The "After" Life of an Enormously Large Basket and its Lid

Our story begins with this large box, a box that clearly has seen better days. It was covered with old, peeling, tape and rested on a wooden pallet in the middle of a climatized warehouse. What was inside? That was the question, and to make it all the more mysterious, when the box was mentioned, it was always spoken about in a hush voice, as if we were afraid the box would know we were asking about it.

This box of mystery is owned by the Department of Interior, and it was part of a larger project to rehouse over 800 baskets in the collection. When we saw this box, we had no idea what was inside, and little did we know what we would find.

The very large cardboard box.

When the lid was finally pried off and the tape released, all that could be seen was the lid to a preposterously large basket. The lid seemed lost as clearly there was damage. A rim somewhere was broken, and was now just resting on the lid. The basket below was wrapped and appeared protected. Perhaps too protected, as no one had any idea what it was and it had never been unwrapped during a time when any present DOI staff member could remember!

Finally, it was time to see what we had. The box was carefully brought into the workspace and the outer cardboard walls and layers of wrapping materials were removed. The lid of the basket was lifted, to find that the entire basket was full of polyester batting!  

What we found was a wonderfully preserved coil construction basket with slightly tapering sides, covered with images of several birds within a diamond lattice design. The birds were depicted as flying or swimming, and some with wings raised. The records showed that it was believed to be a Tohono O'odham basket, possibly made with yucca, Devil's claw and cattails. If you are not familiar with the Tohono O'odham, they are a people of the desert southwest, living in an area at the southern border of Arizona.  Tohono O'odham means "desert people" in their language, and they are well-known for their contemporary coiled basketry.

One of the many birds.

The materials used to construct the basket were in good shape, however, it is the shape and overall weight of the basket was not helping it. The lower third of the basket was buckling under its own weight, and in a matter of time, tears and weak areas were going to develop. Certainly from the photos you can see this basket is incredibly large, to be specific it was 91" tall and 84" around at its largest point.

Like all the other baskets treated in this collection, it (and its lid) was vacuumed, both inside and out. And then we had to address the most pressing issue, how to support the weakening base? It was, after all, the inherant-vice of the weight of the basket that was causing the bulges to appear. The flaring shape just was not conducive of its size and weight.

The loose band of coiling was found to be part of the lid's
 internal rim. It was determined to keep the rim with the lid
but not reattacted.

Supporting the lower sides, both inside and outside, was the decision made and was no easy feat when tackling such a large artifact. What was decided was to produce a "girdle" of sorts. The girdle would wrap around the outer surface, while internal braces were positioned inside. Below are images of the various steps.

Blue board was scored at even intervals. Here Shaun and
Toosie are positioning the boards.

The measured boards were secured and lined
with Ethafoam sheeting.

Shaun and Ron Harvey doing final adjustments.

The ends were trimmed diagonally for a snug fit.

Internal supports that braced the interior sides.

Shaun adjusting the securing outer straps.

The rehoused, and now fully supported basket!

The basket along with the batting that was inside.

The basket is still a mystery in that we are not sure what it was specifically made for, when exactly it was made, or even if it was made by a Tohono O'odham member. The Tohono O'odham are possibly the largest seller of Native baskets, so they not only produced the baskets for traditional utilitarian purposes, they also made them for ritual uses and to sell to tourists. A basket of this size is not typical, so I wonder was it made for collecting a lot of beans? Or perhaps a huge laundry hamper for a family with a bunch of kids? Or perhaps it is so unique because it was made for a ritual or particular occasion, if so, what was its purpose?

_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.

The conservation of a LIBERTY flag

By Gwen Spicer and Barbara Owens

237 years of freedom and independence. Each year at this time I am in awe of our forefathers, not just the famous ones, I mean the farmers and tailors, the blacksmiths, the coopers, and the like. These are the men who were not among the influential, yet these are the colonists who made the revolution for independence not only happen, but be successful in the face of what seemed to be certain failure.

Broadside calling the Sons of Liberty to meet.

The Sons of Liberty were composed of these very men. Their story begins with Liberty groups springing up all over the colonies originally in opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765, and then in growing opposition to other unfair taxes (tea, intolerable, etc) that were being imposed onto the colonies without their consent as they had no representation in Parliament - hence, the iconic phrase: "No Taxation Without Representation".

