Finding the Frame Family

The upcoming holidays and the usual end-of-the-year festivities always remind me of family. Whether you like them or not, your family shapes who you are. Your ancestors contributed to who you are today. And your great-grandchildren will be influenced by the choices you make today.

With this in mind, I turned to the topic of “family” for this post. Upon researching early families in the Permian Basin, I came across the Frame family.

The Museum’s Library & Archives Center has several photographs of members of this family. In fact, some of them grace the Museum’s photograph murals in the North Wing. However, our records for those photographs do not provide much, if any, substantial information about the family; I knew James Milton Frame worked in Odessa and Monahans for the Texas & Pacific Railway in the early twentieth century. And he had several brothers and a father in the area.

With such little information, I turned to the Museum’s Reference Library. With over 2000 published titles, many of which are out of print, the Library holds a wealth of information on Permian Basin county histories. Sure enough, several Odessa and Ector County books held photographs and brief captions on the Frame family. Yet, it was not until I turned to Ward County, 1887-1977, published by the Ward County Historical Commission, that I found more details. Apparently, Paul Frame, James Milton’s son, provided recollections and reflections about his family for the tome’s comprehensive history.

Mr. and Mrs. S. Frame had four sons: James Milton, Walter L., Jesse L., and Charles Albert. One was a newspaper editor, one was an agent for the Texas & Pacific Railway, and two were telegraph operators. I’m sure Father Frame never realized the parts his sons would play in the shaping of the Permian Basin!

An expert telegrapher, Walter L. Frame or “Sport” came to West Texas from Kimbolton, Ohio, in 1888 to work as a night telegrapher for the Texas & Pacific Railway. “Sport” brought his brother James Milton to Monahans in 1889 and taught him telegraphy.

James Milton, in turn, worked as a telegraph operator in Midland for several years in the 1890s. (He worked in numerous places, including Metz, Allamore, Odessa, and Pecos, over his twenty-seven years with the Texas & Pacific Railway.) While in Metz, James met Catherine Andrews and they married in Midland in 1895. By 1896, he was the depot agent as well as the postmaster in Monahans. As postmaster, he devised a progressive method to sort the mail: he used “pigeon holes” for the patrons’ mail and could lock the whole thing while away. Together, James and Catherine had three children, daughter Thelma (born 1897), son Paul (born 1900) and son James Eugene (born 1903). After working for the Texas & Pacific, James Milton Frame worked an additional twenty-one years for the El Paso and Southwestern Railway, eventually retiring in 1938 to Ruidoso, New Mexico.

Jesse L. Frame was the newspaper man. In 1906, he helped J. H. Rotramel launch the Ector County Democrat. They were assisted by Charles Judkins and Miss Gertie Rabb. Miss Annie Mae Harkey set type by hand for the paper. Jesse owned and operated the newspaper until 1911.

Charles Albert, the fourth brother, was a long-time telegraph operator in Odessa and in Monahans. Charles married Georgia Hogg from Odessa. He was also elected to the first City Council as an alderman for Monahans in 1928. He passed away in 1960 at the age of 77.

James (sitting) and Walter Frame, circa 1890. At the time of this photograph, James was the night telegraph operator for the Texas & Pacific Railway in Midland, Texas. (From the Paul Frame Collection, 84-016.008.)

Old Section House in Metz, Texas, circa 1893. James and Walter Frame stand on the gallery. By this time, James was the station agent in Metz. (From the Betty Orbeck Collection, 76-094.055)

Interior of the Ector County Democrat office, circa 1906. Jesse L. Frame (standing on the left) owned and edited the paper until 1911. (From the Betty Orbeck Collection, 76-094.060)

Charles, Jesse and James M. Frame at the Monahans Texas & Pacific Railway Depot, circa 1909. Jesse sits on a copy press in the center with Charles to the left and James to the right. By this time, James was the station agent. (From the Paul Frame Collection, 84-016.014)

Interior of James M. Frame’s home in Monahans, Texas, circa 1910. (From the Betty Orbeck Collection, 76-094.153)

Interior of Monahans Texas & Pacific Railway Depot, circa 1910. Standing left to right: James M. Frame, agent; Pink Mitchell, rancher; Cleve Brown; Theo Andrews, roadmaster (at telephone). Sitting left to right: Charles Frame, 2nd trip operator, and S. Frame, father of James M. and Charles. (From the Abell-Hanger Foundation Collection, 76-093.470)

If any information is incorrect or if you have additional information, please contact me by leaving a comment!

