The conservation of textiles belonging to Thomas Edison

By Gwen Spicer

It seems like in the last year, everywhere I have been looking, Thomas Edison has been appearing.  I recently visited the Schenectady (NY) Museum, now called miSci, and there he his. Really no surprise given his roll in the founding of General Electric, originally headquartered in Schenectady, New York. But then I watched a PBS program on Henry Ford and learned that he too had spent part of his early career working at the Edison Illuminating Co. and was a close friend of Edison. Then later, I found that Nikola Tesla himself worked for Edison as well, after arriving in the United States.

So why, do you ask, would this matter to me? And why so keen on Edison and his continuous legacy? And WHAT does this have to do with object or textile conservation?

It all started when miSci approached me to work on a curious piece they inherited from the GE Museum when it left Schenectady. The piece was a tinfoil from 1878 that was used to demonstrate Edison's phonograph. Discovering the history of this tinfoil, and then following it through to the revelation of the words actually captured on it was quite a journey.  To read more about this amazing treatment and the unbelievable outcome go here:
http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2012/04/0-false-18-pt-18-pt-0-0-false-false.html
then here for the second part of the story:
http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2012/08/update-edisons-tinfoil-can-sounds-on-it.html
and here to read the conclusion:
http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2012/10/edisons-tin-foil-lost-recording-now.html

Tin foil wrapped around an early Edison phonograph

The tinfoil was my first exposure to Edison.  Then, a short time after the conservation of the tinfoil made national news, I was contacted by a curator from a historic site who had in their collection several more Edison tinfoils needing treatment. And then, as if Edison was not prominently "on my radar", I received the contract to treat a few items at the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange, New Jersey. The items included: his laboratory coat, a United States Flag presented to him by Ediphone Distributors in 1920, and the projection screen from his library, believed to be the oldest projection screen in the world.  To read more about this treatment see the blog entry: http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2012/12/vacuum-vexations-and-victories.html 

The projection screen, fully unrolled in Edison's library.

Even with all of this Edison exposure, and the opportunity to work on some of his very own items, and spending time in his workshop where he experimented and worked and thought and invented; I am still astounded at his life and accomplishments. Each time I read something about him I learn something new (for example, there is an asteroid named after him). And each time I am impressed and wonder how one person could accomplish so much?

The coat in its storage box at Edison NHP.  Imagine that in the early days of this site as a Park, the coat simply hung on a hook in his Chemical Room and would sometimes even be modeled by well-meaning tour guides.

The most recent Edison item I treated was his laboratory coat which he used in his Chemical Room.  This was the coat he wore during his later years and it was during this time he was spending considerable time experimenting with batteries. As you can imagine the coat is remarkable. It is covered with holes from acid and staining from a variety of substances, and it is beautiful. Beautiful because to me it really shows that Edison was clearly not afraid to get dirty as the coat appears to have barely saved his skin from his caustic experiments. There is not one square inch of clean fabric left on this coat, Edison used it heavily and it shows.

The coat before treatment as it arrived in our studio.

The coat after treatment, and before re-housing.

One of the stabilized holes from the previous treatment. Tiny tight stitches
 are used along the perimeter of the hole. The white fabric seen at the center
 is the heavy weight muslin lining fabric that covers the entire reverse of the coat.

From the textile conservation standpoint, the coat is in an interesting condition in that it has seen treatments that date back many decades. (remember that Edison died in 1931, so the coat is roughly 100 years old).  As I look back at some of the patching that had been done, or the full lining to the coat with tight herringbone stitches, I think of the textile conservators who have gone before and how their treatment, at the time, was thought to be the best the "industry" had to offer. I wonder if they, like Edison in his work, knew that there was always a better way that just hadn't been figured out yet? I wonder what I am doing now that in 100 years will be looked at as an "interesting old way of textile conservation"?



_____________________________
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.

Vacuum Vexations and Victories while conserving a large hanging textile

How many times does it take to safely vacuum an 18' x 18' projection screen?  That was the question we asked ourselves on Tuesday while working on-site at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, NJ.

Thomas Edison Laboratory, view of original archway and water tower.

Thomas Edison Laboratory, Library exterior

The screen while rolled.  (It is the cylindric tube spanning
across the top of the clock and upper windows.)