You cannot mention the Sons of Liberty without reference to the Liberty Poles. The Sons of Liberty would meet under a large tree in town. The British would order the tree cut down, and the Sons of Liberty would erect a pole in its place. And each time the poles were ordered cut down, they were  replaced with a bigger pole, a thicker pole, or poles covered in iron or spikes. Do you get the idea that these are some incredibly stubborn colonists?

Now to the top of the Liberty Poles, where you would begin to find one of the earliest flags to unite the colonists - The Liberty Flag. These Liberty Flags are the flags which first stood simply for, what else?  Why, Liberty of course! The idea behind the flag is that the colonies were united in their belief that they could not be subject to British taxes being levied on the colonies alone, and not give colonists representation in Parliament. These particular flags were as simple as the message - a solid background, probably red, but many were blue, with white letters of silk ribbon spelling out "LIBERTY" in capital letters. Other Liberty flags have 9 vertical red and white stripes representing the nine colonies (1765), and some have the image of the snake cut into nine parts. And even others depict a solitary great tree.
(See images below)

In true early American style, there was no rule for the design of these flags, and I suppose for the colonists the message was more important than what it was written on. I love that these flags were not respected by the English. Written records exist that indicate when a flag of this kind was captured or cut down from a liberty pole, English soldiers would mock the flag as there were no two alike and that they looked like they were made from draperies or perhaps an old ball gown. How fabulous is that!? The flags did not merit their respect, but wherever they went in the colonies, these flags were there. While that probably should have been a "red flag" to the British soldiers that colonist throughout were woefully dissatisfied and were uniting under a single message, the colonist continued to be underestimated.

If I have not mentioned before, Spicer Art Conservation has carved out a wonderful niche in that we have the honor of treating a tremendous amount of flags, some of which are the most notable symbols from our nations history. I cannot tell you how exciting it is to be invited to treat these legendary artifacts, other than to say each time it is obvious how special these flags are. I completely understand how vexillologists and avid collectors are as passionate as they are.

On display at the Schenectady County Historical Society.

Photo of the flag outside the home of Nicholas Veeder who is reported to have carried the flag in the Battle of Saratoga. Veeder lived to be 101 and it is said he kept the flag all those years, bringing it out only on July 4th to march with it in the Schenectady parade.

I have treated revolutionary war flags, but perhaps the oldest flag I have ever treated is the pre-revolutionary "Liberty Flag" from the Schenectady Historical Society. There is no absolute date for the manufacture of this flag, but as they appeared just after the stamp act of 1765, I think it is safe to say this is the oldest I've treated. As far as I am aware this is the only Liberty flag left from the pre-revolution days of the Sons of Liberty. The Liberty Flag survived only because it was carefully and lovingly kept by a family for many years. Not a unique story in that any of the flags that have survived through history have a similar background - they are  given a place of honor, they are carefully kept and brought out only on very special occasions, therefore limiting their exposure to light and excessive handling.

Here is the home of the Liberty Flag today. The flag is kept
under protective cover to  limit its exposure to light.

As you can see from the photos, the Liberty Flag has areas where very little of the fabric is left. I have read that this is because the family who held the flag received a request to have the flag displayed at a fair in the 1800s (I do not have a lot of details). However, the flag, was not so much displayed as it was run up a pole and allowed to flap in the wind and cook in the sun - OH NO!  No wonder the lower fly edge is so shredded. I wonder what condition it would be in if that had not happen.

Each time I treat an American Flag, it says a great deal about the time in history it was made. The number of stars of course is the most indicative factor to determining it's historical timeframe. And sometimes those stars are scattered across the canton in great designs. And the various fabrics, the lindsay-woolsey, silk, cotton; and the sewing styles - machine or hand, each lends a hint to when the flags were being constructed.

For me the Liberty Flag is the enduring symbol of independence. It is a symbol of revolution at its finest and it is a testament to the underdog. I also love that the United States has such an interesting history of flags that have represented our nation. So many colors and styles and designs, each of them similar, yet different, but each a statement of how fiercely independent we are as a people.

