Preservation Education and Rehousing of Textile Collections

FAIN: PG-50094-07

Worthington Historical Society, Inc. (Worthington, OH 43085-3536)
Jutta Catharine Pegues (Project Director: May 2006 to July 2008)

Hiring a consultant to train staff and volunteers in appropriate handling, packing, and rehousing of clothing collections. The society will purchase storage boxes and materials. The clothing collection includes 19th- and 20th-century adult and children's outfits and accessories, and military and nursing uniforms from the first and second World Wars.

The Worthington Historical Society has an important collection of historic clothing, which spans articles from the founder James Kilbourne and the earliest families who settled Worthington in 1803 through successive generations into the 1930s, with a few items through the 1950s. Included are examples from the Orange Johnson family, whose home (built in 1811 and 1819) is maintained and kept open to the public by the society. This rich collection provides an excellent opportunity to understand the lifestyles of generations of earlier Worthington and central Ohio residents. The purpose of the project is to train our staff on the proper handling and housing of the clothing collection. In addition, the society will rehouse the textiles in acid-free environments and move the more fragile items in the collection to an expanded clothing collection storage area on the second floor, as recommended by our Heritage Preservation Conservation Assessment evaluations.