilities
are endless.
I hope you're inspired.
Let me know how I can help you.
Thank you.
>> Eiichi Ito: My
name is Eiichi Ito.
I'm a Reference Specialist
for the Japanese Collection.
And I would like to
talk about three books
from the Japanese
Collection today.
And to start, the
one on the right,
you can see [inaudible] two
women are weaving [foreign
name], [inaudible] language,
[inaudible] tree bark fiber.
And this is from the Ezo kiko,
Ezo Travels, by Tani Bunkei.
And this is recently
[inaudible] in the collection.
Finally we see that
[inaudible] Japan,
and [inaudible] is their home.
We [inaudible] in two
books of [inaudible].
I want to show [inaudible]
prints, and then side by side.
On the left, "Under the Wave
of Kanagawa," and on the right,
"The Gateway to Enoshima
Island in Sagami Bay."
Both have [inaudible].
As you can see on the left,
the Hokusai size print,
very [inaudible] is obstruction
and embellishes in a way
from realism, even [inaudible].
On the right, Hiroshige's print
is [inaudible] calm [inaudible]
depiction of non-statements
and traditional [inaudible].
But it's such a different
[inaudible].
So, next slide is where you're
going to see the two books
of [inaudible] textile
covers of two books.
Also, it's [inaudible]
covers on the left.
[Inaudible] quick to
[inaudible] on [inaudible].
The sketch [inaudible] as well.
Hiroshige book's covering
the more or less align
with the traditional Japanese
[inaudible] on the right.
By the design of the
cover [inaudible] textile
of [inaudible] and [inaudible].
[Inaudible] contrast of
textile covers are [inaudible].
[Inaudible] are quite
different between the two.
On the left, Hokusai's
[inaudible] actually this is not
[inaudible] now.
Unfortunately, I
didn't have access
to the library [inaudible]
every month.
So, this is from [inaudible].
Nonetheless, this is
from a different title.
[Inaudible] images or rather the
drawings of the Hokusai's book
that I'm talking about
now, it's similar to this.
So, it's kind of
instruction for how to draw.
On the right, this is the
one drawing of Hiroshige's.
So, the next few slides I would
like to show [inaudible]
the two books.
This is Hokusai's.
The geometric in
and I hope someone
in the audience can tell us
about the design
motif of this cover.
I'm not sure, but
it's like almost
like [inaudible] or
early [inaudible].
[Inaudible] it has [inaudible]
now because of the [inaudible]
of the book as a text
or instruction book.
This is other Hiroshige's
textbook [inaudible].
>> Charlotte Giles: Hi, Eiichi.
I'm sorry to interrupt.
Some of the folks--
>> Eiichi Ito: [Inaudible] Yes?
>> Charlotte Giles: -some folks
are having some difficulty
hearing you.
Would it be possible to speak
a little bit closer to the mic,
or a little bit louder?
Thank you.
>> Eiichi Ito: Okay.
I'll do that.
Thank you.
Sorry about.
This is a Hiroshige's
book [inaudible].
So more [inaudible] traditional
Japanese [inaudible].
So, next is the third one
that I'd like to [inaudible].
[Inaudible] the Kogei.
This magazine published
from 1931 to 1951
and 120 volumes altogether.
And each [inaudible] I'm sorry.
Each volume issued 800 to 1,000
copies published in [inaudible].
Coterie Magazine to
promote Mingei Undo,
[inaudible] movement in Japan
led by Yanagi Muneyoshi,
also known as Yanagi Soetsu.
You will see in the next slide,
the three examples
of [inaudible].
On the left, this is
the handwoven textile,
and in the center, Katazome
stencil dyeing fabric
by Keisuke Serizawa.
On the right, Bingata or red
pattern dyed fabric by Serizawa,
inspired by a stencil
dyeing method
of Okinawan traditional
technique.
The last one is a
closeup of the cover
of Volume 67, published in 1936.
It dyed probably by
the same Serizawa.
He was inspired by the
stencil dyeing method called
[inaudible], or Okinawan
traditional technique.
This is a [inaudible].
So, these are the books I'd
like to introduce today.
And I have one question, but
before we get [inaudible] we use
as the cover of the books,
[inaudible] three examples
of this [inaudible].
[Inaudible] this magazine.
[Inaudible] has [inaudible].
This is a [inaudible].
I always have when
I visit the museum.
And you see the massive painting
on the wall of the museum.
[Inaudible] who gets
to decide the frame
of the [inaudible] or agents.
[Inaudible] the previous owner
before we acquire these books.
It may be [inaudible].
But there's no records
of [inaudible].
In general, we know [inaudible].
There's no such information.
[Inaudible] what kind
of textile they use.
So, that's [inaudible].
[ Inaudible ]
Thank you very much.
>> Charlotte Giles:
Thank you, Eiichi.
I see a couple of questions
coming into the chat.
We'll get to those
-- we'll get to those
at the end of the session.
Just to briefly answer
one question,
"Where are these located?"
All items that are
being presented today,
these are all located at
the Library of Congress.
The ones that you just
saw that Eiichi presented,
those are located with the
Asian Division at the Library
of Congress, and those that
Kathy, Kathy Woodrell presented,
those are with the Rare Books
Division, which she is --
which she worked
with quite closely.