Read more about the Liberty Flag in this great blog: http://gremsdoolittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2012/01/liberty-flag-in-schenectady.html

_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.

The conservation of textiles or objects often begins with dirt, dirt, and more dirt

by Gwen Spicer

At the end of the day, does your collection of swabs look like this?

Much of the work that conservators perform on collections is removing surface dirt. Either mechanically with swabs, picks, or brushes; or capturing with vacuums. Much of this dirt has been accumulating while the artifact has been at the museum (often called "museum dirt") and is not the dirt that is associated with use or historical significance.

Summer begins today and with it comes a very busy time at historic homes and museums. Smaller institutions with a limited open season see all of their visitors in this short time before they close down again for the cold months of winter. So what kind of effect does this quick and short influx of visitors  have on these places? The answer is that the extra traffic can have a profound impact, but if great care is taken to monitor for dust and dirt, then that impact can be made minimal. This is true not just for the small institution, but for the large institution as well where visitors are seen year-round.

This chest is covered in animal hair, but along with it, is dust, (lots of it) and closer inspection reveals insect and water damage.  Prevention could have made a substantial difference here.

Common dust components can be anything from soil, soot or insects (that perhaps you would expect to find), to the hair and skin particles from humans or animals, to the paint or plaster from a home, or could be things like particles of paper, food, fiber, or heaven forbid - mold. Dust is bad enough by itself, and this is nothing new as Susannah Whatman, in her iconic housekeeping book of 1776, so aptly indicated when she said, "Places where dust lodges should be attended to. Otherwise, if left too long, it takes a long time and much labor to get it off". Is there something worse than leaving dust undisturbed for too long? Yes, and it is a simple and deadly equation: Dust + Humidity = "dirt cement" = hard or damaging to remove. This is why a favorite saying in conservation is: "Prevention is better than cure".

Sticky samples to the rescue! Simple prevention does not get simpler than this. Sticky samples collect and show the evidence of what is in the environment. Most importantly they indicate how often an area needs to be cleaned. It should be of no great surprise that when the samples below were examined, the samples farthest from the visitor "rope" showed less dust pollutants. The moral of the story here is to put the objects you want to clean less, farther away from the traffic flow. Another interesting tidbit is that the samples at the beginning of the tour have much more dust than the sticky samples at the end of the tour.  Of even further interest is that the sticky samples on the floor have far more dust collected than the samples on a table or up even higher. In fact 4 feet from the ground is the magic number. Here is the least "dusty" space.  However, move up above the average person's eye-level and things start getting dusty again.  This makes sense - when was the last time you looked at the top of your refrigerator?

The white squares indicate where tested, at regular intervals from the path of a visitor (the red rope is the limit of the visitors contact)

Is seems that there is a fine line between a historic institution having the right amount of dust (i.e. what is acceptable to the visitor vs. what comes off as making the institution look "uncared" for.) As conservators, curators, and archivists, we have all studied patterns of dirt and soiling migrations within environments. And as one might suspect, it is mainly the visitors themselves who bring the dirt and soiling into museums and historic homes. Folks like Mr. Peter Brimblecombe of the University of East Anglia, UK and others who have studied and monitored such things are able to provide us with the knowledge of how the movement and deposition of dirt and particulates damages historic homes, museums, archives and libraries.

But could there be a time when this is not the case? And a conservator's first step of treatment will not be surface cleaning or vacuuming?

Homes, work space, and other public spaces are all becoming more and more clean. Modern building construction is tighter to be more energy efficient. Windows are not made to open in some buildings because a HVAC system is in place, and these systems are equipped with sophisticated filters, able to wisk the air clean of particles and debris to the micron level.  Society itself has become more concerned than ever before with hygiene. There are biological antiseptic hand wipes, washes, and cleaners, all to keep our environments clean and germ free. Plus there are improved vacuum cleaners with fine particulate filters like HEPA and speed regulation.

How is this going to effect a conservator's work in the future? Could it be that vacuuming as a first step not be needed? What do you think?

