Connecting to Collections Care

Hi all,
I am looking for some advice on behalf of a colleague. They have a linen banner they claim is in need of restoration, they say that the lettering on this banner is bleeding and probably some other minor issues. But the letter bleed is the primary concern. Is there anything I can recommend to stabilize this material until they can find a restorer/gather resources for restoration?
I'll be sharing the area conservator resource for them, but I wanted to suggest something in the mean time. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

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Joseph Sherren
{Pronouns: He, Him, His}
Collections Manager, Montpelier Historic Site
Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Laurel MD
(301) 377-7836
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Hi Joseph,

Thanks for your inquiry! Interesting issue...
First off, I agree with your efforts in sharing resources with the institution on conservators practicing in the area. I strongly encourage the institution to hire a trained textile conservator to come in and provide a preliminary assessment and possible subsequent treatment of the banner.
https://www.culturalheritage.org/about-conservation/find-a-conservator

Textiles are not my particular area of expertise; however, when dye bleeding occurs it can most often be linked to water damage/exposure. I've also read that prolonged exposure in elevated temperatures can also cause textile dyes to bleed faster in a humid environment.  A few other culprits, in addition to heat and moisture, responsible for textile deterioration include: pests, physical stresses from improper handling/mounting, inherent vices [such as weighted silk], visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

Is the banner currently on exhibit? Or is it in collection storage?
Either way, I would begin by carefully examining the area where the banner is being exhibited or stored for water leaks or ingress. If the bleeding is new, then there may possibly be a building issue that needs prompt attention. If that is indeed the case, then the institution should de-install or relocate the textile to a safe location and store properly in acid free archival housing. For advice on handling and storing of textiles, I think this NPS article is pretty great. (I often reference this myself!)  https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/Appendix%20K.pdf
If the bleeding is not new, then it may just be an artifact from previous poor storage conditions, improper treatment or washing, etc. As for an actual "treatment" to mitigate the dye bleeding in the interim, I cannot recommend this. Textiles can be very fickle. The best thing you can do for the banner is to provide good preventative care https://www.amnh.org/research/natural-science-collections-conservation/general-conservation/preventive-conservation until you get a conservator in there to assess the situation. 

Please do feel free to contact us with any additional questions, we are standing by!
Best,



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Nicole Peters
Conservator
Peters Art Conservation Services, LLC
Skagway AK
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