>> Yasmeen Khan: So, I'm
going to talk a little bit
about conserving textiles
at the Library of Congress.
The Conservation Division
provides preservation services
to their rare and
special collections
at the Library of Congress.
Textiles make up a subgroup
of these special collections.
Here are some of the activities
as they are activities
as they relate to the
conservation of textiles.
Mainly, we are a repository of
books, and we treat, stabilize
and house collection materials
with the understanding
that they will be served safely
to researchers and [inaudible],
in the future, present
and future.
Our conservatives are
trained in book, paper,
and photo conservation.
However, I'll be showing
you an array of textiles
in different formats that the
library conservators worked on.
Most textiles are treated
when repairing books,
and form a significant part
of the conservation treatment.
Stabilization involves cleaning
and flattening textiles
in other formats.
That is, the ones that aren't
in bound format,
prior to rehousing.
Mainly, we focus on
rehousing our flat textiles.
Other activities that form part
of our daily responsibilities
such as monitoring
and advocating
for the best environment for
the collections materials,
also affect textile collections.
Securing the collection,
including [inaudible]
emergency response for events
such as water leaks, and
other catastrophic events.
For textiles in particular
however,
we consult with outside
experts on best practices,
and where we don't have
the knowledge ourselves.
Many books have been bound
in cloth, especially starting
from the 19th Century, onwards.
Conservators use book
conservation techniques
to repair them.
My colleague Dan will be talking
about this in greater detail
in the next presentation.
The treatment of this
Persian manuscript involved --
it was quite complex because
the pages, as you can see,
are highly illuminated and
needed extensive repair.
The cover was also treated.
Instead of this cover being
a book bound in cloth,
the cloth here has been framed
on the board with leather.
And that is to show how valuable
this particular cloth was.
It is a [inaudible] and
cashmere from the --
that is much older
than just the text.
Possibly 100 years older.
And is made of pieced pieces
of textile, which is one
of the reasons why it's been
dated as being from the 1800s.
This leather binding of an
Armenian Gospel is what it --
from what is now Lebanon and
Syria, has a cloth doublure.
That is, the inside cover is
lined with cloth, as you can see
on the image on the right.
The binding is contemporary
with the text, and therefore,
we assume the cloth is
contemporary as well.
It is made up of blue
and maroon linen threads,
and was very minimally
treated to retain --
so that we could
retain the original wear
and tear of the book.
The look of the book
would remain true.
On the right, you can see a
19th Century deluxe binding,
where the doublure and
the [inaudible] are made
up of silk velvet.
Red silk velvet.
This item came into the
lab for an assessment
to assess both the condition of
the silk, and the micro mosaics
that are embedded in this
-- in the [inaudible].
This is -- here is a
scrapbook that was assembled
by a famous aeronaut,
Alfred [foreign name].
It contains samples of
famous 19th Century textile
and paper air balloons.
Scientists at the
library identified
that there is resins used
to coat the textiles --
used for the balloons, so that
the conservator during the
treatment could make a
more appropriate choice
of the [inaudible] to mend
the torn samples and the ones
that were loose from the leaves.
The next slide is of a
silk cloth has been bound
into this parchment manuscript
from the Rare Book Division.
And to protect the illumination.
So, the treatment here was
to assess the condition
of the pigments, and
also to flatten the silk
so that the creases
wouldn't braid the pigments
on this particular piece.
Another type of text -- other
types of textiles associated
with books in particular
are wrappers.
Some Ethiopian manuscripts
have these simple --
simple [inaudible] book
wrappers, that have pieces
in that protect the edges
of the book pages as well.
We always box these
cloth-wrapped books
to protect the wrappers, as well
as the books that are shelved.
Often, these wrappers are
made up of Indian textiles.
Here is a wrapped
Tibetan Buddhist Sutra,
that is in the lab
for treatment --
for the treatment of the leaves.
These black leaves.
However, the conservator will
also assess the condition
of the rectangular handpiece of
silk, is to wrap the manuscript.
If it can be reused, it
will continue to be used
to wrap the manuscript as
it helps create the context
for the reader of what is
contained within the wrapping.
Again, in this case,
both the book
and wrapping will be
housed in a custom-made box.
In this photograph, the scroll
on the right is an example
of a paper scroll, lined
with cloth to reinforce
and strengthen the paper.
Sometimes we treat such items
by removing the layers of cloth
and paper linings to reset
the natural flexibility
of the paper.
But again, in this
particular case,
we retained the original
-- the linen lining.
On the left is a Japanese
scroll, hand-painted scroll,
of Admiral Perry's
first visit to Japan.
Commonly, Japanese and other
East Asian scrolls are tightly
rolled, and may come
in wooden boxes,
original wooden boxes,
such as this.
In this particular
roll, the first couple
of feet is a silk brocade,
that was unraveling,
especially along the edges.
In addition, the paper of
the scroll was cupping due
to the small circumference
of the dowel
around which it was
being -- it was rolled.
[Inaudible] Again,
after consolidating
and mending the silk, the
conservator rerolled the scroll
around a custom constructed
support,
with a larger circumference
to minimize the future cupping
and rupture of the paper fibers.
