Conservation internship at the National Library of Australia and the Australian National Gallery

Abstract

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 4 ½ 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.

Date of Award	1982
Original language	English