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The dissertation is divided into four sections. The first deals with the work experience gained at the Australian War Memorial, followed by that gained at the Abegg Stiftung. Observations on visits to other conservation laboratories and a report on the two international conferences attended, complete sections three and four. Work experience at the Australian War Memorial Textile conservation laboratory involved spending time in assisting with ongoing programs, conservation treatments carried out with supervision, as well as research. The time was divided so that all areas received equal emphasis. Ongoing programs involved the uniform inspections program and the display maintenance program. The involvement with routine tasks of surface cleaning, and with preparation for storage or display, with both programs, is not detailed in the dissertation. Nor can the dissertation include all the treatments of objects. Reference may be made for details on these treatments, to Australian War Memorial Conservation records for objects with the following accession numbers: AWM 1102,/5947,/10487, AWM 7919. However, two treatment reports are included. These are for a pair of flying boots worn by the Baron von Richthofen, and for an embroidered silk souvenir. The boots, now on permanent display were conserved with attention given to the need to preserve historical evidence, the choice of materials used for repair and requirements of display. The silk textile treatment took into consideration the benefits and risks involved in removing a deteriorated backing and relining a silk which was extremely embrittled. In the process it was realised that a facing might give stability to such a deteriorated silk; however, an initial study of facing materials and methods was required and was therefore undertaken and reported on in the dissertation. Whilst inspecting items in the relics collection of the Australian War Memorial a number of rubberised fabrics and other rubber materials were observed to show problems such as hardening, embrittlement, deformation, tackiness or discolouration. It was found that no information had been published on the treatment and preservation of such materials in the conservation literature. A survey on rubber deterioration and preservation literature since 1900 is included in the dissertation. The function, facilities and equipment of the textile conservation department of the Australian War Memorial are described as well as the storage of relics and uniforms. Work experience at the Abegg Stiftung involved assisting with group projects in most instances as well as working independently with supervision. It was therefore decided to report in general on the types of treatment given and give a brief account of the experience and skills gained. An example of a treatment report as was required for the Abegg Stiftung records is included as well as an example of detailed personal notes on the progress and treatment of a 15th century silk chasuble. The Abegg Stiftung is recognised as one of the foremost training centres in textile conservation in Europe. This led me to consider here the benefits and possible limitations of the program from the impressions gained during the three months work experience at the Institute. Round table discussions were held by Mechthilde Flury- Lehmburg which served to raise questions for discussion by textile conservation students and staff. This also permitted a concensus to be reached when items of a complex nature were to be conserved. A record of such a discussion is annexed. The Library of the Institute was frequently consulted by historians, as it specialises in textile conservation literature and many languages are represented, German being predominant. This library was consulted on German literature on textile conservation, and a brief guide to sources is included. Visits were made to a number of textile conservation laboratories in Europe. It was possible as a result of these visits to evaluate various types of equipment which are used for textile conservation. It was seen that although much skilful work was being done, especially in laboratories where more conservative treatments were preferred, there were a number of questions which were raised and remained unanswered. Subjects discussed and research undertaken are reported. The 1IC and ICOM conferences attended, introduced me to international cooperation and activity in conservation research and setting of standards. Information found to be relevant to progress in textile conservation research and related materials is summarised here.

The contents of this dissertation are a compendium of the conservation work carried out during a six-month internship period, divided between the Textile Conservation Section of the Australian National Gallery and the Conservation Division of the National Library of Australia. During a six-week period at the ANG, served under the Textile Conservator, Miss Josephine Carter, opportunity was provided to work with items from several of the Gallery's major textile collections, including: 1) Precataloguing surveys of articles of costume involving a) removal from temporary storage, sorting, documentation of holdings and repacking of over 500 items of costume from the Dialghev Ballets in the Theatre Arts Collection b) descriptive documentation and repacking of costume and accessories dated between 1900 and 1950 from the Julian Robinson Collection. 2) Assistance with the photography of 10 items of Dialghev Ballet costume and 90 lengths of Indonesian fabric for the Gallery's acquisition records. 3) Preparation for mounting, and hanging of a large Arthur Boyd tapestry in the foyer of Government House. 4) Full conservation of four small articles of costume from the Julian Robinson Collection, and preparation of treatment proposals for future conservation of three additional items. During a 41/2-month period at the National Library of Australia, served under the direction of the Principal Conservator, Mr. Ian Cook opportunity was provided to work with a wide variety of items on paper while participating in virtually all the varied aspects of the Division's work, including: 1) Conservation responsibility for a one-day exhibition held in the Library in conjunction with the ANU conference, "Australian and European Imagination", involving a) conservation and/or condition documentation of 23 bound and unbound prints, watercolours and drawings b) supervision of mounting the exhibition and return of the items to storage. 2) Conservation of four charts by William Bligh from the Maps Division for future display in the Library. 3) Treatment of 18 miscellaneous items on paper requiring conservation for their continued use in the Library, including prints and watercolours from the Pictorial Collection, playbills and bound serials from Australian Reference, and a series of Philippines maps. 4) Testing of laminating tissue and photographic negative envelopes for their suitability for conservation use. 5) Condition surveys of the Ferguson Collection of Rare Maps and of master negative microfilm reels from the Australian Joint Copying Project.