The new box -- a
new box will be made
that will now house not only
the original box and scroll --
both the original
box and scroll.
Here is a quick look
at what we found
after unfolding a brittle piece
of paper -- swatch of paper,
namely an extremely large sheet
of paper with attached swatches
of cloth for a Broadway
production.
After light cleaning of the
paper, and cloth swatches,
the conservator mended the tears
and flattened the piece overall.
And then encapsulated
it in mylar and put it
in an appropriate folder so
that it could then be served
to researchers and
be made accessible.
The library has a
number of rugs.
This is just a small
subset of them.
The housing of these rugs
involved light cleaning,
the creation of custom-made
rolls,
and cloth coverings in boxes.
My colleague, Jen
Lewis [phonetic],
who's in the black
shirt, is an expert
at getting our automated
box-making machine
to design different
forms of boxes
for our varied collection
at the library.
So, I've shown you sort of
an array of materials --
textile materials from various
divisions and collections
at the Library of Congress.
And this is just a slide to
show you how other items have
received similar treatments
with custom housings.
I'd like to point out a couple
of things though of
collections items.
The two items on the right,
are from the Veterans
History Project,
and pertain to wars fought
by the U.S. The shirt
on the top left, is a
talismanic cotton shirt
from eastern Iran,
possibly [inaudible].
And the item at the
bottom, is a very large box,
measuring about 8
and a half by 5 feet.
As you can tell, it's being
carried by many hands.
And it houses this tanka, which
is an 18th Century tanka gifted
to the library by
the Dalai Lama.
One of the services that
conservation provides
to the divisions, is also
our assistance in moving
and mounting really large
textiles to temporary displays,
and long-term exhibition.
It took a village of
conservators and Jon
to move this tanka
through -- three --
two buildings to get it to this
particular point of exhibition.
And with that, I end my
presentation, and give you
to Dan Paterson who will talk
about a more in-depth
conservation treatment.
Thank you.
>> Dan Paterson: Okay,
well, thank you Charlotte
for the opportunity
to be here today.
And thanks to my colleagues
for their introductions to some
of the ways that we
encounter textiles
at the Library of Congress.
I'd like to follow-up on
Yasmeen's presentation and go
over some of the ways
we encounter textiles
in bound materials, and focus on
one large project in particular.
We find some examples of
textiles in virtually every book
that is designated for
conservation treatment.
Often, these are hidden
or less obvious components
of a bound volume.
The picture on the
screen is a textile lining
from an Islamic manuscript.
This volume likely
had a leather binding,
that completely covered the
textile and made it invisible.
We refer to this
particular piece
of cloth as a spine lining.
And use of textiles as spine
linings is extremely common
across bookbinding traditions
from different geographic
regions and time periods.
This is not surprising
since bookbinders realized
that adhering a cloth lining
to the backs of books,
before putting on
the final cover,
was a discreet method adding
strength and support to a book
when it opens and when
the pages were turned.
In contrast to hidden
binding elements,
we often encounter bindings that
have textile covering as one
of the main components.
I've worked with TF
Conservators since 2015
to prepare the Library
of Congress collection
of the Yongle Encyclopedia
for digitization.
Each volume of the Yongle
has a full silk cover
over the text block.
As background, the Yongle
Encyclopedia was written
between 1405 and 1408,
under the leadership
of the Third Ming
Dynasty emperor.
Originally, there were
over 22,000 volumes
in the encyclopedia,
each one unique,
making it the world's largest
compendium of knowledge
until well into the
20th Century.
A second copy of the
entire encyclopedia was made
in the 1560's.
Now, there are approximately
400 volumes remaining worldwide,
include 41 at the
Library of Congress.
In order to make digital
copies available, a complete
and comprehensive review
and conservation
program was implemented
for all of the volumes.
Each volume had the
same binding structure,
an example of which
is here on the screen.
With this style of binding, the
yellow-gold silk on the exterior
of the book, is in the
central part of the attachment
of the boards to the text block.
The silk is the component
that allows the cover to flex
at the joint when the book is
opened, acting as a fulcrum.
In addition, the silk is central
to the history of the volumes,
whereas we might remove and
replace a hidden element,
like the spine lining
shown in the first slide,
we would be incredibly
hesitant not to reuse
and retain this silk
if at all possible.
As you can see in the
before treatment images,
the silk [inaudible]
is badly damaged.
In fact, and these images
are very representative
of all 41 volumes.
And in virtually each case, we
had to make repairs that allow
for the binding to again
function as it was intended.
The need for the binding
to function is always one
of our major concerns
in book conservation.
Since this object, like all
of the books we provide
conservation treatment for,
will eventually be
used and handled again
by researchers and staff.
And you can see if I can just
[inaudible] here [inaudible].
On the right-hand side, all
the -- the image on the left,
all that thread and silk was
originally covering the spine.
And then these are
aftertreatment images
of the same book.
As you can see, all the loose
silk fragments have be adhered
-- re-adhered to the cover
and the boards and spine.
This treatment was
based on a combination
of conservation techniques.
One common method
for reattaching covers involves
temporarily removing elements
of the spine, adding new
repair material underneath,
and then returning the spine
to its original position.