Preserving Photographs

With the holidays, particularly Thanksgiving, right around the corner, I cannot help but think of family and tradition at this time of year. Until the New Year, I hope to make posts around this theme. This is just the first of the series.

I came across this post from the Smithsonian Visual Archives blog called "The Bigger Picture" which is updated regularly with images, links and snipets of history. In the post, Nora Lockshin, Paper Conservator at the Smithsonian Institute, describes her mother's project to preserve photographs, those pictorial documents of memories.

Photographs are sensitive objects, especially the older they are, which include daguerreotypes, tintypes, albumen prints, and silver gelatin prints. Typically, the image (created by a variety of materials depending on the kind of print) is suspended in a transparent binder layer (which in turn is made from a choice of materials depending on the process). The image and the binder are both, but individually, sensitive to its environment and each may react differently to it.

Thus, the process to create photographs has changed and developed over time. When photography first became popular in the U.S. in the mid-nineteenth century, daguerreotypes required a light-sensitive silver-plated sheet of copper to be exposed to light and developed over mercury vapor. Nowadays, most photography is digital which requires a whole other set of concerns.

What's important is to know your materials. There is quite a bit of resources out there to aid in preserving photographs. My favorite is Photographs: Archival Care and Management by Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler and Diane Vogt-O'Connor, which appears to be out of print. Check your local public library or museum to see if they have a copy you can review.

Collection Management Policies

Wednesday afternoon, the Museum's Board of Trustees voted to approve the Collection Management Policy I developed for this institution.

This kind of document is very important to any museum and its collection.

According to The New Museum Registration Methods:

Policies for managing collections provide the framework for decisions that determine the long-term development, care, and management of an institution's collections.

John Simmons writes in his article "Managing Things - Crafting a Collections Policy" from the January/February 2004 edition of MuseumNews:

The collections management policy is the institutional policy that governs everything a museum does to care for and grow its collections and make them available to the public.

And Marie Malaro, in A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections, states:

A collection management policy is a detailed written statement that explains why a museum is in operation and how it goes about its business. The policy articulates the museum's professional standards regarding objects left in its care and serves as a guide for the staff and as a source of information for the public.

In other words, the Collection Management Policy (or CMP for short) guides the museum, and in turn its staff, in acquiring, caring for, and (possibly) deaccessioning its collections. It is a hefty document, covering a wide range of topics, from the scope of collections and ethics to acquiring and disposing objects, from providing access to objects (whether by loans or exhibits) to care and maintenance of those objects. By its very nature, the policy is a living document, which needs to be regularly and routinely revised and approved by a governing authority.

From the CMP, an institution can develop a Collection Plan (i.e. long-term plan on what to collect) and procedures on how to do specific tasks. For the last two years, I have been steadily forming the policies and procedures for the Archives & Collections Department here at The Petroleum Museum. However, those documents are only as good as the foundational framework that the CMP provides.

Accessions

Back in July, I posted about how The Petroleum Museum relies on donors' generosity in building our collections.

So what happens after a donor has offered an object to the Museum and it has been accepted? As with many things in the museum-world, there is a process from offer to acceptance to accession. According to The New Museum Registration Methods, accessioning is the act of recording or processing an addition to the permanent collection.

Offers come in all forms: over the phone, in person, via email or regular mail, etc. As I mentioned in my Donor Generosity post, each offer is considered and weighed in light of the Museum's collection needs as well as the Museum's mission, among other criteria.

Once an offer is accepted, first thing I do is write a Gift Acknowledgement letter and Deed of Gift and send it off to the donor. Depending on the object, I may also include an Object History Form to obtain more information for our records. The key is to collect as much information as possible about the donor and the gift. It's this information that gives the object its value!


Above: Deed of Gift for the Statue of Liberty. Document with watercolor, July 4, 1884. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (44) Needless to say, The Petroleum Museum's Deed of Gifts are not watercolored.

Once the Deed of Gift is back in hand, I can fully process and catalogue the object. I use several forms to do so: Accession Checklist, Catalog Sheet, and Condition Report. I also take photos of the object for the file and the database.


Above: Condition Report for cars. A museum's Condition Report is similar.

I can then house the object appropriately. For instance, if the object is a framed painting, I will hang it in the Vault, our framed art storage area. If the gift consists of photographs, I will house them in plastic sleeves and in our photographic cabinets. Sometimes, objects will go directly on display. However, most objects will stay in storage until they are needed for programs or exhibits.

