Treatment ReportCURTAINS WITHOUT BORDERS
Preserving Historic Painted Scenery
429 SOUTH WILLARD STREET, BURLINGTON, VERMONT 05401
802-863-4938 or 802-467-8602
E-mail: curtainswithoutborders@gmail.com
SURVEY, TREATMENT PROPOSAL and FINAL REPORT
Date of Original Proposal: 12/15/ 2014 Surveyor: Chris Hadsel & MJ Davis
Date of Revised Proposal: 6/6/2016 Site Work: 8/8/16 to 8/12/16
8/15/16 to 8/18/16
Location: Academy of Music, Northampton, MA
Address: 274 Main Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Contact Person: Debra J'Anthony, Exec Dir
Phone: 413-584-9032 ext 102
E-Mail: djanthony@academyofmusictheatre.com
Description of Curtain: Grand Drape with scene of Paradise Pond
Artist: Maurice Tuttle (signed)
Overall Dimensions: 39' 6"'W x 27' 10"'H (boards are 40' 4")
Date of Manufacture: 1913 Place of Manufacture: Northampton, MA
Inscriptions: Signature in lower right corner of image
Iconography: A tower on a building (the old hoe factory) is seen in the background. Paradise Pond is in the mid-ground with a shoreline and foliage in the foreground.
Overall Condition of Curtain: It has never been cleaned. There are numerous tears and holes and several large areas of discoloration. Overall: fair/good
Primary Support (Fabric):
Number of Panels: 16 vertical panels
Dimensions of Panels: 27’ 10” x 2’ 7” (sixteen panels)
Fiber: Heavy weight, twill weave, green and white stripped cloth, perhaps awning material.
Use of Adhesives: yes, side edges and old patches
Previous Repairs: yes, old patches, some stitching and attempts to mend the lower corner with fabric and tape
Overall Condition of Fabric: very dirty but overall sound
Fabric Condition Notes:
Top Edge: the top edge has been torn in numerous places where ropes were punched through to attach the top boards to the pipe. Curtain margin sandwiched between oak boards and fastened
to boards with cut tacks.
Side Edges: An extra layer of upholstery webbing was attached with adhesive and hand sewing, and numerous lead brackets which were used to contain guide wires. Several tears and some
stretching due to the weight of the brackets and rings.
Bottom Edge: firmly attached between two very heavy (oak) bottom boards with cut tacks. Lower right corner has sustained damage.
Stains: Several areas of paint have turned white (efflorescences), perhaps from damp or aqueous damage.
Secondary Support (Framework):
Roller: this is a fly curtain with oak battens both top and bottom. They are very heavy.
Top Support: original oak sandwich
Method of attachment to top support: tacks, nails
Pulleys and Ropes: the curtain is currently tied to a pipe but is not rigged to fly
Overall Condition of Secondary Support: top and bottom battens need to be replaced to reduce the total weight. Needs to be rigged by a professional rigger.
Paint Layer
Medium: water soluble distemper
Mechanical Damage: yes Abrasion: yes Insecure Paint: no, although white splotchy areas may prove to be insecure
Paint Loss: yes Accretions: yes Heat Damage: no
Water Damage: unknown Retouching: no Previous Repairs: yes
Ground Layer: yes
Underdrawing Observed: yes - there are stenciled flowers that show through in a random pattern
Varnish Layer: no
Overall Condition of Media: overall very dirty with fading of some colors and damage from large blotches of an unknown nature.
Pre-Treatment Photos
Overall Upper right corner Lower left corner Side brackets and rings
Central discolorations Several in the catwalk
Pre-Treatment Solvent Testing: not performed at this time
Installation Notes:
Top Sandwich removal/installation concerns: the top sandwich should be replaced with 1" x 6" pine or hardwood boards prior to rigging
Bottom Roller reuse/replacement/concerns: the bottom boards should be replaced with 1" x 4" pine or hardwood boards. The front bottom boards will be painted or stained to blend in
with the curtain.
Ropes and Pulleys reuse/replacement/concerns: All mechanical handling of the curtain will be carried out by the Academy staff.
Impediments to installation or de-installation: In order to handle such a big piece, we will use a treatment roller constructed from a series of SonaTubes secured together with washers
and screws. The roller will be discarded after treatment. The height of the ceiling will be a challenge. Our rigger will secure the new top boards to the existing pipe and the Academy
staff will do all other handling, including lowering the curtain in increments and raising it once restored.