We repaired most of the
volumes in the collection,
following this protocol, by
using [inaudible] handmade paper
as a substitute for the silk.
The original bindings
used yellow-gold paper
as a layer under the silk.
So, it was an obvious choice to
utilize paper for our repairs.
The silk, when [inaudible]
here to the edges of the covers
and spine, was generally
lifted off.
The toned paper was used to
repair the edges of the board
and reattach the cover
of the book [inaudible]
-- to the book block.
And finally, the original
silk was carefully re-adhered
to the boards and spine.
Now, the flexing
action of the binding
in the drawing has been
transferred entirely
to the paper repairs.
I chose this slide
to show an example
of where we decided
not to treat something.
The reason we just show the back
cover of Volume 22, the cover,
like all the volumes, received
some very gentle dry-cleaning,
using soft, absorbent sponges.
This kind of dry-cleaning
removes surface dirt
that might inadvertently be
transferred to the pages,
as someone handles the book.
The dirt gets on people's
hands when they [inaudible]
like a cover and then
it's transferred to pages
when they open the book.
By removing this dirt,
we prevent this transfer
from happening.
The larger black stain in
the middle of the cover,
however, is a different issue.
We feel that this stain, which
is somewhat greasy and sooty
in appearance, is probably
the result of the fire
in the Imperial Library
that broke
out during the Boxer Rebellion.
The [inaudible] volumes
were stored there,
and many of them now show
evidence of being in the fire
and its immediate aftermath.
This stain was dry-cleaned
in order
to make sure there would
be no transference,
but as you can see, in the
[inaudible] image on the right,
no other effort was made
to minimize its appearance.
Much of our decision
to leave it as is,
has to do with the
history of the book.
And this stain as
evidence of those events.
Finally, I wanted to
discuss our approach
when the original silk cover
was completely missing,
as in the case with Volume 23.
This new cover on the right,
is made from a high-quality
imported book cloth.
The primary goal of
making a new cover was
to provide protective
outer layer
that would safeguard
the textbook.
However, while the book
cloth is very beautiful
and the best match of the
commercially available products
that we had access to, I was
not comfortable attaching it
to the book.
It is a somewhat
incongruous companion
to the 450-year old
handmade paper,
and beautiful calligraphy
of the text.
And to make their attachment
permanent or semi-permanent
by adhering them together,
was a step that I ultimately
was not comfortable with.
I made the decision to keep
this as a simple wrapper
that covers the book completely,
but is fully separate.
The wrapper and the book are
then stored inside a protective
box, much like some of the
examples that Yasmeen showed.
So, there's no threat of
the book being unprotected.
The wrapper safeguards the text
block and being removed the box,
and is the job of
an attached cover
without a permanent connection.
>> Maria Fusco: So,
hello and thank you all
for having me here today.
It's nice to be here.
As Charlotte mentioned, I'm
not at the Library of Congress.
It's been a really
lovely opportunity
to meet everyone there.
I'm at a museum across the mall,
the George Washington University
Museum, The Textile Museum.
I'm a Textile Conservator,
and I was asked today
to present an overview
on textile care
and conservation approaches.
Showing our museum's
methods is one example
to provide a broad
context for the chat today.
Our museum functions in part
as a traditional museum,
with collections who's
primary use is exhibition,
but also contains collections
who's primary use is research
and access, while in the vein
of the Library of Congress.
I'll briefly touch on
the different entities
within our museum,
and general aspects
of textile care,
storage, and exhibit.
Sharing the right thing?
I don't seem to-- .
Is that better?
Our museum currently
holds four collections
and occupies two locations.
If collections are
textile-based,
the Textile Museum,
the Cotsen Textile
and the Cotsen Textile
Traces [inaudible],
mostly comprise rugs,
ethnographic
and archaeological textiles,
but also textile sample books,
tools [inaudible] works by
contemporary textile artists.
One collection is paper-based,
the Washingtoniana Collection,
which is made up of maps and
prints related to the history
of Washington D.C. We
have a downtown site
on GW's Foggy Bottom campus,
which houses our galleries.
Also, a noncirculating
research library
which features hard-to-find
resources on global textiles
and traditional dress.
[Inaudible] site, we
have two study centers.
One paper-based, where
the Washingtoniana Map
and Print Collection is housed.
One textile-based, where the
Cotsen Textile Traces Collection
is housed.
More on these in a moment.
Our second site is
on GW's Science
and Technology Campus
is Ashburn, Virginia.
This is our Collection
Storage Center.
This site is home
for our main lab.
Our storage magazine, which
houses two museum collections.
These two collections,
the Textile Museum
and the Cotsen Textile
Collections,
are used in a traditional way,
house their main storage center.
[Inaudible] not open to public,
but objects are available
for access to research
[inaudible].
Workshops are held in the center
to further make the
collection available.
But these collections are
tapped much more frequently
for exhibition.
Objects are treated.
Mounts prepared.
Objects are transited downtown
for exhibit and back again
to the storage center.
A fairly traditional use
of a museum collection.
The Washingtoniana and Cotsen
Textile Traces Collection --
Collections, sorry, are
used in manners I believe,
more in the vein of the Library
of Congress's collections.
They're housed at our downtown
site, which is our public site.
The collection forms the
nucleus of a study center.
