Assistance with finding a resource for repair

RFB

Cadet
Joined
May 25, 2021
I am hoping that someone can recommend a resource to repair a Civil War cap. We were told it is a G.A.R. kepi. It belonged to my husband’s great-grandfather who resided in Academia, Pennsylvania. He served 3+ years in the Union army as a young private. We are told that the kepi would have been worn in venues such as parades, celebrations, & to the funerals of fellow veterans and the 134 signified the Mifflintown G.A.R. post number which is the lodge he would have belonged to as a war veteran. The cap is over 135 years old and needs to be restored. Does anyone know of a reputable place that can do that? Many thanks for any guidance!

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I am hoping that someone can recommend a resource to repair a Civil War cap. We were told it is a G.A.R. kepi. It belonged to my husband’s great-grandfather who resided in Academia, Pennsylvania. He served 3+ years in the Union army as a young private. We are told that the kepi would have been worn in venues such as parades, celebrations, & to the funerals of fellow veterans and the 134 signified the Mifflintown G.A.R. post number which is the lodge he would have belonged to as a war veteran. The cap is over 135 years old and needs to be restored. Does anyone know of a reputable place that can do that? Many thanks for any guidance!

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I would leave it alone, it looks in good shape, you may want to gently stuff it with acid free tissue, found at Michael’s & Hobby Lobby. Employing the tissue will return it to it’s natural shape, it appears as if it hung on a hook for a while.
The chin strap just needs to be secured with a couple of stitches. The leather loop on the end of the strap goes around the other leather piece that is against the hat, this enables the strap to be elongated or shortened.

Very nice piece, what a wonderful heirloom!
 
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I would leave it alone, it looks in good shape, you may want to gently stuff it with acid free tissue, found at Michael’s & Hobby Lobby. Employing the tissue will return it to it’s natural shape, it appears as if it hung on a hook for a while.
The chin strap just needs to be secured with a couple of stitches. The leather loop on the end of the strap goes around the other leather piece that is against the hat, this enable the strap to be elongated or shortened.

Very nice piece, what a wonderful heirloom!

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Yours should look like this, only without the brass adjuster. I just looked again and I see where the wool seems to have separated from the brim. You could take it to Dirty Billy’s Hats in Gettysburg and see what Billy can do. Let me know if you are not near that area and I will see if there is someone I know near you. I don’t want to send you to one of the primary conservators as they are unbelievably expensive. William Wickham (Billy) makes these as reproductions and will do a very acceptable and affordable job.
 
To collectors there is a difference between repair and stabilize. The usually suggestion is to stabilize it in the condition that it is in and not to allow it to suffer additional damage. Repair involves changing the item in ways that are permanent. Properly stored and properly displayed this cap is in good condition. If you simply stuff it with acid free tissue and set the strap in the proper place put it in a case away from direct light I think you would have a great display.
 
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Yours should look like this, only without the brass adjuster. I just looked again and I see where the wool seems to have separated from the brim. You could take it to Dirty Billy’s Hats in Gettysburg and see what Billy can do. Let me know if you are not near that area and I will see if there is someone I know near you. I don’t want to send you to one of the primary conservators as they are unbelievably expensive. William Wickham (Billy) makes these as reproductions and will do a very acceptable and affordable job.
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Yours should look like this, only without the brass adjuster. I just looked again and I see where the wool seems to have separated from the brim. You could take it to Dirty Billy’s Hats in Gettysburg and see what Billy can do. Let me know if you are not near that area and I will see if there is someone I know near you. I don’t want to send you to one of the primary conservators as they are unbelievably expensive. William Wickham (Billy) makes these as reproductions and will do a very acceptable and affordable job.
Thank you so much. I can do most of these things that you have suggested and I definitely will. I can stitch and I can purchase acid free tissue! Unfortunately I am not near Gettysburg; we live in Tampa, Florida. If you know anyone nearby who can assist with the wool separation from the brim, please let me know. Many thanks, Package4!
 