We arrived Monday, December 10th for a four-day stay in New Jersey for the primary purpose of cleaning and repairing the two-story high projection screen located in Edison's library.  The library itself is three floors high and houses remarkable documents attesting to Edison's various certifications and honorary awards, along with numerous volumes dating back to the late 1800's, as well as the screen where Edison would show films to those who visited his laboratory complex.  Needless to say, I found myself overwhelmed and consumed by sheer excitement about the pieces of history surrounding me as I walked around the library to take various photos of the screen, as seen to the left and below.

The screen fully unrolled

The beginning of the treatment process was very simple.  Using the vacuum we brought from the studio, I systematically cleaned the front and back of the bottom portion of the screen while Gwen followed behind with the soot sponge to further loosen any embedded particulates.  The bottom portion of the screen is considerably darker, as seen in the picture above, which we determined was purposefully stained either as a protective coating or as a visual countermeasure to the shadows cast by viewers' heads.  This is only speculation, due to the fact that we do not have an original photo of the screen.  Of course we did not wish to remove this discoloration, only the dirt and dust caked on the surface.  To the knowledge of current park employees, it had been 15-20 years since the last time the screen was unrolled.

Working along, I proceeded to vacuum ever higher with the assumption that when I reached a certain point I would be able to safely proceed with the screen's treatment.  However, such was not exactly the case.  Within the last year or so the site had discarded their backpack vacuum, as well as their scissor lift.  We were then told that it was possible to set up scaffolding behind the screen that would allow me to reach the very top of this immense canvas.  But of course, the scaffolding was not available for our use, and no one had a clue where it was.

Taped attachment

Now here was the predicament: how do I stand on a ladder while holding a small, but still weighty, piece of equipment for an extended period without risking my life in the process?  Holly, one of the park employees, was so kind to find a potential solution to my predicament.  She brought a 3M vacuum, which I could swing over my shoulder.  However, the 3M vacuum unsurprisingly no longer had any of its original brush attachments or a wand extension.  So what did Gwen and I do?  We improvised!  Holly Marino, who works at the Edison site, brought us a wand attachment from another machine which we taped to the hose, then we taped our brush attachment to the wand!

Example of 3M vacuum with only crevice tool

I proceeded to climb up our little step ladder and extend the wand in order to vacuum the backside of the screen as far as I could reach.  It was not long before I started to notice significant cramping in my arm and the strap cutting into my left shoulder, not to mention how awkward it was to maneuver with this huge black box swinging freely around my hips catching on everything.

In addition, I could not control the suction power, which not only resulted in an almost deafening noise, but was also not ideal for the artifact.  After cleaning what I could reach on three of the six canvas panels, I got down and said, "there has to be a better way to do this!"

"the contraption"

On to improvisation part 2.  We removed the wand from the now dubbed black box of misery and attempted to attach it to our vacuum, but only to find that the inner ridge on the wand prevented us from simply connecting the two parts.  We taped the two together, but it was clear that the contraption was nowhere near strong enough.  I indicated to Gwen that I needed a splint of some sort to fix the issue.  She looked around our tools and offered first the small 1/8" thick sticks we use for swabbing, then metal micro-spatulas, both of which I rejected as insufficient support for the task saying, "I need more reinforcement than that!"  After a few seconds Gwen returned with a small chip brush that I taped to the wand and hose as she held it in place.  At this point both of us are giddy with amusement at the lengths we have had to go to so far to come up with a solution.  But that was just the beginning.

Vacuum splint 

Now that the issue of extending my reach was solved, we had to next figure out how to rig the body of the vacuum to the ladder to free my hands for the task.  Gwen had brought small bungee-cord-like elastic bands that I used to hook the vacuum to the step ladder, which worked as I finished doing what I could of the last three panels.  However, I still had over nine feet above me that I still could not reach.  Now it was time for a taller ladder.  With the assistance of another park employee, Walter Baginski, I retrieved a 10' ladder, brought it into the library and slid it under the tables supporting the bottom of the screen and stood it up successfully behind the screen.  The problem arose again of how to keep the vacuum up there with me.  With some clever thought on my part (not to pat myself on the back or anything...wink, wink),  I removed the support strap from the bulky black 3M box and strung it through our machine's handle.  Carrying it up the full height of the ladder, I was able to secure it to the top with the strap, as well as, some of the elastic ties from before.  Gwen handed me the wand and hose, which we had disconnected beforehand, and upon reattachment I was finally good to go!  With the wand fully extended, and standing on the top step of the 10 foot ladder, I was just able to reach the top of the screen and finally vacuum the screen with confident speed, all while Gwen and I are laughing at how ridiculous things get, and the improvisation needed when working on-site away from all your usual tools.