Objects are exhibited.
But each collection's primary
purpose is research and access.
[Inaudible] Center has been
accessible to researchers,
historians, faculty and
students since 2015.
And there currently
is digital resources
and virtual programming
available,
with a fuller opening planned
once GW's campus reopens.
And a quick aside
here, this collection,
the Traces Collections,
has many counterparts
to books presented here today.
So, it's nice to see them.
Japanese textiles [inaudible]
books, a few sample books
from the Freres Firm
as Kathy presented on
and many textiles -- some
textile bound or wrapped books.
It's nice to see some
familiar brethren.
Our conservation department
provides tiers of service
to these collections, and by
area of staff specialization.
So, we're [inaudible].
Also based on each collection's
purpose and relativity.
Conservation provides
preventive conservation services
to the two study
center collections.
And this entails
environmental monitoring,
integrated pest management,
and object rehousing services.
Relatively stable,
these collections are not
intended largely for exhibit.
Conservation provides both
interventive services,
since [inaudible] be treatment
analysis and mount work,
and also preventive
conservation services to the TM
and Cotsen Textile Collections.
These are the more
traditionally, or for a museum,
more traditionally
used collections.
The ones who are
actively exhibited.
In these tiers of service,
conservations set standards
on collections care, and
works with the colleagues
in the collections management,
[inaudible] departments
to [inaudible] these procedures.
We monitor climate.
Our climate set points are 60
[inaudible] degrees Fahrenheit,
plus or minus 2 degrees.
So, this is about 21
degrees Centigrade.
And 45% RH, plus or minus 5.
Non-ideal climates
are physically
and chemically damaging
to textiles,
but also provide climates
in which [inaudible].
And we manage the
museum's IPM program,
Integrated Pest Management.
For textiles, we
worry about moths
and various domestic beetles,
but also the same pests
which are threats to
paper collections,
which is [inaudible].
In influencing our IPM program,
we mainly focus on prevention.
We monitor collection
spaces, placing blender traps,
which are collected and analyzed
by conservation [inaudible].
We work to improve our building
envelope, caulking baseboards,
operating door gasketry
and sweeps.
So, we've beefed up our
hardware skills quite a lot.
We examine, seal, and isolate
all incoming [inaudible]
as well, as well as
storage materials.
We have a robust
housekeeping program,
acting in collection holding
spaces on a monthly rotation,
with deeper cleans twice a year.
The preventatively freezes all
incoming collections objects,
as well as housing
materials, shop merchandise,
and education materials.
We have a walkthrough freezer at
our storage site, which you see
on the right, and
a walk-in freezer
at our downtown location,
which you see on the left,
both of which operate at
negative 33 degrees [inaudible].
And we anoxically
process collection objects
which cannot be frozen.
We have a small nitrogen-based
system
which humidifies [inaudible].
We also standardize
object housing types.
Train staff and students
on these procedures,
and undertake object rehousing.
Much [inaudible] Department.
[Inaudible] housing types helps
us compact our storage footprint
and ensures objects are
housed in a reproducible way.
We set requirements
for exhibition,
limiting light exposure
to 50 Lux,
ideally limiting display
duration of six months,
and taking [inaudible]
stages to reduce,
if not eliminate,
object handling.
And we examine, treat, and
prepare objects for exhibit.
In terms of treatment, our most
common treatments are stitch
support [inaudible]
and humidification,
but we also incorporate
localized
[inaudible] treatments.
A piece of [inaudible]
treatments [inaudible],
but the latter grouping is
less frequent these days.
And we tend to display
textiles in these manners,
flat or angled on walls.
Often this requires personnel
lifts for larger objects.
Angled or flat on
opened platforms.
We try to have objects behind
acrylic as much as possible.
And we've developed methods
to create acrylic standoffs,
which is what you
see there [inaudible]
for rather large objects
[inaudible] cases.
We try to avoid stitching
where possible,
even when objects are
displayed on the wall.
At the top left is
a pressure mount,
where a fragmentary
archaeological textile is
immobilized without
the need for stitching.
A pin mount at the top
right, for textiles too thin
or distended to bear a stitched
hanging mechanism we found
with insect pins.
We also have quite a lot
of dimensional display.
At the bottom left, we
display costume on interior
at the [inaudible] supports.
And costume on anodized
aluminum T-stands
as well, or dress forms.
And that's a brief
summary of what we do
and what our take
is on textile care.
[Inaudible] reference
and context
for the discussions
today on paper objects
which contain [inaudible].
>> Charlotte Giles:
Thank you so much,
Maria for your presentation.
That was wonderful.
I realize that we are at time,
but we have so many wonderful
questions in the chat.
So, I'm going to go ahead and
pass the power of the questions
over to Jon, and I'm going
to share a slide
-- a resting slide.
So, Jon, take it away.
>> Jonathan Loar: Sure.
Thank you so much, Charlotte,
and thank you everybody
for a lot of just absolutely
a feast for the eyes
and so many wonderful materials
that only just really scratch
the surface of what the Library
of Congress has and all of
its different divisions.
So, we've got a lot
of questions.
Some are more conservator-based.
Some are more kind of
librarian and collections-based,
so we'll try to get to
a couple different ones.
