The New Brunswick Museum (NBM) houses a significant collection of fashion clothing, especially late 19th and early 20th century women’s dresses. Recently, the NBM received three dresses that belonged to Mildred Mariann Bennett Herridge (1889–1938), the youngest sister of New Brunswick-born Prime Minister Richard Bedford Bennett (1870–1947). She played a pivotal role in her brother’s political career, serving as an informal emissary to women delegates at the 1927 Conservative party leadership convention and campaigning by his side across the country. Her charisma and social skills were essential to R.B. Bennett’s 1930 election victory and to his tenure as Prime Minister from 1930 to 1935.
When the NBM accepts new artifacts, such as these dresses, the cataloging process is about more than just paperwork—it’s about accurately capturing as much information as possible about the object, including the visual.
When historical textiles arrive at the Museum, they have often been packed away for decades. Before they can be fully understood, each garment must be assessed. If possible, they are mounted, documented, and photographed to create a detailed digital record to ensure minimal future handling. Here is a look at how we prepare a new acquisition for its digital record:
Initial Documentation: Among the first steps of our process for new acquisitions are an assessment of their condition and photography in their current state. In the case of a dress, part of this early assessment is to determine if it has the structural integrity to be safely mounted onto a mannequin.
Preparation: If determined to be safe, a dress is mounted on a mannequin to be viewed in three dimensions. Once mounted, we allow the fabric to rest. This passive process lets gravity do the work, helping the garment regain its intended shape and allowing wrinkles to fall out naturally without using invasive treatments.
360-degree Photography: We take photos to capture the dress at every angle, rotating the mannequin to get 360-degree imagery. These high-resolution images serve as a “digital surrogate” for the object.
Preservation: Why do we take so many photos? The best way to protect a fragile artifact is to handle it as little as possible. By creating a complete visual record now, we significantly reduce the need for physical handling in the future. It allows researchers and the public to study the collection digitally, while the physical dresses remain safely preserved in specialized housing. This ensures preservation for future display.
Future Exhibition: An artifact’s condition issues, like wrinkles, tears, or other damage, are typically not fully addressed in the stages described above. We minimize the issues as much as possible without any technical conservation treatments. When a time is right for an artifact to be put on exhibit, conservators perform a reassessment of condition. Treatment proposals are presented, and if approved, treatments are done on the objects to prepare them for public display. The work done at this stage is more in-depth to bring the best possible version of the artifact we can to the public.
Swipe through to see the transformation of the dresses’ “before” condition to a better representation of their three-dimensional form.