Social Media

Social Media and Web 2.0 have been gaining a lot of momentum in recent years. While I was not (and still am not) an early adopter, I either have used or do use a variety of Web 2.0 tools, such as Facebook, Flickr, Blogger, and Twitter. For instance, I'm not a regular on Twitter but I do follow quite a number of museums to know what's going on.

These tools are perfect for non-profit organizations to use and to disseminate information about their activities and other events. In fact, The Junior League of Midland, Inc. is launching its own Facebook Fan page in order to announce and advertise upcoming community projects and fundraising events.

Yesterday, I registered for a series of webinars sponsored by IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) Connecting to Collections. One of the first sessions is called "Using Social Media to Tell Your Collection's Stories." Colleen Dilenschneider, one of the presenters, posted on her blog about museums and social media. Check it out here.

What is your favorite social media or Web 2.0 tool? How could a museum benefit from its use? Do you connect with any museum through social media?

Or is it weird that I'm using a Web 2.0 technology to discuss social media?

Digital Preservation Management

Last week I was in Austin for a two-day workshop on Digital Preservation Management.

I know what you're thinking ... "But aren't you really concerned with preserving 3D objects?" The short answer is yes and no. Yes, my role here at The Petroleum Museum mostly deals with the 3D objects in the Permanent Collection, as well as the 2D objects (documents, manuscripts, photographs) in the Archives and the books and periodicals in the Library.

However, with this Train to Share grant project well underway, I am increasingly concerned with the digital files created from scanning our photographs. How does an organization deal with all these digital "objects" and their relevant information? The Digital Preservation Management (DPM) workshop attempted to answer that question among others.

The biggest take-away for me from the workshop is the image of the three-legged stool. Digital Preservation relies on three elements equally: technology, organization, and resources; it cannot stand on a single leg.
If any leg is underdeveloped, or overdeveloped, and the stool is whobbly, digital preservation will not last for the long-term. DPM is something one has to carefully plan and invest in.

While The Petroleum Museum is not quite ready for long-term digital preservation, we are on our way, especially thanks to the Train to Share project. The worksthop provided tools so that our institution could invest fully in digital preservation in the future.

Natural History Specimens as Social Media Celebrities

I stumbled upon this interesting interview that I thought to share. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Natural History Specimens as Social Media Celebrities

Afterward, become friends with The Petroleum Museum's resident iguana, Liz Frizzle on Facebook!

Learn from Mistakes or Words of Caution

Eek! It's been almost a month since I last posted! My apologies in my failure to be a good blogger. I will try to be better from now on ...

Last week was a very hectic one. Between prepping and installing the new exhibit, The Movement Westward and getting ready for the Museum's Birthday Bash celebrating 35 years (not to mention the West Texas Cruisers Car Show that Saturday and some personal projects I needed to get done), life at the Museum was on full-steam.

AND then I made a HUGE mistake.

On Wednesday, the day before the party itself, the day I worked all-day on proofing, printing and laminating the exhibit labels, I goofed big. While trying to do too many things at once on my computer, namely back-up the files on the Musem's server onto my external hard drive, I accidently deleted several folders on the server. (The folders were highlighted when I tried to delete another folder also highlighted.) They were gone.

Luckily, I save those files on a monthly basis. I had those folders from the last back-up, a month prior. In the end, I only lost about about a month's worth of work, from correspondence to the cataloguing project. I'm not too worried about the correspondence because I save hard copies in object files. I'm more worried about the cataloguing work which was saved as an Excel spreadsheet. Because of the stress of the week, I couldn't let myself worry too much about it!

So now I have to take information from the database and the object files, and recreate the spreadsheets. At least I only am missing three years (1980 - 1982)! It could be worse, a lot worse; I could be missing two decades worth of work. In the words of Monty Python, "Look on the bright side of life!"

Puzzle Pieces

Several months ago, Fifi, the Museum's Gift Shop Manager, brought two prints down to my office. She said, "These were given to the Museum when Kathy and Cheryl [former Education Director] attended a conference in 2005."


Print #1: Derricks, After the Rain


Print #2: Evening Brea Canyon

"Gee, thanks. That helps a lot," I thought sarcastically. I set them aside to deal with later.