To collectors there is a difference between repair and stabilize. The usually suggestion is to stabilize it in the condition that it is in and not to allow it to suffer additional damage. Repair involves changing the item in ways that are permanent. Properly stored and properly displayed this cap is in good condition. If you simply stuff it with acid free tissue and set the strap in the proper place put it in a case away from direct light I think you would have a great display.
I had no idea that to stabilize would be such a good option! Thank you so much for educating me and for your much appreciated evaluation and suggestions!
 
I had no idea that to stabilize would be such a good option! Thank you so much for educating me and for your much appreciated evaluation and suggestions!

I have attended three seminars about repair, restoration, and stabilization. The seminars were given by people on the cutting edge of this kind of thing. Repair and restoration usually involves sewing or otherwise altering the original piece. Many museums now see this as damaging the artifact. Now days one of the things museums do is to build a special frame which holds the artifact secure to avoid additions damage. The museum might put acid free cloth of a color that matches the artifact behind any holes or split seams to help hide the defects. Other times acid free cloth, often of a mess design, is sewn in using threads thinner than a human hair to sew it to the artifact so the damage to the artifact is kept to a minimum.

Some of the motivation of the move to stabilization was the repairs done in the 1950s and 1960s did sever damage to artifacts that are now permeant. For example take a Civil War flag and sew it to cotton cloth. This caused thousands of needle holes in the flag and the slight vibrations caused by the heat in the display case rubbed the silk flag on the cotton and the silk designated. Flags were also coated in plastic or other materials which greatly damaged the silk or cotton the flag was made of. All this damage done to artifacts caused a move to simply stabilize artifacts.
 
I had no idea that to stabilize would be such a good option! Thank you so much for educating me and for your much appreciated evaluation and suggestions!
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I have attended three seminars about repair, restoration, and stabilization. The seminars were given by people on the cutting edge of this kind of thing. Repair and restoration usually involves sewing or otherwise altering the original piece. Many museums now see this as damaging the artifact. Now days one of the things museums do is to build a special frame which holds the artifact secure to avoid additions damage. The museum might put acid free cloth of a color that matches the artifact behind any holes or split seams to help hide the defects. Other times acid free cloth, often of a mess design, is sewn in using threads thinner than a human hair to sew it to the artifact so the damage to the artifact is kept to a minimum.

Some of the motivation of the move to stabilization was the repairs done in the 1950s and 1960s did sever damage to artifacts that are now permeant. For example take a Civil War flag and sew it to cotton cloth. This caused thousands of needle holes in the flag and the slight vibrations caused by the heat in the display case rubbed the silk flag on the cotton and the silk designated. Flags were also coated in plastic or other materials which greatly damaged the silk or cotton the flag was made of. All this damage done to artifacts caused a move to simply stabilize artifacts.
Flags are a completely different ballgame and considerable damage has been done to silk flags over the years by experienced conservators, not knowing what we now know. Uniforms though need stabilization and many times repair. Case in point is the James Clark kepi (pictures below) that at the time these pictures were taken was getting ready for repair at the Museum of the Confederacy, now The American Civil War Museum, in Richmond, VA. The sweatband and brim had become detached, so original thread was sought and the band was lightly tacked back into place, the brim was waiting for a more professional attachment. The trick to brim repair, according to Les Jensen, now one of the curators at West Point Museum, is to make sure you use original thread and go through the same holes in the brim as originally used.

Stabilization and repair are many times necessary when it comes to both uniforms and headgear, otherwise buttons, chinstraps, brims etc. may become lost from their original home, particularly in museums that can only display a fraction of what they have.

Conservator, Cathy Wright gave us an amazing tour, of the underbelly of the MOC, back in 2016, sadly for us, Cathy married and moved to Scotland with her husband.

In the pictures you can see how the kepi has been stored, with the acid free tissue balled up to keep the form, while it is waiting for conservation. We asked to see what Maryland headgear they had and this was the extent of their collection. The cap is amazing in its state of condition and that it actually has two chinstraps and Louisiana Pelican buttons. Les Jensen told me he had some documentation on the kepi and it entailed the reason for the buttons, but we never reconnected on that topic. Clark never served in a Louisiana unit.

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Wow! Great photos! The kepi looks to be in great shape now!