Me at the top of a 10-foot ladder after finally securing the vacuum to the very top.
Thank God I'm not afraid of heights!

Here I am when all is said and done, finally vacuuming after all that hassle, and still with a smile on my face, because after all my effort I was victorious and could proceed with relative ease.  The lesson of the story is of course: where there's a will there's a way.  And my own personal inspiring quote: "Be the hero with a smile on your face because life is too short to sweat the small stuff, or in this case the big and tall stuff!"

written by Nicolette Cook, Assistant Conservator, Spicer Art Conservation, LLC

_____________________________
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 Edison's Tin Foil - the lost recording now found.

How does an art conservator, conserve sound?  Sound is made of waves that penetrate the air, that move and bounce, not something that one holds in their hands or sits on your work bench.  Sound is motion that creates vibrations in our ears, not an inanimate object that one observes, cleans, or consolidates:  all of the typical activities that an art conservator performs.

The Edison tinfoil before conservation.

This was the dilemma that was confronted by Art Conservator, Gwen Spicer, earlier this year, when Chris Hunter, Curator and Director of Collections at miSci, (formerly the Schenectady Museum) brought the earliest known full sheet of Thomas Edison's tin-foil to the conservation lab.

Typically when treating an artifact, a conservator can visually observe the changes that are occurring as the treatment progresses, and how these changes are effecting the end product.  All types of tools are used in order to enhance this ability, the use of specific light, magnifiers and microscopes.  But when the end product is the auditory aspect of the artifact, these modern tools are ineffective.

Edison's phonograph serves as the marker for modern sound recording.  It is the beginning of the technology to preserve sound.  Ironically, Gwen Spicer with every tool and technological advance known to conservators, must use the most rudimentary of tools to painstakingly flatten the tinfoil by hand.

It is not what the foil actually looks like that will determine if the sound can be retrieved.  The technology that is used to retrieve the sound will not rely on the surface being absolutely perfect, which is of benefit since the "found" condition of the tin-foil, and the way it was stored, make it impossible to completely flatten.  The tin foil itself is like an archive, with its importance lying in the information that it holds, as opposed to the actual "beauty" of the sheet its self.

When treating this tin-foil, there was a two part aspect to the project.  There was the flattening of the sheet and removing or lessening the folds and creases, which allowed the new technology to better be able to read the surface of the sheet.  The second part was the creation of the sound that was in the bumps and dips of the surface that creates the sound.  As a conservator, you must consider, how much do you touch or hold the sheet so as not to disturb its ability to create the sound?  But of course, that answer is unknown.  In fact, during the treatment there was no real method to know how the treatment was effecting the final outcome.

A next set of experts at California's Berkeley Lab,who would enable the world to finally know what was hidden in this sheet of tin-foil, would ultimately determine if the treatment was effective.  It would only be evident, once they began their attempts to "uncover" the sound.

Tonight, at the GE Theater at Proctor's in Schenectady at 6:30pm, the world will hear the full contents of this Edison tin-foil.  Right now, we know it is a bit longer than one minute, there is some music and a male voice reading "Mary Had a Little Lamb", but the rest is unknown until later this evening.

_____________________________
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 objects and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.

Update: Edison's tinfoil, can the sounds on it be retrieved?

by Barbara Owens
When we first talked about SAC having the honor of doing the conservation work on Edison’s tinfoil back in April (see the blog entry from April 19th), we said that the foil was being prepared for digital scanning in an effort to retrieve the sound imbedded upon it more than 130 years ago.  As we at SAC researched Edison’s life, we discovered that when this particular tinfoil was made, Edison had only one phonograph, and it was he who traveled the country, demonstrating it in hopes he could find buyers for his fabulous new invention.  The bottom line is that Edison’s voice is probably on it.  

How exciting is that?

Edison's tinfoil before treatment.

As far as we know there are only two complete tinfoils in existence: the one that we treated, which is owned by "miSci" the The Museum for Innovation and Science (formerly the Schenectady Museum), and a second, which is owned by the Smithsonian.  Here’s the interesting tidbit, the one at the Smithsonian had been glued, facedown, to a board.  Getting sound from it is going to be a challenge.

The Schenectady tinfoil, that SAC treated, which had been folded several times and then crammed into an envelope, required extensive flattening before it could be scanned.  And so, after some nerve-racking and incredibly delicate treatment, it left SAC’s studio and has traveled to California where the sound is being carefully coaxed from its surfaces.  So the big question is: who is on it and what did they say?

