Storage Rehousing Materials for Textile Collection

FAIN: PG-252251-17

Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust (New York, NY 10280-1502)
Erica Blumenfeld (Project Director: April 2016 to June 2019)

Purchase of storage equipment and preservation supplies for rehousing 900 textiles dating from the late 19th century to the present that document Jewish ritual and communal and private life.  The collection includes historic and contemporary garments and theatrical costumes, household linens, flags and banners, and items of personal adornment.  The textiles are used in permanent and traveling exhibits and are loaned to institutions around the world.  They are also used in classroom lessons on world history and Holocaust studies and for research by individuals and other institutions that focus on Jewish history and cultural traditions.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust requests funding for the purchase of storage racks and archival materials for the second phase of its textile rehousing project. The Museum’s collection includes 900 textiles dating from the late 19th century to the present and represents all aspects of Jewish ritual, communal, and private life. This broad-ranging collection includes garments, household linens, theater costumes, and ritual textiles which require storage solutions beyond the Museum’s current box housing methods. As recommended in a recent assessment of the textile collection, the Museum’s rehousing plan focuses on the introduction of hanging and rolled storage systems and plans to update our current box supply. Implementing this tri-part system will allow the Museum to house each piece in its textile collection in the manner best suited to that item’s condition, construction, and needs.