Flag Conservation - Notable Before & After Photos
1st Michigan Engineers & Mechanics
Before SC-110-90 was sent out for conservation, it was so tattered that it was housed in an archival box. In 1998, the flag was sent to Textile Preservation Associates where it was delicately humidified, flattened and the pieces aligned. It was then sewn between two layers of Stabiltex material.
7th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry
The silk of SC-131-90, a regimental flag of the Seventh Michigan Cavalry, was fractured and small pieces were becoming detached before it was sent out for conservation. In 2008, Fran Faile, a textile conservator from The Henry Ford, conserved the flag by realigning the pieces and then sewing the flag between layers of Stabliltex material.
26th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
In 2018, SC-87-90 was conserved by Textile Preservation Associates. The flag was humidified, realigned and sewn between two layers of fabric, one of Stabylon and one of Stabiltex. When it was completed, the battle honors painted on the flag were much easier to read.
1st Michigan Colored Infantry/102nd United States Colored Troops
SC-109-90, a flag of the First Michigan Colored Troops/102nd United States Colored Troops, was wrinkled and bunched prior to conservation. In 2020 it was conserved by Textile Preservation Associates. Some of the painted areas of the flag had adhered to other areas, so when it was humidified to relax the flag, areas also had to be carefully treated with steam. The flag was then sewn between layers of Stabiltex fabric. When the conservation work was done, part of the original painted motto could be read. In full the motto was “All Men are Born Free and Equal, to Realize Which we Fight”.
3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry
In the 1960’s, SC-9-90 was sewn between layers of dyed net to keep it from falling apart. The flag is made of two layers of silk and at that time a piece material was sewn between the two layers in an effort to fill in spaces where the original flag was missing. Additionally, a modern style fringe was added. The treatment from the 1960’s punched thousands of holes into the original flag and over the years, the added material faded to a purplish color. In 2023, the flag was sent to Textile Preservation Associates for conservation. The previous treatment was carefully removed by snipping each stitch and removing it with tweezers. The flag was then delicately cleaned with a museum grade vacuum and each piece of silk sewn between layers of a synthetic material with minimal stitches going through the flag itself. The layers were then reassembled without fabric between.