Notes: Housekeeping is one of my favorite topics and more will come, but it is impossible to talk about dust in its entirety in a brief blog post. If you want to read some wonderful articles, please visit Professor Peter Brimblecombe's web page where you will find links to his mountains of publications about dust, historical places and the environmental factors that can cause damage. He may be more passionate about housekeeping than I am!

_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.

The conservation of a Betsy Ross flag

by Gwen Spicer

Not long ago this small and sweet flag came into the studio. I have read about these but had never had the opportunity to treat one. Often referred to as "Gift Flags" these were very small hand-sewn silk flags. This particular flag measure 5 5/8" H x 9 5/8" W, others were similarly sized. The flags are typically attributed to Betsy Ross' granddaughter or great-granddaughter. This particular one has been nicely labeled and we know (from the two inscriptions that are present on the hoist) that it was: "Made by Sarah M. Wilson, Great-granddaughter of Betsy Ross" which is printed on the obverse side, and "East Wing of Independence Hall. Phila. November 21st 1908" which is printed on the reverse side.  

Obverse-side of the small silk flag

Many of these small flags were sold by Ross's descendants, and can be found in other collections. These flags are mentioned as being made by either Sarah Wilson or Rachel Albright (Albright being the granddaughter of Ross) and were sold as souvenirs from the East Wing of Independence Hall. It also appears that some of these flags were also given to larger contributors to the Betsy Ross Association, which was an organization to preserve the house which was believed to be inhabited by Ross when she sewed the First American Flag (more about that below).  

Reverse-side of the flag

The Betsy Ross story is probably one of the most heavily (and heatedly) debated legends. Volumes have been written, and both sides of the argument have valid points. But one thing that is not disputable is that Betsy Ross was a flag maker (if not THE flag maker) and a great legend has grown around her. My guess is that we will never know without a doubt if she did sew the first flag.  



Detail of the obverse-side of the hoist

The "ring of star" or 13 five-pointed stars found on the canton is considered the Betsy Ross pattern.  

It has been proposed that perhaps the only reason we know about Betsy Ross is that her grandson, William Canby, was a great promoter. He appeared before the Historical Society in Philadelphia in 1877 to announce his grandmother's contribution to history, his proof was in the form of signed affidavits from Ross' daughter, granddaughter and niece. But no other evidence exists to prove that what they swore was totally true, slightly embellished, or completely fabricated.

We have all heard the story; Betsy Ross sits in her shop on Arch Street in Philadelphia, surrounded by the girls who do needlework for her, when in through the door walks George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross (two members of the Continental Congress). They show her what they think the flag should look like, Betsy makes some suggestions, most importantly the use of a 5-pointed star, rather that than a six-pointed, and she shows the gentlemen how to make one with a particularly folded cloth and a snip of the scissors. The men take their leave and Betsy gets busy sewing the flag with the iconic circle of 13 stars.

239 Arch Street, which was originally 89 Arch Street, aka "The Betsy Ross Flag House" - shown left in 2012 and right,  c. 1900. No one is sure if Betsy Ross really lived here (it could have been the house next door) as she and her husbands always rented, to further muddle the mystery the house numbers in Philadelphia have changed over the years.

Weisgerber's painting.

To further the legend, Charles Weisgerber, an amateur painter, enters a contest to portray a historical Philadelphia event (see his painting above). He creates a purely fictional scene for the painting which he titles: "Birth of our Nation's Flag". Interesting to note that the painter and another gentleman purchased the Betsy Ross House and created the Betsy Ross Memorial Association. The two men would be later accused of financial impropriety for selling "subscriptions" to the association (the association saw little of the funds). The association tried to rid themselves of the house as it was now surrounded in accusations of faulty morality and historians were beginning to cast serious doubt to the Betsy Ross legend. The men tried to sell the house to the federal government and then the City of Philadelphia, both refused due to disputes of the homes authenticity. Weisgerber moved to Washington DC where he devised a similar scheme to solicit funds to restore the home of Francis Scott Key.  Weisgerber returns to Philly after this scheme fails and tries to resurrect interest in the Ross house. The house is finally donated to the City of Philadelphia in 1937 with the condition they excuse 30 years of unpaid taxes. Since that time, the house was refurbished and returned to its 1776 style and continues to remain home to legend of Betsy Ross.