I have a few more photos to share of the inside of our kepi. The colorful part looks like a bookmark that has been set inside the hat however it appears to be actually sewn in on the back of the kepi. And the “bookmark” has the initials “JMB” which are the initials of the owner of the kepi. Any idea if it was it a custom to do this to identify one’s cap from others? Or would it be more likely that a relative sewed this bookmark in later? I am quite perplexed about this!

Interestingly the side of the kepi has the name of the company that made it. Just wondering, do most kepis have this type of identification?

Thanks so much for any insight!!!

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Wow! Great photos! The kepi looks to be in great shape now!

I have a few more photos to share of the inside of our kepi. The colorful part looks like a bookmark that has been set inside the hat however it appears to be actually sewn in on the back of the kepi. And the “bookmark” has the initials “JMB” which are the initials of the owner of the kepi. Any idea if it was it a custom to do this to identify one’s cap from others? Or would it be more likely that a relative sewed this bookmark in later? I am quite perplexed about this!

Interestingly the side of the kepi has the name of the company that made it. Just wondering, do most kepis have this type of identification?

Thanks so much for any insight!!!

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Very nice, in fact it really does not need much in the way of conservation, I think the bookmark was a later addition by a family member to keep them together. The kepi has what is called a bag lining and you only need to tuck everything back behind the sweatband. Are both buttons attached with the original thread? The reason I ask is that the leather loop of the chin strap needs to go around the other strap, but one of the buttons would need to be detached to do so as the loop looks to be closed. You could open the loop and sew it back around the strap if the buttons are still attached. You them might simply find some matching wool and insert inside the kepi in the front, and back with the acid free paper, it will display well and you would not have to mess with it further, if you did not want to. I do not know anyone in FL that could do the work responsibly. The cap is getting nicer all of the time!
 
Thank you!

FYI…both buttons appear to be attached with the original thread. If I did this correctly, I was able to re-situate the chin strap without removing the button. Is this (see photo) what the chin strap is supposed to look like?

I stuffed the kepi momentarily with cloth for the photo, but I have ordered acid-free tissue paper. Many thanks to you and to those who offered that suggestion. I have not yet been able to find acid free black cloth to use to disguise the detachment of the hat from the brim. I’ve checked JoAnne’s fabric store and Michaels as well as a general internet search. Any thoughts on where I might find that?

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I am also attaching photos of the inside of the kepi which looks like an earlier attempt to repair the detachment. Or could this possibly be the original threads? It looks a bit sloppy to me which makes me think it was a repair (the repair might have worked for awhile!) I believe that Major Bill mentioned that thread thinner than a human hair is often used for repairs. I wonder where I could find something like that?

I have been visualizing a clear acrylic type box for display, like those seen in museums. But I cannot seem to find where they are sold. I am not sure the exact name of the item so I might be searching incorrectly. Am I on the right track for a proper display?

I cannot thank you all enough for your kind responses and pointing me in the right direction!

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I am also attaching photos of the inside of the kepi which looks like an earlier attempt to repair the detachment. Or could this possibly be the original threads? It looks a bit sloppy to me which makes me think it was a repair (the repair might have worked for awhile!) I believe that Major Bill mentioned that thread thinner than a human hair is often used for repairs. I wonder where I could find something like that?

I have been visualizing a clear acrylic type box for display, like those seen in museums. But I cannot seem to find where they are sold. I am not sure the exact name of the item so I might be searching incorrectly. Am I on the right track for a proper display?

I cannot thank you all enough for your kind responses and pointing me in the right direction!

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Those are most likely the original oxidized threads, the thread that Major Bill was referring was for silk flag restoration, which is infinitely more complex. I do not believe there is such a thing as acid free cloth, but I may be mistaken. I think you are well on your way to a beautiful and inexpensive restoration!

I have used Collecting Warehouse for my display cases. https://www.collectingwarehouse.com...-Acrylic-Box-Display-Case-with-Hardwood-Bases
 
Interesting! I was writing those threads off as a repair job. Thanks for the clarification!

And thank you so much for the resource of "Collecting Warehouse". That is exactly what I was hoping to find!
 
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