A Life Journey: Interview 2
So I thought we would start off by continuing to talk about your aunts, your uncles, your memories of them. Can you remember the names of your aunts and uncles? Yes, my mother’s sister was Agnes and she was a…
From rags to research
The Beginning When I married and came to England in 1946 I had just completed a three-year course in weaving and design at Kunsthåndværkerskolen in Copenhagen. At that time the Art School was still housed in the Museum of the…
The beginning of the Textile Conservation Centre
Introduction Our first alumni meeting was about the dyeing of support fabrics. The meetings were a means of catching up with new developments, relating new experiences – and getting to know about how to organise such meetings. Mary Brooks asked…
Textiles as historic documents and their conservation
Abstract The common cause of conservators and curators is to preserve objects in their care in all the aspects of their creation and survival and to display and interpret them for the benefit of the public. 1. Introduction When an…
Observations on damage and repair of tapestry
Delft 1964 In 1964 we attended the IIC Textile Conference in Delft organised by Dr Leene to bring together textile curators, conservators and scientists – a very important step in the development of textile conservation. Dr Leene had invited me…
Tapestry conservation and the Textile Conservation Centre
There are in existence a great number of important tapestries woven in the European tradition. Many of these are in need of conservation. This does not necessarily mean that conservation treatment can, or would be, considered a budget priority by…
Conserving textiles as historic documents
The survival of so many important objects should always be considered when assessing the means of their collecting and their possible repatriation. The British heritage of textiles of artistic, cultural and historic importance including tapestries, embroideries, furnishings and a wide…
Extract from talk at the Textile Conservation Symposium
Two exciting projects came into being during our campaign for The Textile Conservation Centre which is now housed at Hampton Court Palace. The first one was the conservation of the King’s Bed at Knole Park. I had been concerned with…
Farnham College of Art lecture
I was trained in weaving and design at Art School in Copenhagen and came to England on my marriage at the end of the war. Maybe I didn’t actually think I was God’s gift to English design but I certainly…
Memorandum on the establishment of a national centre & training school for textile conservation
Importance Historic textiles are a part of our national heritage in the same way as painting and other works of art. They are important not only because of their rarity, but also educationally, in that they contribute a unique social…
Note on the damaging effect of flameproofing on a tapestry hanging
A wool and linen tapestry hanging which was made about fifteen years ago for the United Nations’ conference building in New York by the Märta Måås‐Fjetterström AB workshop in Sweden showed grave signs of deterioration. The hangings were returned to…
Preparation for use as a History of Textile Techniques Study Resource
Introduction After the last committee meeting, I was very aware of the need to explain my proposals in writing especially the fact that though there would be several ways of tackling this task, it would be most suitable to think…
