Dirk Posted December 30, 2021 Share #1 Posted December 30, 2021 A year ago one of our Forum members gifted me this unique Marine jacket…made of linen, it was designed for fatigue duty in tropical climes and probably dates to c. 1900-1908. I believe he said he found this in a thrift store, after being discarded by a West Coast costume house, and dyed green. The Forum member was able to remove the green dye before he passed it along to me. As noted, it’s got some really bad staining, it’s torn, has holes, and by the time I got it was very, very fragile. The cuffs appeared altered and other items were sewn on to the jacket at one time…the buttons of course were missing and when I attempted to reattach a button to the jacket, it would start ripping. So after talking with him, I thought I wonder what a professional cloth restorer could do…..because these are not exactly common uniforms and might be worth preserving a dated from the Philippines Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion, and early seagoing China Marine period uniform.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share #2 Posted December 30, 2021 So in comes a professional, and after doing a visual inspection, agrees she could save it. According to her the badly stained part left uncleaned for years, as well as numerous washes, and poor storage weakened the material. She also found the uniform had at some point been taken out rather crudely…twice. Although some of the stained portion was too unstable to save, a period linen patch of closely matching color work wonders….new button hole openings, strengthening other parts of the jacket from the interior and a proper washing produced this…..she also felt the Marine cuffs were still present, but the costume house had sewed them under, but through her skill she removed some stitches “rediscovered” the Marine cuffs and restored them. And so now we have a displayable rare uniform…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted December 30, 2021 Share #3 Posted December 30, 2021 Well Done, now it's a keeper and great period example for collectors to compare to their finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted December 30, 2021 Share #4 Posted December 30, 2021 I want it back now....... great job and it will fit your era of expertise perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share #5 Posted December 30, 2021 😄😂 Alec a really big thank you! Glad we could save this one from being lost to history Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted December 30, 2021 Share #6 Posted December 30, 2021 wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warguy Posted December 30, 2021 Share #7 Posted December 30, 2021 Good grief what a fabulous restoration. Great work Dirk and your restoration expert is awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share #8 Posted December 30, 2021 Thanks guys! She nailed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted December 30, 2021 Share #9 Posted December 30, 2021 It's not often we see collectors opt to pay for a full restoration...I know it couldn't have been cheap. But bravo, it came out wonderfully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share #10 Posted December 30, 2021 Thanks Brig! Still much cheaper then what they go for clean....displays well and learned from the restorer a bit of the history of the jacket through its needlework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted December 30, 2021 Share #11 Posted December 30, 2021 Nice job; at least you had a chance with stains and not moths. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share #12 Posted December 30, 2021 Kurt I am guessing she has a way of tackling moth damage as well! Thankfully, as you noted that was not an issue here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted December 30, 2021 Share #13 Posted December 30, 2021 Beautiful and rare item from the early Corps; congratulations. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted December 30, 2021 Share #14 Posted December 30, 2021 Very impressive. You called in a professional. Does she do this professionally for anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themick Posted December 30, 2021 Share #15 Posted December 30, 2021 That's amazing !! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share #16 Posted December 30, 2021 Yes I am sure you could ask her.…I can pm you her name if your interested. Not cheap, but well worth it if your more interested in preservation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted December 31, 2021 Share #17 Posted December 31, 2021 I don’t have anything at the moment but you never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmar836 Posted December 31, 2021 Share #18 Posted December 31, 2021 Great resto! Thanks for sharing this with us. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriarChuck Posted December 31, 2021 Share #19 Posted December 31, 2021 Beautifully done. Such a cool project. I love when history is saved. Do you happen to have a before shot of what the cuffs looked like? Thanks and again, well done! Friar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 31, 2021 Author Share #20 Posted December 31, 2021 Thanks guys it’s the best I can do on the cuffs. They were tucked under and sewn over by the costume house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Keith Posted January 1, 2022 Share #21 Posted January 1, 2022 As others have said, fantastic save! Professional conservation work is exacting work and time consuming. Beautiful work by a professional! Thanks for posting it, something to be proud of! BKW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share #22 Posted January 1, 2022 Brian fully agree! Not always practical and not cheap….but when rarity is an issue, it’s worth considering. Plus I got the benefit of hearing what the conservator saw in the jacket as she was stabilizing….ie a bit of the history of the needlework, materials use etc. in this particular jacket’s history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suwanneetrader Posted January 2, 2022 Share #23 Posted January 2, 2022 Thanks for saving. Hard to believe what she was able to do. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Kibler Posted January 2, 2022 Share #24 Posted January 2, 2022 Absolutely wonderful, to save history, preserve a rare tunic and kudos to the conservator!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Military_Curator Posted January 2, 2022 Share #25 Posted January 2, 2022 Extremely impressive restoration and drive on this one, Dirk! You have an amazing collection and this just highlights that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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