Environmental Concerns:
Building/Room is heated: yes Air-conditioning: yes
Light: no windows on stage Presence of Pests/Bugs: no
Treatment Proposal:
1. Set up tables divided by 3 aisles and prepare treatment roller.
2. Lower the curtain slowly but all at once, resting the bottom batten on the tables and pulling it along until the entire curtain is lying face up on the tables. Disconnect the top
batten from the pipe. This should happen as close to 2 pm as possible on the first day, with Academy staff do preparation work earlier so the curtain can be lowered at that time.
3. Remove lead brackets and rings from both sides of curtain as the curtain is vacuumed and rolled onto the treatment roller. Dry erase front surface as appropriate.
4. Repair rips and tears throughout with appropriate support materials.
5. Remove reinforcing web material on margins. Remove adhesive residues and glue as necessary. Side line left and right edges with muslin adhered with BEVA film to prevent horizontal
tears in the future and repair holes from old lead brackets.
6. Stabilize raw edges at top and bottom using muslin and BEVA film in preparation for application of new boards.
7. Prepare top wooden support of 1" x 6" pine or hardwood boards with light sanding and a clear coat of water borne polyurethane or black latex paint. After paint is dry, attach to
curtain top margin with staples and screws.
8. As curtain is incrementally raised, selectively tone mended areas and disfiguring stains using appropriate paints. If necessary, areas of friable paint will be consolidated using
B72 in acetone. This will take at least 3 days.
9. Attach curtain bottom to a new sandwich made of 1" x 4" pine boards in a similar manner as in Step 7. The front boards will be painted or stained beforehand to match the curtain.
10. All rigging will be handled by the Academy staff with the exception of the attachment of the new top boards to the existing pipe. This will be done by Robert Brier (Upper Valley
Audio Visual).
11. Provide a written report and a CD with all photos and reports.
Treatment Report: 8/18/16 MJ Davis, Conservator
1. A work surface was made by setting up 4’ x 8’ tables on stage, then covering them with padding, large lengths of cotton muslin (Jo Ann Fabrics) and topped with house wrap (Tyvek).
A working roller 42’ in length was fabricated out of sono tubes secured with adhesive and screws. Joints were taped with duct tape.
2. The curtain was lowered slowly all at once by the Academy staff. The bottom batten rested on the tables and was gently pulled along until the entire curtain lay face up on the tables.
The top batten was disconnected from the pipe.
3. The lead brackets and rings from both sides of curtain were removed using flat files and vice grips. The top and bottom support boards were removed with mechanical action.
4. The curtain was rolled incrementally on the “working roller” and the recto and verso had surface soiling reduced using soft brushes dusting into the nozzle of a vacuum set on low.
During this step, the small rips and tears present in the primary support were stabilized with 100% cotton muslin patches secured locally with BEVA 371 (Bi-ethylene vinyl acetate TALAS)
at a temperature of 140 degrees F using a tacking iron. When unrolling the curtain, the surface was gently sponged with dry sponges to further reduce surface soiling.
5. The brittle, burlap reinforcing webbing on margins was removed from the verso with mechanical action. The corresponding adhesive residues were reduced with mechanical action and
a gentle sanding with 100 grit sand paper (True Value hardware).
7. The discolored patches near the bottom of the curtain and more dirt overall were reduced using dry sponges.
6. The raw edges at the top, left and right margins, and bottom were stabilized using muslin and BEVA 371 film secured with a tacking iron set at 140 degrees.
7. A new top wooden support of 1" x 3 ½” oak boards was fabricated by Robert Brier (Upper Valley Audio Visual), stained dark (Minwax) , and clear coated with water borne polyurethane
(Minwax). New bottom oak boards 1” x 3” were prepared in a similar manner. The boards were allowed to dry over the weekend.
8. Inpainting was carried out on mended areas, media loses, and disfiguring stains using Flasche acrylic paints (Daniel Smith) applied with a brush. The lower central area with
friable paint was consolidated using B72 (TALAS 5% solution in acetone) and allowed to dry overnight.
9. The curtain was secured to the top and bottom boards with cut tacks (True Value) in a staggered pattern. Then the board “sandwich” was secured with wood screws. Metal brackets
specially fabricated for the project were bolted at intervals to the top support boards.
10. All rigging was handled by the Academy staff with the exception of the attachment of the new top boards to the existing pipe.
11. The Academy was supplied with a written report and a CD with all photos and reports.
Signature: Curtains Without Borders Date: 9/15/2016