Fast forward several months and I reach a stopping point in my cataloguing project last week. So I turn my focus on the above-mentioned prints. Taking a close look at the prints, I realize they are signed by the artist JoAnn Cowans.

So I google her ... Sure enough, she has a website. And after a few clicks, I find the two prints on there. "Okay," I think. "This is the right artist." Then I click on her email address and write the following missive:

My name is Leslie Meyer and I am currently the Director of Archives & Collections at The Petroleum Museum. We have come across two prints of your paintings in our collections and have no idea who gave them to us. One is “Derricks, After the Rain” and the other is “Evening Brea Canyon”; both numbered #21 out of 400. They both have Certificates of Authenticity attached as well. I’ve attached photographs of each.

I am hoping you can help me. Do you keep records as to which numbers go to whom? If so, do you know who originally obtained these prints? I’m trying to track down who gave these lovely prints to the Museum.

The next day, JoAnn Cowan herself calls me to discuss this message. During our conversation, she indicates that I should contact Bruce Wells, Executive Director of the American Oil & Gas History Society. You see, JoAnn donated several prints to him to hand out as gifts. Ms. Cowan assures me that she would reach out to him about this.

After I didn't hear anything further, I decide to reach out to Bruce Wells myself. I find his email address online and write the following yesterday:

I am hoping you can help me with a puzzle.

I got your name from Jo Ann Cowans regarding two prints of her artwork that the Museum currently has in its possession. From what I understand, the two prints, “Derricks, After the Rain” and “Evening Brea Canyon”, were given to Kathy Shannon, Executive Director, and a fellow colleague while attending a conference in 2005 or so. Both are numbered #21 out of 400 and signed by the artist; and they both have Certificates of Authenticity attached. (Images of both are attached to this email.)

I contacted Ms. Cowans asking if she maintained records on who received which numbers of the limited prints. When she called me, she mentioned that you had obtained several prints of her artwork to hand out as gifts. Would you happen to be the donor of these two prints to The Petroleum Museum? If so, I would need you to complete a Deed of Gift and other necessary paperwork to finalize the transaction. If not, would you happen to know who might be?

And, sure enough, he calls me today. Mr. Wells confirms that he did indeed give those two prints to Kathy and Cheryl while they were attending an oil education conference in Wichita, Kansas, in 2005. What luck!

I absolutely LOVE these kinds of puzzles ... from a seemingly dead-end, I follow the trail to the end! From two prints given 5 years ago, I now have a donor. The Deed of Gift is already in the mail!

Survey

I know it's been a while since I've last posted anything ...

For one, it's been pretty quiet here at The Petroleum Museum. For the last couple of weeks, I've been pounding away at the cataloguing project of the archives and library acquisitions. Mixed in with that, I've been balancing other regular duties and responsibilities as well as helping elsewhere.

And when I think about this blog, I wonder what to write about in light of what I've been working on ... So I want to ask you (my fair and few readers), what would you like to hear more about?

Here are some ideas:

* Museum Processes
* Photographs
* Identify this Object
* Current Topics in Museum World

Please leave a comment with a suggestion!

Turkish Museums (Part I)

I apologize for the month-long hiatus; I recently returned from a 2-week vacation in Turkey . . . I hope you missed me as much as I missed you!




During that time, I saw the historical sites of Istanbul and many museums and archeological sites all over the country. Turkey offers a plethora of Greek and Roman city sites (more than Italy, according to the tour guide!) including well-known Ephesus and Troy as well as hidden gems Hierapolis and Aphrodiasis.

With such a wealth of history and a treasure trove of collections, I was confused by the museological choices those museums and sites made.

One museum, the Archeological Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, had been named the European Museum of the Year in 1997. After seeing that announcement, I was excited to enter the museum building, interested to learn from such a recognized institution. However, upon entering, I was shocked by the display of objects. Cases held numerous objects without any labels or context. Where was the story? How did the objects, the sections, the civilizations relate to each other? I often was unsure what I was looking at!






Above: Views of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.

Unfortunately, most of the museums we visited during our tour held similar exhibits. The numerous objects got in the way of learning about the relevant topic. The lack of labels (in English or even Turkish) was very disappointing and often raised the question "What is that?"

Only one exhibit really stood out as "modern" -- the Sacred Objects at Topkapi Palace. Installed in 2007, the exhibit holds the most sacred relics and gifts to the Ottoman Sultans, including Moses' staff and David's sword. I noticed climate controlled cases and fiber optic lighting.


Above: View of the Sacred Objects rooms. Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures inside!

