Victorian beadwork

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Leslie S.

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Apr 11, 2002
Posts
710
Loc
Waxahachie, TX
I am just got in the most fabulous Victorian beadwork scene (with tiny, tiny beads), and it appears to be in pretty good condition. It is in the original frame, smooshed up against the wavy glass. It looks like a few of the beads may be only held in place by the glass.

Normally I would think spacers would be in order, but I'm wondering if in this case maybe the glass would help hold the beads in place. On the other hand, maybe the expansion & contraction of the glass over time might damage them. Does anybody know what the correct thing to do is in this case?

Thanks,
Leslie...motto "Doesn't anyone ever frame diplomas anymore?" :rolleyes:
 
Normally I would think spacers would be in order, but I'm wondering if in this case maybe the glass would help hold the beads in place. On the other hand, maybe the expansion & contraction of the glass over time might damage them.
Click to expand...
Hmmm..I'd prbably stay away from smooshing it up against the glass again. It sounds like a good candidate for an overlay of Stabliltex or Crepeline. Virtually invisible and it would give good support, keeping any loose beads from getting looser. I'm sure Rebecca or Jim will jump in here.
 
MiterMan's suggestion is a good one if the ground fabric is strong enough to hold new stitching, and the fabric overlay doesn't "fog" the image.

However if some of the beads seem only to be held in place by the pressure of the glass, the threads and/or ground fabric may have lost enough strength that any further manipulation will start the beads popping off.

If the beads and glass are in good condition (no "weeping" or crazing..)I'd be inclined to leave well enough alone. There's also the argument of preserving the original framing methods/materials. Clean the glass with ethanol, or something that won't leave any residue at all, and make sure it's perfectly dry when replacing. (Oh well Leslie, I know this is teaching my grandmother to suck eggs...)

Depending on how dry the area is it's going to be displayed in, you might consider doing one of Hugh's sealed packages, with dryed matboard or Artsorb silica gel sheeting to keep the RH down.

Rebecca
 
MiterMan & Rebecca,
Thanks for the replies. The frame is not in great shape, and so is to be replaced with a look-alike. As to humidity, I can tell you that it changes dramatically around here...if you don't like the weather in North Texas, just wait 5 minutes! We are a region of temperature and humidity extremes, so I'm not really certain if the sealed package would be good or bad...maybe Hugh will chime in here. The beads seem to be in really good shape,no rubbing apparent and very good colors considering its age. I have not opened up the package yet, as I seem to be having one of those drop-it, kick-it, stumble-over-it mornings (and no, I have NOT been drinking!!!)
On another note, I just got a phone call from a lady who had "a painting, or maybe just a print" and wanted to know if I could tell her if the geishas on it were Chinese geishas or Japenese geishas. True to my snappy-answers-to-stupid-questions mentality, I immediately thought of several rather silly replies, but fortunately I managed to be polite instead. Oh, boy, I can tell it is going to be one of those days.
 
Geishas are by definition Japanese --- that's the easy part. As to the glass beads; since old glass
benefits from a stable climate, a recent development in package design could provide the protection that Rebecca mentioned. The use of high tack ATG as an adhesive allows for the creation of highly sealed packages without any need for heating (heat near the beads would not be a good idea). The sealing foil (Marvelseal 360) is turned over from its usual position, so that the shiny, Nylon side is inside and the matte, polyethylene side is outside. This is done to get a strong bond between the ATG and the Nylon. In your case, you could take care to work when the weather is dry to ensure that the contents of the package will conform to Rebecca's suggestions. The ATG is applied to the front edges and sides of the clean lite of glass. The foil is laid out with pieces of ATG (with the barrier paper left in place) set so that they will start at the spots where the corners of the glass will go, when it is in place, and these strips of ATG extend out toward the corners of the sheet of foil. The conditioned board and beads can then be laid on the foil and
the glass (whose edges have been dulled) set on them. The barrier paper is now pulled from the
edges of the glass and the foil is pulled up and
onto the ATG, starting at the centers of each edge. The foil is burnished down and the ATG at
the corners is now exposed. The corners can be
pressed shut and all the excess foil, in front
of the glass can be trimmed, so that none of the
foil shows, beyond the site edge of the frame.
Such a package would not only hold the climate
it has been initially given, it would also keep
any beads that might fall away, in the future.
A more complete description of this process will
appear in Preservation Practices, soon and this
will be taught in Philadelphia.

Hugh
 
Hugh I am so glad you posted this new method. I have to say I am a complete clutz with hot glue guns, but a real whiz kid with tape. Does the type of ATG you're talking about have a specic name, supplier and number? Thanks!

Rebecca
 
Dear Hugh,
As usual you have come through for us with cutting-edge solutions. I think I understand this process, but will be looking forward to the upcoming article. Thank you for taking the time to help us out.

Leslie
 
One type of that tape is 3M 969, which comes in
various widths, 1/4" being the most useful for
going around the edges of the package.

Hugh
 
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