So, one question, "Is
it often a problem
that dyed fabrics
affect the paper text
that they are next to?
What kinds of problems
do you run
into with fabric
affecting paper?"
And that one was asked during
Yasmeen's presentation.
>> Yasmeen Khan: Well, we --
I personally haven't
seen many cases
where a good quality
cotton or silk or linen,
affects the paper next to it.
Sometimes the dyes do,
but even that [inaudible].
What we did see in the
scrapbook with the air balloons,
that the resin coating the
cloth, affected the paper
that was adjacent to it.
So, it's often the --
actually cloth is good.
The fabric is good.
The dyes are good quality.
We don't see that much
damage to the paper.
Sometimes the paper affects
the cloths adversely.
The paper is highly acidic.
And that's the case.
I think Maria might have
much more insight into this.
>> Maria Fusco: Yes.
I was trying to think of --
you know, our collection
does increasingly have paper
and paper-like objects.
I have not seen a lot, as
you were saying Yasmeen,
of the other way around of
textiles affecting the paper
so much, as is vice versa
in past experiences.
Yes, where something
may be framed
and there's a paper [inaudible]
in the back that ages and --
as it yellows, it's chemically
damaging to the textiles.
But no, I've not seen too much
the other way around either.
We do see dye bleed sometimes.
I've seen certainly other
components affect textiles.
So, one interesting phenomenon
is if glass beads corrode,
their surface products, the
degradation products tend
to be alkaline and they
can change the color
of dyed textiles.
I've seen that happen,
which is interesting.
So, it is an interesting
phenomenon just how much mixed
media objects -- aspects can
affect each other or not.
Maybe we've been
fortunate so far.
>> Jonathan Loar: Okay, I'm
going to jump to a question here
about our collections
at both institutes.
So, "Are there any
fabric collections
that highlight history,
stories, or documents
and design instead
of written documents?
I'm thinking of First Nations
Wampum belts, and other things
that would document agreements,
historical stories,
and the like."
>> Eiichi Ito: Hi, Jon.
I think some of the materials
[inaudible] either have samples
of Japanese textile, and it's
not necessarily [inaudible]
studies of the history
of Japanese textile,
but I've seen some.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell
the type of those books.
But yes.
>> Maria Fusco: I think in the
geography and math division,
correct me Charlotte, there's
some maps from Thailand with --
that sort of tell stories
with embroidered people
and landscapes, and actually
[inaudible] in many cases.
I think you saw those
when you were preparing
for the symposium.
>> Charlotte Giles: Yes.
Can you hear me?
Okay, yes those are the Hmong
People Cloth Story Maps,
and we have four of those.
And I think -- so,
one of them is --
depicts Laos, and I'm trying
to remember where else,
because those -- I'll have
to refer to my colleague,
by Southeast Asian colleagues,
in the Asian Division is
anyone is interested in those.
They're absolutely lovely,
in four different colors.
And stitched by Hmong refugees.
If you are interested in those,
please feel free to reach
out to me via email or through
the Ask a Librarian Service,
and I will be able
to put you in touch
with the Southeast Asian
reference specialists
in the Asian Division.
>> Jonathan Loar: And
Yasmeen and Charlotte,
as you were talking
it reminded me,
that I believe Joshua
wrote a fantastic blog
on these pieces here
just a couple months ago.
So, I'm going to put that
into the chat for everyone.
And this is also an
opportunity to mention
that we have the Library
of Congress Four Corners
of the World Blog, which has
weekly content from Hispanic,
European, African, Middle
Eastern, and Asian Divisions,
and our colleague Joshua wrote
on these Hmong story maps,
all of which are in
Geography and Map Division,
and all of which are digitized
online for everyone's enjoyment.
So, let's see.
I'll move on to-- .
>> Maria Fusco: Can I
add one thing real quick?
>> Jonathan Loar:
Yes, yes, of course.
>> Maria Fusco: I don't,
from the Textile Museum,
I don't have a definitive answer
to that question, but I'm happy
to put you in touch
with my [inaudible].
So, my impression, and none
of these objects have passed
my table in my time here,
was that yes, a certain number
of our textiles from India,
and South Asia, many
of them have a story
of [inaudible] components.
I can't point to
specific examples.
They've not passed my
table, I've been here.
But if anyone's interested
in finding out more,
I'm glad to reach out to
our [inaudible] staff too,
because I'm pretty sure
we do have some examples.
>> Kathy Woodrell:
And this is Kathy.
I would just like to add
that there are some all-fabric
artist books in the Rare Book
and Special Collections
Division.
And in addition, one of the
hooked rugs that Yasmeen showed,
is actually from a
collection that's owned
by the American Folklife
Center, and it's a series
of hooked rugs that
do tell a story.
Several of them tell a story.
So, just to add that.
>> Jonathan Loar: Okay, so we've
got a pair of questions here
for Dan, and your presentation
about the Yongle Encyclopedia.
So, first part of -- well,
one of the questions is,
"What adhesive or
adhesives did you use
on the Yongle Encyclopedia
to put the silk back down?"
And also, "What colorants
did you use
to tone the handmade
paper that you used
for the encyclopedia volume?
>> Dan Paterson: So,
for the first part,
we used two adhesives.
