Elegant Enclosures--Swatches, Swatches, and More Swatches!

Welcome back to “Elegant Enclosures,” a semi-regular series from the Preservation Unit, which is part of the Special Collections Research Center at D.H. Hill, Jr., Library. In Preservation, it’s our job to stabilize and house items that come into Special Collections, to protect them from the evils of dust, light, and handling. Sometimes items come along whose size, unusual shape, or other factors require some, er, well—thinking outside the box.

Such was the case for the yards and yards…..and yards….of fabric swatches that came to us from the Wilson College of Textiles. The fabrics were acquired by the then “School” of Textiles in 1957. The time had come to move them to a safer, more stable environment.

Normally boxes are custom-made for each item going into them. But because of the sheer quantity of swatches, it was necessary to systemize the making of the boxes, while still prioritizing the structure and condition of the fabrics. In addition, we wanted to get maximum usage out of each sheet of corrugated archival board, with as little waste as possible.

Each swatch hangs on its own individual hanger, similar to a hanging file folder. So the boxes had to provide space for those to hang, and the lids had to accommodate that space.

Jamie Bradway, our Preservation Librarian, created a “proof-of-concept” box that would both meet all of the above requirements, as well as fit neatly onto the shelves for which they were destined. Emily Schmidt, our Conservation Services Manager, then codified that design, so it could be repeated approximately 70 times! 

The three of us in the Preservation Unit then got to work making boxes. We became a box-making machine—measuring, cutting, crimping, folding, taping (don’t worry—while tape is normally a big no-no, this is the acid-free kind!), and labeling. Then we transferred the hundreds of swatches to their new homes.

Finally, the boxes came to rest on the shelves of the Special Collections Research Center.

Just by happenstance, we came across this little gem while in the process of transferring the swatches. It’s a swatch with the design of NC State's Memorial Belltower, created in 1951 in what was then the School of Textiles.

We’ll be bringing you another issue of “Elegant Enclosures” in the near future!

If you have any questions or are interested in viewing Special Collections materials, please contact us at library_specialcollections@ncsu.edu or submit a request online. The Special Collections Research Center is open by appointment only. Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm and Saturday, 1pm–5pm. Requests for a Saturday appointment must be received no later than Tuesday of the same week.