So now I'm curious to learn more about museums in Turkey. How is that a country with such a wealth of culture and history sadly lags behind in museum methods?

I put out a call to the email listserv Registrar's Committee of the American Association of Museums (RC-AAM). One person responded stating that they would be returning to the States after August 13th and would be willing to discuss Turkish museums with me. I'll keep you posted as to what I find out!

Do you know ...

about these photos? Leave a comment if you have anything to add!


Chuck wagon of the Renderbrook Spade Ranch about 1900. Photo from Betty Orbeck Collection.

W. L. Ellwood, owner of the ranch, is shown sitting just to the left of the chuck wagon. Others in the picture are, from left to right: E. "Ching" Enyart, Sid Rowe, unidentified man, U. D. Wulfjen, John Lane (nearest camera), W. L. Ellwood, Perry Bracy (cook, standing at chuck box), Sig Lane and D. N. Arnett, manager of the ranch from 1891 to 1912.

It is interesting to note that Ellwood, the ranch owner, and J. F. Glidden, both of De Kalb, Illinois, were the inventors of barbed wire and manufactured the wire. Ellwood realized the possibilities of the cattle industry in Texas because of the great quantities of wire being shipped to Texas. So it was that he came to look the situation over for himself and bought the Renderbrook Spade Ranch in 1889.


"Come and Get It" -- Chuck time for an unidentified West Texas outfit, no date. Photo from Betty Orbeck Collection.


Spring branding at the Renderbrook Spade Ranch in Mitchell County, Texas about 1900. Photo from Betty Orbeck Collection.

At this time, Colonel Isaac Ellwood of Illinois owned the ranch, which took its name from Renderbrook Springs. Operations had begun on the ranch about 1878 when J. Taylor Barr built a two-room house of chittim poles, with a thatched roof of tules overhead and no floor. Barr sold out to the Snyder brothers in 1882 and in 1889 the ranch was bought by Colonel Ellwood who held part interest in the first patent to manufacture barbed wire in the United States.

Identified in the branding scene are Sam Moreland, Sid Rowe, U. D. Wulfjen, E. "Ching" Enyart (holding the calf's head), Sig Lane (holding the calf's feet), John W. Cathey, George Latty and an unidentified man.

Donor Generosity

Lately, it seems people are coming out of the woodwork to offer items to the Museum. In the past week, I've gotten calls, emails and in-person visits from people all over the country offering objects ranging from scrapbooks to posters to drilling rigs.

Museums, like The Petroleum Museum, strive on the generosity and thoughtfulness of people like that. While cataloguing the permanent and archival collections, I've quickly realized that The Petroleum Museum would not be the kind of institution it is without the generosity of donors from all over the country. These donors were often repeat-offenders, offering items of all types frequently over several years.

However, not everything can, or even should, be accepted into a museum's collection. If it did, then the collection would be quite large and undefined. A museum is defined by its relationship with its collections, starting with the accumulation and acquisition of things. However, acquisition of objects for the collections should be done carefully and thoughtfully. According to Marie C. Malaro, in her book A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections:

Without clear direction, poor decisions are bound to be made, and for a museum, many such "mistakes" have no easy solutions. The best approach is prevention, and today an almost essential preventive measure is the adoption and implementation of a collection management policy.

A Collection Management Policy offers guidelines regarding various aspects from acquisition and accession to security and storage to deaccession. (I've posted about security and deaccesion already.)

Here at The Petroleum Museum, our Collection Management Policy outlines the criteria on which we can accept (or conversely deny) a donation. Any object considered for acquisition will only be accepted if it meets the following criteria:.

* The object must be relevant to the Museum’s mission, purpose and collection scope.
* The object has historical or scientific merit and/or has historical or cultural significance.
* No object shall be acquired for the collections if the Museum cannot give it proper storage, protection and preservation.
* The Museum will not knowingly accept any object acquired by either illegal or unethical means.
* Unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, the Museum will only accept unrestricted gifts for acquisition wherein free and clear title shall be obtained without restriction as to use or future disposition.
* The Museum should seek to secure copyright license on all acquisitions.
* The Museum will not acquire redundant copies or duplicate objects or collections unless it is deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees.

We at The Petroleum Museum try to be careful and thoughtful in what we do accept into the Museum's collections. The main questions we ask ourselves are: (1) Does this support our mission to share the petroleum and energy story of the Permian Basin? Is the object relevant to the Permian Basin? (2) Does this duplicate other objects in our collection? (3) Does the object have historical, technical and/or cultural significance? Does the object support a story we have to tell through our exhibits?

