Coverlet Storage Make-Over
Swift member Ann Rockwell has been an active volunteer of the Henry County Historical Society for about five years. Henry county established one of Indiana’s first historical societies in 1887, and created the first permanent county museum in the state. Ann tells us a bit about exciting updates in the museum’s textile collection storage area:
“The Henry County Historical Society has in its collection a number of coverlets woven by Samuel Graham who had his shop in New Castle. Storage of these beautiful coverlets has always been an issue. For the last few years, they have been wrapped in muslin and kept on shelving. It was recently decided to roll the coverlets and store them in their separate space. Barry Edstene, volunteer carpenter, drew a rack system made from pvc pipe. The rack was mounted to the wall and the rolls are held in place with brackets that allow the rolls to be removed. Holes will be drilled in the pvc rolls to allow for circulation. Each roll will have a label with the item number for those coverlets held on that roll. The item number is a reference to the information for that particular coverlet. Before any coverlet is put on a roll, it will be inspected and cleaned. The condition of the coverlet will be noted in the coverlet database at the historical society. It is the hope of the historical society that this system will protect the coverlets so that future weavers can enjoy them for many years.”
Visit the Smithsonian Institute for more information about textile storage or check out Preserving Textiles: A guide for the non-specialist by Harold F. Mailand and Dorothy Stites Alig.
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