Who can resist this calendar?

Charles H. Weisgerber's painting Birth of Our Nation's Flag as depicted on a stamp. It was
awarded the first prize of one thousand dollars in a 1893 City of Philadelphia competition.

So many websites, articles and books condemn the Betsy Ross story as just that, a story. Read more about the house and the debate here: http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/prove239.html  Another great article can be found here: http://www.nava.org/documents/raven/vol12/NAVA_Raven_v12_2005_p087-099.pdf, this last article however, approaches it from a different point of view and provides a fun diagram of how to cut Betsy's star - you should try it, because it is nothing if not fun. And the next time you see one of these sweet little flags you will know just what it is and the story behind it.

So, what do you think?  Fact or fiction, did Betsy Ross sew the first flag?

_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.

Ferrous Attraction and The Science Behind the Magic

by Gwen Spicer

At AIC's 2013 annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, I presented a hands-on session on the use of magnets in conservation. Art conservators have been using magnets for many years, but mostly in a very limited way. Perhaps because a system has not been fully understood or described in literature, perhaps because it is not part of our training, or perhaps because it is a practice that is too new to be embraced. This session's purpose was to change all that and give conservators hands-on experience with my favorite things - MAGNETS!!!

Parts of the jig.

The jig put together.

Jig with a "system" in place. The wooden block is one side with a magnet, the metal behind is the other part. The red clip will hold a cup which will be filled with ever increasing weight until the system fails.

The focus of the session was for participants to learn and understand the parts of a magnet system so that they may use this knowledge in their own practice. Each part of the magnet system works in tandem in order to achieve the best combination for the artifact. The three parts are:

1. The strength of the magnet
2. The ferromagnetic material
3. The gap or space between the two

These three parts, in various combinations, were experimented with during the session.

Groups were divided into five puzzles or combinations of magnets and ferromagnetic materials. All of the groups were given the same materials to use to create various gaps. The jig works like so: weight is added to the system and then recorded when the system fails. (we are focusing on sheer strength of the magnetic system).

The goal of the session is to become acquainted with the diverse variables of a magnet system. A range of magnets of both Neodymium and ferrite flexible magnets were selected. The ferromagnetic material is also a range that includes several thicknesses of steel plate and preparations of iron powder.

Below is a table that describes the various tests. The Neodymium magnet for all cases were disc, grade N42 and 1/8" thick in a range of diameters. The poles were axially oriented.

Team	Receiving side	Magnet
Green – Local	Fender washer Thicker washer Metallic cups, ½” and 1” in cups	½”, ½” in cup, 1” 1” in cup
Blue – Iron Powder	Iron Powder “Magnetic” paint -       Painted on surface -       Mixed with Epoxy -       Embedded into Batting	½”, ½” in cup, 1” 1” in cup
Orange – Steel gauge	.001, .025 (24 ga), ½” in cup	¼”, ½”, ½” in cup,
Red – Flexible magnets	Foil tape (.001) .01 Steel (24 ga) Flexible magnet (0.06)	Flexible magnet (0.03) (0.06) (0.125)
Yellow - Velcro alternative idea	“Slat” Side Steel (24 ga) 3/4” dia attached to aluminum Empty cups	Removable Side • Webbing sleeve with pockets for magnets ½” • Steel (24 ga), powder-coated • 2 webbing sleeves

Several of these tests have been described in couple conservation publications. They were included for participants to see how not only how they worked, but more importantly, how they could be altered for another situation.

Each group recorded their findings using a real-time internet-based document. Then at the end of the session we discussed the findings. Click here for the final summary of results.

Time will tell, but I am sure once anyone has seen first-hand the power of magnets and can appreciate the ways in which they can be used, they will be as big a fan as I am. On a side note, if you want to see the use of magnets in a conservation project, be sure to check out the most recent edition of the AIC Journal which features a paper from yours truly demonstrating the use of magnets in an upholstery project with a Hunzinger chair.

Special thanks to SmallCorp, Inc who generously made all of the jigs and components for the session.  This session was only made possible because of them. My very deep gratitude goes to everyone there for being so helpful and supportive in making this session a reality.