We truly do appreciate all the offered donations. However, several factors, including those listed above, play into our decision-making process.

If you would like to learn more, feel free to leave a comment. Or check out the above books. Marie Malaro's A Legal Primer is a must have for any museum or museum professional. She touches on every legal aspect related to a museum's collection. John E. Simmons' Things Great and Small is a textbook on Collection Management Policies and a must-have for anyone who needs to draft one. Click on the image to go to Amazon listing of each book.

Stolen Goods

A couple of days ago, I received an email from a grad school friend, Heather Hope Stephens. (You can read her museum-related blog here. She offers an interesting mixture of legal insight and museum mentality with her posts. I encourage you to check it out!)

The email was essentially a link to the following article. The British Guardian article highlights what could be a serious lack of security at London's cultural institutions during the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics. The reporter recollects an earlier incident:

During the 1994 winter Olympics in Norway, thieves stole Edvard Munch's painting The Scream from the Oslo National Art Museum and left a note that said: "Thanks for the poor security."

After reading the article, I am shocked that security might not be a priority at these institutions during such a world-wide event. Makes one wonder what "criminal attacks" are happening in South Africa during the World Cup.

Security is a serious issue for museums and other public institutions. Yes, museums are intended for the public. People from the community are encouraged to come inside (or outside) and tour the various spaces to view the numerous objects on display and read the text associated with those objects. In recent years, museums have increasingly become centers for the community.

Yet, museums must maintain security to protect those numerous objects both on display and in storage while keeping visitors safe. Prohibiting visitors from touching and handling objects allow those items to be kept for a long time so that visitors in the future may enjoy them. Also, state and federal laws regarding accessibility (e.g. ADA) regulate building structure as well as exhibit design to a certain extent. So that everyone may enjoy the museum, security deterrents should be low-key but effective. It's a delicate balancing act.

Here at The Petroleum Museum, we have several security deterrents in place. From stanchions to alarms, some work better than others to dissuade visitors from getting too close. Hopefully, though, they do not hinder visitors' enjoyment of their museum-going experience.

What do you think? Leave a comment!

Modern Marvels

For me, Saturday mornings tend to be relaxing. I may or may not dust and vaccuum and I may or may not watch television. This past Saturday, however, I decided to flip through the channels and happened across the History Channel's Modern Marvels.

I was instantly engrossed with the episode. Instead of investigating food processing or other technology, this particular episode was about the Library of Congress, "The Real National Treasure." The description of the episode says it all:

Where in Washington D.C. is the nation's most incredible treasure chest? It's a library unlike any other in the world--the U.S. Library of Congress. Explode the myth that this 200-year-old institution is simply "where members of Congress borrow books." Viewers are taken beyond the magnificent Jefferson Building Great Hall into the secret vaults where more than 600 miles of shelves hold 130 million items, many of them priceless treasures--from George Washington's hand-written diaries to Galileo's first images of the moon to the original camera film of the movie Frankenstein. See how a staff of 4,000 catalogues protects and preserves these treasures and distributes them globally via a new World Digital Library.

The Library of Congress (LoC) has a HUGE collection containing millions of objects which are individually catalogued, researched and housed. I was slightly jealous (okay, REALLY jealous) of the resources available to the LoC. The govermentally funded institution has thousands of collection specialists, cataloguers, preservation specialists, and copyright specialists on staff. Not to mention the storage facilities available to the growing collection! If only every museum, library and archives had those kinds of resources on hand ...

If you are flipping through television channels, and happen upon this episode, pull up a seat and enjoy the ride. It's not to be missed!

Packing Textiles

After I removed the wedding dress (see my previous post), I offered to pack the dress to protect it from damage and harm. What follows is a step-by-step of how to pack a textile, such as a dress.

According to The Winterthur Guide to Caring for Your Collection (The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc., 2000), "Providing good storage is the best thing that anyone can do to preserve their collection." The text goes on to outline general guidelines:

* Do not store textiles in direct contact with wood. The acid from wood can cause embrittlement.
* Use chemically inert, acid-free materials (boxes, rolls, etc.).
* Never store textiles with sharp folds or creases. As fabric fibers age, they become brittle and will break where folded. Use acid-free tissue to pad the folds and creases.
* Small textiles should be stored flat. If you must stack, place the heavier textiles beneath the lighter fabrics, interlacing acid-free tissue.