Scanning the Edison foil. photo from Schenectady Museum

The short answer right now is that the tinfoil has been scanned and they definitely found sound on it.  Who is speaking?  Right now we know there is a conversation between a man and a woman.  Could it be it Edison?  Stay tuned for information as it unfolds, and visit the miSci (The Museum for Innovation and Science, Schenectady NY) for more information.  

Conservation of Memorabilia

by Barbara Owens 
The French Exposition of 1889, or the World's Fair as it is more commonly referred to, is probably best known for the construction of the Eiffel Tower which served as the entrance arch for all fair attendees to pass beneath.  Lesser known perhaps is that this particular Exposition was attended by the "greats" of the time including: Oscar Wilde, Thomas Edison, Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, along with painters, Whistler, Gauguin, van Gogh, and Munch.  This was also the first fair ever lit with electric lights, making night time attendance possible.

The French Exposition had millions of visitors, and nearly each one would take home a souvenir of their trip.  A brand new keepsake, which would soon take the world by storm, was a small glass globe filled with water and tiny white flakes in which a miniature Eiffel Tower stood - you guessed it, the very first snow globes.  Some people took home less permanent items like chocolate, while others took postcards, posters, handkerchiefs, or umbrellas.

Recently, Spicer Art Conservation received a lithography print from a client which featured a view of the fair, surrounded by smaller views of some of the most enticing exhibits.  This particular print had been damaged from a fall.  The print was scratched by the shattering glass and had damage from age and the previous ways it was displayed (old tape, high humidity, mold and stains).

Exposition Universelle de Paris 1889

What stood out was the color and detail of the lithography.  What also stood out to us was the origin of such a lovely print.  Certainly, it was from the Exposition, but was it a piece of memorabilia that was purchased at the Expo by a fair goer?  Perhaps it was a poster to publicize the upcoming event, or maybe it was distributed to exhibitors?  We just did not know, and looking deeper only revealed more questions and amazing facts about the 1889 Exposition.  If you search the term "1889 Paris Exposition", this image is one of the first to come up and copies can be purchased at any poster shop, so clearly it is a well known image.  But short of seeing that there is an original of this print at a French Museum, not much other information exists.  Who was the artist?  How was it produced?  How many were made?  No one seems to know.

Often times a conservator is asked to work on a piece that is striking and valuable, sometimes we work on the mundane, and sometimes we work on the obscure.  This print was probably not terribly expensive in 1889, it probably was not rare, it probably was not "important" in that it was not created by a famous artist.  Yet today it is somewhat rare and is a lovely glimpse at the way images were "printed" just a short 123 years ago, which in a way, gives it importance.

As we at Spicer Art Conservation began to think about it, we realized that it is ALL memorabilia - everything we work on, from flags, to coats from a long-ago war, to furniture, quilts, maps, papers, anything and everything we conserve - everything was saved by someone who cherished it.  People have a propensity to keep things that are important to them, and that importance usually stems from an emotional connection to the object.  Often that emotional connection, along with the piece, is passed to the next generation, and so on.  Lucky for us, or we would not have so many amazing items to work on!  Each day something new comes through our studio doors.  Opening a shipping container from a museum or private collection is an exciting conservation adventure that always comes hand-in-hand with a lesson in history and the importance of memorabilia.

_____________________________
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.

THOMAS EDISON'S TIN FOIL RECORDING

by Barbara Owens

What does a conservator do with a one-of-a-kind piece of American history from the greatest inventor of all time?  Let me tell you.

The date is June 22, 1878. 

Thomas Edison is perfecting his phonograph, a machine that will literally change the future and the recording of voice, music and sound, as we know it.  Edison is not without his critics.  Then, just as today, people resist change and many are not sure about Edison’s new device.  Edison however knows that his invention will change the world.  It is not known for sure where Edison is on this exact day.  But it is believed he is in St. Louis, one of many stops he makes to demonstrate (and hopefully find buyers for) his revolutionary new device. 

The following is an excerpt from an interview Edison had given earlier in 1878 when he spoke to a Washington Post reporter in Washington DC.  Edison speaks to the reporter while at the Smithsonian where he is to demonstrate his new invention.  Here Edison describes in his own words how the phonograph works, including the role of the tinfoil in the recording of sound:

When do you give an exhibition of your phonograph?"

