I’m not a textile curator but one technique might be to bag or box it and then label the bag or box.  You could do the same with acid free paper, just wrap it up and mark the paper.  Or tie cloth labeling tape gently around it and write on that.  The risk with those methods of course is that it could get separated from its container somewhere along the way.  You could also try tacking on a label with tiny stitches and a fine needle. 

 

I’d probably first consider whether a scarf in that condition really belongs in the collection.  Unless it’s very rare you might want to decline it due to its condition. 

 

Kristine Zickuhr

Registrar

Wisconsin Veterans Museum

 

 

 
Any of the textile curators out there willing to give me some advice on the best way to label a delicate, 60+ yr old scarf? I think its polyester or nylon, quite thin, was part of a WAVE uniform from WWII. Its been folded for many years, and is beginning to come apart in the fold lines. The rest of the uniform was easily labeled with cloth tags, but I am loath to sew a tag to this.
 
Nevertheless, it does need a label. Any suggestions?
 
Thanks in advance from an archivist doing her best with the great number of textiles for which she is responsible,
 
Christy A. Jones
 
Archivist
MS Armed Forces Museum
Camp Shelby, MS
 

"We are all worms, but I do believe that I am a glow-worm." --Winston Churchill

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