Packing textiles is fairly simple and based on common sense. You just need the right materials.


Acid-free boxes, acid-free tissue, and white cotton gloves are a must. I had the pair of scissors to cut the tissue from a large roll that I have.


The spread: acid-free box, dress, slip, shoes and other accessories


Remove the tag with the loan number.

THE SLIP
I went ahead and placed the slip on the bottom layer of the box. (1) After lining the box with tissue paper, I laid the slip's skirt in the bottom of the box. (2) After padding the fold, I laid down the top half. (3) I then placed a layer of tissue paper on top.





THE DRESS
(1) I did the same steps with the dress, padding the folds. (2) I also padded the shoulders and sleeves as well as (3) the fold of the belt.





THE BOX
For the hat, I padded inside the crown (1) and around the brim (2). I then added padding in the rest of the box to protect the layers even more (3). Finally, (4) the box is ready for the lid.






THE SHOES
I packed the shoes in their own box since Kathy's daughter wanted to try them on. Generally, they would be packed at the bottom layer of the dress box. However, in this case, it works better that they are packed separately. The shoes are heavier and more substantial than the slip and dress combined.

(1) I stuffed the toes of the shoes to protect them from being smushed. (2) and (3) I then placed the shoes in the acid-free tissue lined acid-free box, using more tissue paper to pad around and between the shoes. Finally, (4) the box is ready for the lid.






This process is really easy and simple to do. As I said before, it just takes the right materials and a bit of common sense. If you have an heirloom piece of clothing or a wedding dress that you want to protect for the long-run, I highly recommend you properly store it. Storing a fragile garment in the right conditions and environment will protect it for years to come.

The Ole Switcheroo ... Sort Of

So, you may notice that it's not Friday. In fact it's Thursday ... almost a week AFTER the Friday mentioned in my previous post. Short story is that I misspoke -- I really should confirm everything before I say (or write) things like that on this blog. I hope you will forgive me.

Swtiching out the dresses in the Memorabilia Room in the East Wing was postponed to this past Wednesday. I needed Edward to open the case (which only opens on one narrow side) and I recruited Michelle to help since Whitney was gone all week. Little did I know that the change of plans was an omen of things to come ...

On loan to the Museum since 2002, the wedding dress with shoes belongs to Kathy Shannon, Executive Director, and was worn by her grandmother. Kathy's oldest daughter, recently engaged, wants to wear her great-grandmother's shoes. Kathy asked if I could switch out the dresses in the case and return the wedding dress and shoes. Looking into my records, I discovered that those dresses had been on display since 2002 when Kathy loaned the wedding dress and the black dress was donated to the Museum. Eight years is a little long for clothing to be on display. It was certainly time to switch out dresses!


After removing the glass panel of the case and some of the objects, Edward and Michelle work on removing the mannequin with the wedding dress.




I undress the mannequin. I remove the hat and veil and then I remove the shoes (size 5 1/4!). Michelle and I managed to remove the mannequin arms so that the dress slipped over the head.

I had selected two dresses from the Permanent Collection to replace the wedding dress and black flapper dress.



I unpack the navy organza and satin dress with rust trim.



I attempt to dress the mannequin.

Despite valiant efforts by Michelle and I, we were unable to dress the mannequin. The mannequin was too big for the dress. Plus, the fabric was so fragile that there were rips and tears throughout. The navy dress was not in good condition for display.


I decided to take a look at the red georgette dress. It too was in poor condition.



The dress and jacket are made of georgette. The fabric now is very fragile and torn in places. Notice the white spot on the jacket -- that's a hole.


I look at my list to see of potential replacements.

So what to do? We can't put a naked (pronounced nak-id) mannequin back in the case. And I didn't think I had anything else in the Permanent Collection in good enough condition to be on display.

Our solution? Keep the black flapper dress. Rearrange objects within the case and from the room to fill in the case. Because of the nature of the display case (mainly, one opening at a narrow end), I ended up being a contortionist. The following shots are of me maneuvering the case, moving objects and being a little silly.


"Look at me, I'm a mannequin."



Moving objects so that the case is balanced and aesthetically pleasing.



The final result.

STAY TUNED (this time for real): Tomorrow, I'll show you how I packed the wedding dress. If you want to "heirloom" your own wedding dress, follow these simple steps!