Primarily wheat starch paste,
which is a very [inaudible]
adhesive in book conservation
and paper conservation.
We like its working properties,
and we are quite certain
that the silk was originally put
down with a starch
paste to begin.
So, it seemed sympathetic
to follow up with that.
We did in some cases
also use Lascaux 498
which is an acrylic adhesive,
also widely used in book
and paper conservation.
And it sort of just
depended on the conditions
and the conservators'
choice when deciding
between those two adhesives.
And as for colorants, we used
[inaudible] acrylic paint
to tone the paper.
Acrylic paints are very stable.
Would have a long history
of good properties,
and good working properties.
And so, used acrylic paints,
thinned down with water,
to a really sort of
fluid consistency.
And they were either airbrushed
-- it was either airbrushed
or dipped [inaudible].
>> Jonathan Loar: And we've
also got some questions
about either instructional
resources
or kind of best practices.
So, for example one question
was, "If we have vintage books
or pamphlets at home that
include inlaid textiles,
such as fabric, yarn
samples, things like that,
what would be the best way
for amateurs to store them?"
And just in general,
"Are there any kind
of instructional resources
available for how to take care
of such materials in
people's personal antique
or heirloom collections?"
>> Dan Paterson: I guess I can
start out with that and if Maria
and Yasmeen will jump
in, that's great.
So, I think we are probably
all very big on housing.
So, any kind of enclosure
that you can provide
for the book is a great way to
protect it from light damage
and from dust and from
accidentally falling
or being knocked about.
Certainly, if there
are concerns about --
if there are textile samples
in the book and we're concerned
about the textile
affecting paper,
you could consider
interleaving, and that also kind
of puts the binding at risk.
So, we wouldn't always
necessarily recommend that.
And then, as far as tutorials
or sort of jumping off points,
I would recommend the --
going to the American
Institute of Conservation.
Their home page has some
information about conservation
as a field, and also
finding aids for consulting
with conservators
and things like that.
And that might be a
good starting point
for gathering information
about taking care
of your personal collections.
>> Maria Fusco: Yes,
I -- Maria here.
I just -- I agree with
everything Dan said.
I think Yasmeen may
have shared a link
to Tallace [phonetic]
maybe earlier?
I thought I saw that
[inaudible].
That's a great company out
of Brooklyn and [inaudible].
We purchase a lot of
[inaudible] clamshell boxes,
or [inaudible] boxes with them,
for storage of sample books.
And they're at a
great price point.
Very stably made.
So, I agree with Dan to be --
I'm always kind of [inaudible]
to people about the
massive benefit [inaudible]
good storage.
Just putting something in a box,
buffers it climatically as well.
So, [inaudible].
It also may not be
controlled for humidity
if you put it in a box.
You'd be surprised at
how much that levels
out just the [inaudible].
So, most people ask us
about interleaving as well.
I've seen examples where we
use it and where we don't.
Dan makes a good
point that sometimes
if you're putting too much
interleaving in, it thickens --
it bulks up the book,
so to speak.
So, a long as the book
[inaudible] agitated
or moved around, there's
probably not to be a lot of sort
of you know, abrasion,
so to speak.
But if you were worried,
you could interleave with --
you know, we could
use glass [inaudible].
We've used [inaudible] tissue.
Nonbuffered, but buffered
is a little more alkaline
and that can hurt silk and wool.
But again, Tallace
was a good resource
for those kind of things.
>> Yasmeen Khan: Also,
put in the website
for the American Institute of
Conservation into the chat.
Just one caveat about
interleaving is, as you noticed,
I showed a picture of the
illuminated manuscript
with the silk, green silk,
used as an interleaving.
Sometimes the interleaving
can get folded or creased,
and then you know, you add --
instead of being something that
ends up protecting [inaudible],
it ends up damaging what
you want to protect.
So, that's why I think all
the conservators here --
they conserve to [inaudible].
>> Dan Paterson: Well, said.
>> Maria Fusco: Yes,
and our textiles,
when we're rolling them, we
no longer put interleaving
in when we're rolling either,
for much of the same reasons.
So, we shy away from
interleaving
as a class, more and more.
>> Yasmeen Khan: Good to know.
>> Jonathan Loar: And
we've got one question
that I think everybody has
an experience with here,
both librarians and
conservators.
So, the question
was asking about,
"How the conservation plan
in general works [inaudible]?
Or do conservators you
know, just work on an item
as long as it's needed?"
And I think that's something
that we can maybe begin
with getting the Library
of Congress perspective,
and then also getting the
Textile Museums perspective,
too.
>> Dan Paterson: Yasmeen,
do you want to start?
>> Yasmeen Khan: Sorry, Jon.
I was reading the
chat and I blanked
out on the question [inaudible].
>> Jonathan Loar:
No, that's okay.
So, it's -- a question
is asking about,
like kind of what a conservation
plan looks like at the Library
of Congress, in terms
of you know,
how much time is usually
allotted for items,
or maybe how many
items are worked
on at one particular time?
How long particular items take?
If some take more or less?
You know, just kind of
how that process works.
>> Yasmeen Khan: So,
we have a pretty large
conservation division.
We have about all told, maybe 40
-- 35 people who work on items.
