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Conserving an 1889 Wedding Dress
This finely tailored cream wool wedding dress with Liberty silk satin trim was worn by Ethel Florence Francis on the occasion of her marriage to Councillor David Phillips at the Brunswick Wesleyan Church on Wednesday 30th January 1889.
On the evening of the wedding guests were entertained at the Brunswick Town Hall, an imposing Victorian building constructed in the 'Second Empire' style.
Photograph - Wedding portrait of Ethel and David Phillips, 1889, National Gallery of Victoria
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Image courtesy of National Gallery of Victoria
This aged photograph depicts the wedding dress (along with satin shoes, coronet and bouquet) that entered the NGV collection in 2004 - acquired with provenance linking its manufacture to Kilmore, 24kms from Darraweit Guim.
The bride's parents operated a general store in the 1860s and collected road tolls at ‘The Toll Bar’, a junction of Old Broadmeadows and Darraweit Guim roads. The general store building still stands on this site today.
Lovingly cared for by Ethel’s family for over 100 years, the dress displays some deterioration common to works of this age - the fine lightweight wool has yellowed slightly, the off-white cotton twill linings have oxidised to a deep brown colour and the wax and paper orange blossom trimmings have faded and are brittle.
When assessed by NGV textile conservators, the most pressing issue was the splitting of the Liberty silk satin trims. Further technical examination showed these satin trims were chemically treated during manufacture with a metal salt. This process, known as ‘weighting’ silk, was a common treatment applied to silks during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Unfortunately, the presence of these metal salts initiates deterioration of the silk fibres that results in the loss of fine weak silk float threads and splitting, as seen the satin ribbon trims of this dress.
Clothing - Satin piece from wedding dress before treatment, 1889, National Gallery of Victoria
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Image courtesy of National Gallery of Victoria
Conditions like this prevent the work from display. Therefore the first task for conservation has been to stabilize and support these fragile areas. Firstly, the satin ribbon trims were removed from the dress and the points at which they were attached to the wool skirt were marked with fine thread.
Then the two ribbon trims at the rear of the dress were folded and gathered to create a double ended trim. To stabilise the satin, a support lining was required. To apply this successfully, the trims needed to be flat and thus, removal of the gathering at the fold was necessary.
Before the gathering stitches could be removed, it was necessary to mark the fold lines of the gathering so that the original drape of the satin could be reproduced after treatment. This was done by stitching fine polyester thread along the crest of each fold.
Clothing - Fold lines in wedding dress, 1889, National Gallery of Victoria
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This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.
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Image courtesy of National Gallery of Victoria
After the application of the secondary support layer to the reverse of the satin trim, areas of splitting were carefully stitched to stabilise the cotton weft threads.
Clothing - Satin piece from wedding dress after treatment, 1889, National Gallery of Victoria
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All rights reserved
This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.
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Image courtesy of National Gallery of Victoria
The conservation of this wedding dress in an on-going project.
Later this month the satin trims will be regathered and secured in their original positions, small losses in the wool fabric will be repaired and the orange blossom trimmings will be stabilised. An underpinning will be made by our Textile Display Specialist that will offer support to the fragile dress while on a display mannequin and give it a historically accurate silhouette. Then, conservators will commence treatment of the shoes…
Happily, a birth notice in The Argus dated 15 February 1890 reads:
PHILLIPS - On the 3rd February, at Mirboo Mitchell Street, North Brunswick,
the wife of D. Phillips of a son. Both doing well.
Clothing - Top corset piece of wedding dress, 1889, National Gallery of Victoria
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This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.
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Image courtesy of National Gallery of Victoria
The finely tailored top section of the wedding dress, removed from skirt, has a floral corsage pinned to the shoulder.
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