A Tale of Two Flags: How History of Treatment and Ownership Affected Conservation Treatment of Two Early Nineteenth-Century American Flags
Document Type
Video
Date
4-11-2019
Keywords
Deborah Trupin, textile conservation, Brodsky Series, preservation, conservation
Language
English
Disciplines
Archival Science | Art and Materials Conservation | Art Practice | Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts | Library and Information Science
Description/Abstract
The Brodsky Series for the Advancement of Library Conservation welcomed Deborah Lee Trupin to speak about textile conservation. Trupin gave a public lecture “A Tale of Two Flags: How History of Treatment and Ownership Affected Conservation Treatment of Two Early Nineteenth-Century American Flags.” The lecture was preceded by an interactive workshop “Textile Identification, Inspection, and Recommendations for Proper Housing and Treatment.” Between 1995 and 2006, Trupin led a team of textile conservators at the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) in the conservation treatment of two rare, early 19th-century flags: the 1809 Fort Niagara Garrison flag and the 1813 “Don’t give up the ship” flag from the U.S. Naval Academy. Trupin’s lecture address the treatment of these two historic flags, including cleaning, removal of past treatments and preparation of these large textile objects for long-term exhibition. The interactive workshop covered the basics of textile identification, agents of deterioration, care and storage, preventive conservation and collection management issues.
Trupin is principal of Trupin Conservation Services. She has more than 35 years of experience in textile conservation. From 1986 to 2015, she was textile and upholstery conservator for the OPRHP’s Bureau of Historic Sites (Peebles Island) in Waterford, New York, where she was responsible for the conservation of the textile and upholstery collections of the 35 state‑run historic sites and supervised the New York State Battle Flag Preservation Project. She is an assistant adjunct professor in FIT’s fashion and textiles studies M.A. program. Her main interests in conservation include preventive conservation, tapestries, upholstered furniture, flags, historic house museum issues and the history of conservation/restoration. Trupin is a fellow of the American Institute for Conservation and serves on the institute’s board.
See more on the Brodsky Series Page at: https://library.syr.edu/scrc/programs/brodsky.php
Recommended Citation
Trupin, Deborah, "A Tale of Two Flags: How History of Treatment and Ownership Affected Conservation Treatment of Two Early Nineteenth-Century American Flags" (2019). Brodsky Series. 13.
https://surface.syr.edu/pres_brodsky/13
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
