Acquisition of the Bluenose Patterns

Cleaning the burlap mat backs
Cleaning the paper stencils

The Bluenose Patterns were acquired from Garrett's By the Bridge in May 1998.  They had been sitting in the basement of Garrett's by the Bridge for a number of years.  Included in the acquisition were a number of old burlap mat backs, and hundreds of blackened paper stencils.  It was up to us to transfer them to a new location and clean them up.  This was an arduous process to say the least.

1.Cleaning the burlap mat backs

 First, we tackled the burlap mat backs.  Their sojourn in the basement had left the burlap mat backs covered with black dust and smelling musty.  They are too old and delicate to wash them in water and detergent.  Plus, such a washing would make the coloured dye run as it is not colourfast.  So, first, we tried to air them out by hanging them at the front  of the garage with the door opened.  Then, we put on our dust masks, old clothes, and heavy gloves and went to brushing and sucking the dirt off of them with the vacuum cleaner. Next, we ironed them to remove the creases that had been left from the years and years of being folded and piled together.  Finally, we photographed and catalogued them.  As you can see in the following photographs, our process preserved the delightful colouring of the patterns but it did not remove the dirt absorbed in the creases of the burlap.

2. Cleaning the paper stencils

The  paper stencils were a whole other story.  They had been rolled and piled in no particular order so  we began by trying  to clean each  stencil before it was removed from the basement.    Each one had to be carefully unrolled and cleaned with a dry  cloth to remove years of dust and  whatever  was waiting in the centre.  Some had been damaged so the ends had to be removed before  they could be unrolled.  This had to be done with great care to prevent cutting off the edges of the designs.  By the second day, we realized that at this rate it would take years to clean and remove all the stencils.  At this point, we decided to simply remove them from the premises and tackle this task one group at a time.  There are still hundreds of stencils we have yet to look at.  To date, we have cleaned, sorted and catalogued over three hundred designs.  There have been some wonderful surprises and these unexpected discoveries are what inspire us to continue with the preservation process.

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