No / X-Radiography is widely used in the investigation of works of art and other culturally significant artefacts to reveal and record details of their construction, modification and state of preservation. Radiography is considered to be a non-destructive technique but its increasing use in the study of historic textiles has prompted the testing of this assumption as X-rays and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, such as light and micro-waves, cause changes in materials which may be detrimental to their physical stability. An experiment was undertaken to test the safety ofradiography for the imaging of silk fabrics as these are particularly susceptible to photodegradation. The results from a series of radiographic exposures of modern and historic fabrics show that excessive exposure to low energy X-rays produced no detectable changes in their mechanical integrity. This indicates that the customary levels of radiographic exposure used in imaging will not be detrimental to textiles.

A comparative examination of the original and reproduction Gone With the Wind costumes at the Harry Ransom Center is at the heart of this study, which proposes to trace the relationship between the analogue original costume, the replica garment, and the digital image reproduction. A discussion of definitions of authenticity and “the original” within such areas as conservation, film studies, and audience perception explores the questions: what is the role of the reproduction, and can it challenge the authority and “aura” of the original? This inquiry illustrates that authenticity is negotiated; it is not always fixed in a clear line ranging from “the real thing” on one side to “the copy” on the other. The study concludes with examining digital image reproductions of costume. The online digital database record can potentially reveal more than a face-to-face encounter with the object in a gallery space, illuminating the biography and history of the garment, changes in curatorial decisions and exhibition practice, and the experience of tactility and embodiment. / text

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This thesis examines the condition of the “Curtain Dress” of Gone With the Wind (GWTW) with the purpose of advising a conservation plan that would allow its exhibit in 2014 as part of the 75th anniversary of the film. The dress has been stored since 1981 in the Harry Ransom Center (HRC) at the University of Texas at Austin as part of the David O. Selznick (DOS) Collection. The project addresses the book, the film, the creation of the dress, and what happened to it after filming was over. A collaborative team was formed including HRC staff, a conservator, and graduate students from the Textiles and Apparel Division at the University of Texas at Austin. The author of this study provided historical context, document analysis, construction evaluation, and fiber testing. A timeline for the book, film, and garment was established; communications from Selznick referencing the dress were analyzed; construction details were photographed and documented for reference; and colorimetry and spectroscopy techniques were used for fiber analysis. / text

A partir da estreita relação entre a roupa social e o figurino, dentro e fora do espetáculo, esta tese tem como objetivo investigar os percursos que faz a roupa após a \"cena\", isto é, a partir do momento em que são guardadas como documentos de pesquisa e não mais usadas como objeto de consumo e descarte. São discutidas questões relacionadas aos acervos têxteis e os processos necessários para a sua conservação e esse será o objeto de estudo: as iniciativas existentes fora dos espaços museológicos que vem sendo realizadas por grupos de teatro, universidades, colecionadores, instituições culturais e estilistas. Será debatido o exemplo do Centre National du Costume de Scène, na França, a coleção de figurinos do cantor/performer Ney Matogrosso numa instituição de ensino, e o desenvolvimento, como estudo de caso, do projeto de conservação e exposição da coleção de marionetes do estilista/figurinista Fause Haten. / From the close relationship between social clothes and costumes, in and out of the show, this thesis aims to investigate the pathways that make the clothes after the \"scene\" that is, from the moment they are saved as documents research and no longer used as an object of consumption and disposal. Issues are discussed related to textiles collections and the processes needed for its conservation and that will be the object of study: existing initiatives outside the museum spaces that have been performed by theater groups, universities, collectors, cultural institutions and designers. It will be discussed the example of the Centre National du Costume de Scène in France the collection of costumes the singer / performer Ney Matogrosso an educational institution, and the development, as a case study, the conservation project and exhibition designer collection of puppets / costume Fause Haten

A partir da estreita relação entre a roupa social e o figurino, dentro e fora do espetáculo, esta tese tem como objetivo investigar os percursos que faz a roupa após a \"cena\", isto é, a partir do momento em que são guardadas como documentos de pesquisa e não mais usadas como objeto de consumo e descarte. São discutidas questões relacionadas aos acervos têxteis e os processos necessários para a sua conservação e esse será o objeto de estudo: as iniciativas existentes fora dos espaços museológicos que vem sendo realizadas por grupos de teatro, universidades, colecionadores, instituições culturais e estilistas. Será debatido o exemplo do Centre National du Costume de Scène, na França, a coleção de figurinos do cantor/performer Ney Matogrosso numa instituição de ensino, e o desenvolvimento, como estudo de caso, do projeto de conservação e exposição da coleção de marionetes do estilista/figurinista Fause Haten. / From the close relationship between social clothes and costumes, in and out of the show, this thesis aims to investigate the pathways that make the clothes after the \"scene\" that is, from the moment they are saved as documents research and no longer used as an object of consumption and disposal. Issues are discussed related to textiles collections and the processes needed for its conservation and that will be the object of study: existing initiatives outside the museum spaces that have been performed by theater groups, universities, collectors, cultural institutions and designers. It will be discussed the example of the Centre National du Costume de Scène in France the collection of costumes the singer / performer Ney Matogrosso an educational institution, and the development, as a case study, the conservation project and exhibition designer collection of puppets / costume Fause Haten