_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   Her current research focuses on rare earth magnets and their use in conservation. To contact her, please visit her website.

Learn more about magnets and their many uses in the new publications Magnetic Mounting Systems for Museums and Cultural Institutions. Available for purchase at www.spicerart.com/magnetbook.

Trapunto banners are Memorial textiles

by Gwen Spicer and Barbara Owens

As we approach Memorial Day and we remember the men and women who have died while serving in our military, I wanted to talk about artifacts that we have treated that best demonstrate how our soldiers have been remembered from the Revolutionary War until recent conflicts, such as WWII , Korea, or Vietnam. This was a harder task than I had thought it would be. Veterans, families of soldiers killed in action, collectors, and museums all value items which commemorate specific conflicts or military events and we have treated a variety of items from flags to uniforms, hats, swords, and saddles of cavalry units, to name a few. But perhaps the most interesting, are the Trapunto banners from the United States Navy's Great White Fleet's stop in Japan in late October of 1908.

A detail of a trapunto banner before treatment. Even though this banner had been
 exposed to moisture and suffered mold damage, what is not diminished is how 
intricate and beautiful the stitching is.

For all of those textile people out there, I need not tell you what trapunto means. But for those readers who are unfamiliar with this term, "Trapunto" is an italian word that refers to a method of stitching where the fabric is "stuffed" with a padded layer beneath and then embroidered with beautiful heavy couching stitches on the top to create an image of very high relief. The trapuntos from Japan come almost exclusively from a company in Yokohama called the George Washington Company. The company sold many silk items as this was a popular commodity that navy men sought while in Japan,  But, their specialty was beautiful banners made of silk in trapunto style with stunning colors of thread and a space to insert a photograph of the sailor. Many of these  featured the image of an eagle, or  flags, an anchor, the ships of the fleet, perhaps a dragon, and often were titled with something like: "In Memory of my Cruise Around the World" and some featured the phrase: "E. Pluribus Unum".

A beautiful and symbolically typical example of a Trapunto banner from Yokohama. The sailor's photo is inserted into the life ring at the center, below that the eagle attacks the dragon, this is probably to to depict the "Boxer Rebellion" of 1900.  Other flags run along the edge, these can differ from one trapunto to the next, and may be representative of countries which had imperial interests in this area of the world.

Here is the history lesson that goes with these trapunto banners: President Teddy Roosevelt has built a formative navy and wants to show it to the world. He sends his 16 warships out to circumnavigate the world from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909. The ships are quite a sight with each of their hulls being painted bright white, hence the term "Great White Fleet". (Side Note: True, this voyage was a peacetime mission and certainly no servicemen died in any battle, but I am writing this blog for Memorial Day to remember this important and fairly unknown part of history and the amazing textiles that came from it!)

Route of the Great White Fleet courtesy of Wikipedia and map author: "TastyCakes"

The above and below image are two banners of the same design. This seems to be the largest of the trapunto banners that was available for purchase. It contains a large amount of detail and information. Not only could the sailor have his photo inserted, it also came with photos of President Theodore Roosevelt, and Admirals Sperry and Evans. The above banner is in good condition but notice the loose threads of the outermost red stripes. The banner below was acquired by a museum and is in poor condition from lack of proper storage, but has not yet been able to undergo conservation treatment.

The first of the above photos, as well as others from the Great White Fleet's journey, can be found at the Navy's Naval History and Heritage Command website. It is a great place to learn about The United States Navy and its history. The image below is also from their website and shows another beautiful example of this type of textile.

Each time a trapunto from this time period comes in to our studio, I am struck by how fantastic these textiles are, and I am amazed at how popular these must have been among the sailors and marines. Think about how few sailors and marines made this trip (14,000 of them according to the US Navy) and how many of these trapunto banners exist. These must have been valued by the sailors and it is clear that these were not seen as just a simple souvenir, but instead were kept as a memory and cherished. For their age, many of them are in good condition because they have been cared for.

To read more about the voyage of the Great White Fleet go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_White_Fleet.

And if you still want more, the Navy Library page has a very detailed article about the voyage and you can find the link here: http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/gwf_cruise.htm

From all of us at Spicer Art Conservation, Happy Memorial Day!
_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.