Actually now, because we
ingested another section.
But [inaudible] conservators.
And so, every -- we liaise
with the [inaudible] divisions
of the library, of
which there are 12.
And discuss what their
conservation needs are
for that year.
And we work with them in
teams of [inaudible] people.
And then we bring in the
work we do [inaudible].
It's a treatment, minor
treatments, research, analysis,
[inaudible] the items that
the custodial divisions ask us
to work on, are priorities
for them.
And we try to sit all the 12
custodial divisions priorities
into our workflow [inaudible].
And after we get all
these priorities,
we meet as a management
team and decide what is it
that we can accomplish
that year.
And some treatments go on for
a couple of years, as we --
depending on how
complex they are.
So, we don't one size fits all.
It really is who we have
available, what the priorities
of the divisions are,
the custodial divisions,
and those also change
during the year.
They might have something
that it's a very high priority
in September, but by January,
they've acquired something else,
or actually [inaudible]
for June,
and they're like,
"We want this done.
Can you take the other
stuff off for this?"
And then Dan can
talk a little bit
about how once an object
comes to a conservators desk,
how they prioritize that.
>> Dan Paterson: Yes, I would
just say that we do tend to work
on -- we'll have
several projects at once.
Oftentimes, you reach a stopping
point, and something will need
to dry, or you know, there'll be
a natural break in the project,
and at that point, we might
shift to another project,
and then come back to the
first project at a later time.
But, yes, projects can be
fairly quick in you know,
sometimes a few weeks,
or they can go
on you know, for many months.
It really just depends
on the level
of intervention that's needed
and [inaudible] discussions
of the curator, things
of that nature.
>> Maria Fusco: And our
museum, we operate very much
in an exhibition-oriented
manner.
So, all of the objects we
treat are generally [inaudible]
for near term exhibition.
And we're a smaller staff.
We're three conservators,
[inaudible] every year
between 80 and 200
textile objects.
Oftentimes our treatment is
for a [inaudible] object
is very much oriented
on what [inaudible]
exhibit next.
We work on exhibits
several years out.
So, our lab right now is working
on exhibits open in 2021, 2022.
And each exhibit
can take between 6
to 12 months to prepare.
Our object work varies, as
does the Library of Congress.
Some things are very
brief treatments.
Some things need no
treatment at all.
Some are rather substantial.
So, we may have something
that just takes an
hour or two of work.
Other projects take 40,
50, 60 hours of treatment.
And what we layer in,
is not just treatment
and exhibition work,
there's also mount work
for each exhibit.
So, that takes a very
large part of the pie.
And we do a lot of
preventive care as well.
So, rehousing the
[inaudible] as they come in.
Environmental monitoring
and things like that.
So, we're using [inaudible]
which is one good
aspect of that.
But yes, a lot of our work
is also project management.
Just because a lot of that is
around each exhibit is a bit
of a production and a
project in and of itself.
So, we [inaudible]
from [inaudible],
but we get a fair amount
of treatment in there too.
>> Jonathan Loar: Alright.
I turn it back over
to you, Charlotte,
or do we have another comment?
Sorry?
>> Eiichi Ito: Yes, the
priority is a very big issue
for us, of the conservator.
There are many books,
for example,
[inaudible] collection has
more than about 6,000 titles,
and to take care of them
all, it's really a challenge.
And then priority,
what is the priority?
To serve the people
who come to use?
That's conservation [inaudible]
probably is completely different
from [inaudible].
So that's always
the [inaudible],
which has the top
priority or [inaudible].
>> Charlotte Giles: Alright.
Thank you so much everyone
for attending this session.
I just have a few words that I'd
like to say before we conclude.
We hope that you'll
continue your involvement
by following the library's
international collections
on Facebook, and its Four
Corners of the World Blog
that Jonathan mentioned before.
Through these online platforms,
we are able to share more
information with you all
about little known resources
from across the world,
such as you saw today.
For example, our most
recent blog is a series
of beautifully illustrated maps,
depicting a 19th Century
Chinese emperor's pilgrimage
to a Buddhist mountain.
This blog was written
by Jeffrey Wang,
a Chinese reference specialist
in the Asian Division.
We also have the blog that --
the blog post that was put
in the chat, specifically
about the Hmong's Cloth
Story Maps that are
with the Geography
and Maps Division.
For most posts highlighting
moments in history
through materials at the Library
of Congress, please follow us.
And for more questions,
please reach out to us
through Ask a Librarian.
For questions for Maria
Fusco at the Textile Museum,
please use that email that was
on the previous slide with --
that will take you to her.
The Asian Reading Room is
where users can request
Asian language vernacular
language materials.
The Reading Room and
physical campus of the Library
of Congress remains
closed right now, due --
to the public, during the
pandemic until further notice,
but we are still working
to bring you access
to the materials that
you need for your work.
Users can ask reference
questions
through Ask a Librarian.
You may request interlibrary
loan, electronic items
through your local libraries.
So please, feel free
to reach out to us
in whatever way suits you.
And thank you again for a
really, really fascinating panel
of discussions, and our panel
presentations and discussions.
And we hope that you will keep
up those discussions by reaching
out to us and the Textile Museum
at the George Washington
University.
Thank you.