FASHION-DETECTIVE

In the nineteenth century paper was an expensive commodity, and it
was common practice for even the wealthiest households to re-use it.
Because of the paper’s previous use, paper templates remaining within
examples of patchwork can provide information regarding dates and
sometimes a geographical location for the work. Papers found in other
English quilts from this period have been recycled from ephemeral
materials, such as school exercise books, ledgers, advertisements,
newspapers and receipts. 4
Process
With the help of the NGV’s Photographic Services department, it
was suggested that perhaps the best chance of ‘reading’ the paper was
to transmit light through the doll’s dress, in the hope that this would
show any dark areas of ink beneath the silk. The dress was carefully
suspended so that light could shine through one side at a time. A
photographic flash was positioned on one side of the dress, and the
camera on the other to record the light shining through. The flash was
set so that it was powerful enough to penetrate through the multiple
layers of fabric, as well as the paper in between.
This technique was also trialled in infra-red to see if it improved the
readability of the text. An infra-red sensitive camera was used with an
infra-red pass filter over the lens to block visible light. This particularly
enhanced the readability of the typeset words, but not the handwriting.
The transmitted light was strong enough to show a faint glow
through the silk patches, and a few dark smudges became visible on
the monitor. The camera focus was painstakingly adjusted through
the various layers until the camera was focused on the paper layer.
A number of eerie-looking printed and handwritten words became
visible, clearly showing that a large number of the paper templates
had been recycled from printed material.
Transmitted light photograph in infra-red revealing the word ‘presence’ printed in letterpress
Evidence
Transmitted light photograph in infra-red revealing the word ‘GUILD’ printed in letterpress
The printed characters are likely to be letterpress, a relief printing
technique commonly used in the nineteenth century that may leave an
indentation on paper. They are clearly defined, and perhaps a slight
impression can be discerned from the initial photograph. The type
is serif, with pronounced contrast between its thick and thin lines.
Unfortunately the typeface could not be identified from the images.
Some of the printed words are clearly discernible, such as the words
‘GUILD’ and ‘Presence’. Other words are only partially readable.
However, with uncanny convenience the date ‘1859’ can be clearly
read on one of the printed paper templates. The typematter does
Transmitted light photograph in infra-red revealing the date ‘1859’
not seem dense enough to be a newspaper column – but this is a
subjective assumption. The printed characters are more likely to be
from another ephemeral source, such as an advertising flyer which
might include a current date.
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