News & Events

HAVE A TIP TO SHARE?

WCG seeks ideas for 10-minute tip sessions at the informal show-and-tell on December 3. If you'd like to share a favorite tip, idea for treatment, or source for tools and supplies with WCG members, please contact Mary Coughlin or Sunae Park Evans by November 20. Short presentations from all specialties are welcomed.

NEXT MEETING: Holiday Party and Informal Tips Session

Thursday, December 3, at the National Trust for Historic Preservation Headquarters. See "Next Meeting" for information..

WCG's 2009 Angels Project

The 2009 WCG Angels Project was held at the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives in Washington, DC, on Saturday, November 7th. More information and photos coming soon!

Williston Fund Award Winners Announced

WCG congratulates this year's Williston Fund award winners Beth Antoine, Jessica Arista, Melissa Gardner, Nita Maria Greene, Sonja Issaeva, Laura Kubick, and Marie Stewart. Awards were presented (and a group photo taken) at the Intern Reception on September 10.

The WCG website is back!

The Washington Conservation Guild website has now migrated to the new home of Conservation OnLine (CoOL) at the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). For the past twelve years, the WCG website has generously been hosted by CoOL, the web service for conservation and allied professionals founded and nurtured by Walter Henry as a project of the Preservation Department of Stanford University Libraries. In June 2009, CoOL fell victim to budget cuts at Stanford. After receiving a proposal from AIC and following several discussions, Stanford University Libraries agreed that AIC would be given responsibility for CoOL (and the Conservation DistList). WCG would like to thank Walter Henry, John Burke, Stanford University, and AIC for making this transition possible.

WCG’s 2008 Angels Project

The 2008 WCG Angels project was held at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. at Mount Vernon Square. Twenty WCG members volunteered their time and expertise to rehouse the HSW’s textile collection, which consists largely of historic costumes from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A generous grant from the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) provided the funds for most of the supplies. The supplies that were not covered by the grant were donated by University Products and shipping costs were donated by Testfabrics and Conservation Resources.

WCG members spent the better part of a Saturday taking care of the special items in the HSW’s collection, which included a satin wedding dress complete with veil, a woman’s navy uniform, a prom dress, and a collection of baby clothes. One of the stars of the collection is a dress purchased by Marian Hooper Adams from the noted Parisian designer Worth in 1879.

The textiles were lightly dusted, padded with unbuffered tissue, wrapped in muslin, and placed in archival textile boxes. In one day, WCG members managed to rehouse the entire collection of nearly fifty textiles! Thank you to all who participated.