I have a few brakeman / conductor hats dating from the 1940s to the 1970s and have noticed the visor on the oldest ones is starting to crack but not peel which is something I've often seen happen. Is there anything I can do to arrest the cracking and prevent it from happening to the newer ones as they age. Also, is there anything I should do to help preserve the stitching and fabric and keep it from coming apart as time wears on.

Thanks very much for any advice.

Jason

Clothing is frequently the most complicated and difficult item to preserve. There are different materials (sometimes the thread is different than the fabric, plus leather, or leather like materials, etc…) and different processes for each (what dye, what starch, what treatment…) If you add composite material like patent leather any problem is possible…

I run a historic house museum and have taken many courses and seminars in care of various materials, but clothing is an area I feel I am generally way over my head, and as a result call in the experts… For example I have in our collection, many wedding dresses… Two are self destructing… (one is from 1895, from a local family, the other from 1904, from the family which lived in our house) and according to the curators of textiles at two local museums, (very well regarded) this is a reality, about which there is nothing I can do… they are past their life expectancy and they are going away… Throwing cubic money at the problem will not fix it. They are going away… We are taking photos, and notes, and having reproductions made… The originals will turn to dust in their acid free boxes.

Generally, get them out of the light, keep them in a neutral environment, minimize handling, have them looked at by a local competent textile curator…