"At 4 o'clock.  Have you ever seen it?  Well, come in and I'll show it to you."  And leading the way, he (Edison) entered the room adjoining the secretary's office, uncovered the wonderful "Sound Writer," and began to explain it.

"Here the phonograph, you see, is a thin disc or diaphragm of iron, beneath which is this fine steel point, which moves up and down by the vibrations of the disc.   Beneath this is the revolving cylinder, on which is this spiral groove.  On the axis of the cylinder is a screw, the distance between the threads being the same as the distance between the grooves on the cylinder.  The cylinder is covered with a sheet of tin foil--you will see it operate by and by--and when the cylinder is revolved the steel point presses the tin-foil into the spiral groove.  If now the diaphragm be made to vibrate by the voice the steel point makes a series of indentations in the tin-foil grooves, corresponding to the sounds uttered.  On going over again the same groove with the steel point, by setting the cylinder again at the starting point, that is, by going over the same ground, the indentations in the tin-foil cause the membrane again to vibrate precisely as at first, thus reproducing the sound originally made.  The same sound wave you first made is returned to you in whatever shape you made it.   Your words, for example, are preserved in the tin-foil, and will come back upon the application of the instrument years after you are dead in exactly the same voice you spoke them in."

"How many times?"

"As long as the tin-foil lasts.  This tongueless, toothless instrument, without larynx or pharynx, dumb, voiceless matter, nevertheless mimics your tones, speaks with your voice, utters your words, and centuries after you have crumbled into dust will repeat again and again, to a generation that could never know you, every idle thought, every fond fancy, every vain word that you choose to whisper against this thin iron diaphragm."

"How old are you, Mr. Edison?"

"Thirty-one."

"Very young yet."

"I am good for fifty; and I hope to astonish the world yet with things more wonderful than this.  I think the world is on the eve of grand and immense discoveries, before whose transcendent glories the record of the past will fade into insignificance.  This is a very poor specimen of a phonograph, however.  You see how simple the mechanism of this idea, and how simple the idea itself; and yet, after all, it is curious."

And the reporter, turning away to record the utterances of the sages in the room adjoining, thought of that passage of Holy Writ which says, "every idle thought and every vain word which man thinks or utters are recorded in the Judgment Book."   Does the Recording Angel sit beside a Celestial Phonograph, against whose spiritual diaphragm some mysterious ether presses the record of a human life?

Spicer Art Conservation has the pleasure of restoring a full page of Edison’s “tin foil”!  This particular piece of foil was given in July of 1978 to General Electric’s Hall of History and then later was moved, with the entire Hall’s Collection, to the Schenectady Museum and Suits-Bueche Planetarium, which later was renamed the Museum of Innovation and Science ("miSci"). 

The object’s current condition is clear from the photographs.  It has been folded for some time into a 5” x 1 7/8” package.  Upon folding, the edges were left unsupported; this resulted in distortion and perpendicular tears.  Further damage occurred when the tinfoil was opened at some point in the past.  The tinfoil then experienced additional creasing of parallel folds between the tears.  Two narrow sections at one end are more tarnished than the other six sections, this occurred because these sections were located on the outside of the folded package.

The tinfoil has resided in the climate-controlled archives of the Schenectady Museum.  It is housed in a flat, acid-free box and lies flat while in the cabinet.

SO WHAT DOES IT SAY????!!!!

The answer (right now) is that no one knows.  The goal of Spicer Art Conservation’s treatment of Edison’s Tinfoil Recording is to flatten as much of it as possible.  The foil was originally going to be sent to England to be digitally scanned.  It will now be sent to the Lawrence National Laboratory where equipment has been adapted to scan and reproduce the sound from this incredible American treasure.

Spicer Art Conservation will also create housing for transportation of the piece.  While all of this is very exciting, it is a bit daunting in that next to nothing is known about this particular material due to its rarity.  The foil must be flattened by hand with utmost care to preserve the surface “ticks” that create the sound.  The restoration is time-consuming and painstaking, but more importantly it is an honor to work on such a rare piece from an iconic figure and legendary inventor.

This recording is one of only two believed to have survived in its entirety.  The other is housed in the Smithsonian where Edison demonstrated it some 134 years ago.

Want to read more about this piece and see some additional pictures?  Check out this article from the Albany Times Union: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Here-s-the-oldest-voice-you-never-heard-1331323.php

And look for more details on the restoration of Edison’s Tinfoil here in our blog.