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How do I care for an antique flag?

  • Antique Flag Care: How do I care for a WW I era flag? I recently received the flag that covered my great-grandfather's casket. He was a WW I POW [twice!]. The flag is roughly folded in an old cardboard box. I'd like to get it cleaned and cared for before I have my local Veterans Service Commission fold it properly so I can display it in a flag case. How should I go about cleaning and caring for it? Is getting it drycleaned going to harm it? What else should I consider?

  • Answer:

    The Smithsonian has some general advice on handling and storing antique textiles http://www.si.edu/mci/english/learn_more/taking_care/handletex.html. A much more detailed guide can be found at http://www.thehenryford.org/research/caring/textiles.aspx. Drycleaning is not recommended. Clean it with a soft brush or a vacuum (gently, and with an appropriate attachment) if you want to avoid damage, or get it cleaned by a professional conservator if it seems to need it. Store it somewhere dry, dark and clean, wrapped in acid-free paper, and check periodically for any signs of mold or insect damage.

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If there's a largish art or history museum near you, they probably have a textile conservator on staff who could give you some pointers. I used to work in the textiles department of an art museum, and we got pretty frequent calls along those lines, and always routed them along to our conservator.

COBRA!

Yes, a professional should have a look at it, assess the condition of it for you and recommend how to care for it.

beagle

If you can't think of a local museum with a textiles conservation lab, the http://aic.stanford.edu/public/select.html has some information about finding a professional conservator in your area.

doift

What else should I consider? Think about how you want to display it and how it will be lit. UV rays can harm old textiles rapidly. The standard for fabric is no more than 5-10 footcandles for a maximum of 5 hours a day. Keep in mind that the footcandles include daylight too- you should definately keep it away from sunlight and if you have track lights or other fixtures that will be lighting it, you should see if you can install UV filters. You can get them from just about any good lighting store- I usually use http://search.lightingbygregory.com/search?ts=v3&w=uv+&search.x=0&search.y=0.

Thin Lizzy

I would recommend against the flag case, but if you do, line the inside with non-buffered acid free tissue and be sure the glass is UV protected (a framing store has this glass and can cut to fit). Personally, I would recommend loosely folding with non-buffered crushed tissue packed inside the fold lines to prevent creases. Then wrap the entire thing in tissue and put it in an archival box. This http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/category.action?categoryId=74 provides just about everything you need to safely archive most textiles at home.

pokeedog

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