THE MERCHANT TAILOR MUSEUM
Digital Loan Program
Beyond our own holdings, and as part of our radical accessibility objectives, we have developed a program to aid in the cataloging and the preservation of knowledge of as many relevant artifacts as possible. Participants in our digital loan program have the opportunity to contribute their own holdings to our digital collection while maintaining ownership and collections credit. We will photograph, create detailed construction notes, and patterns for garments outside of our collection. This information will be included in our digital collection, and attribution given to the current caretaker. The result of this program will be an ever-growing database documenting the existence of this dwindling artifacts record, crediting the modern-day stewards of these priceless resources.
About the process...
The first step is to fill out the form below. We will review your submission and contact you with additional information or with any questions we might have regarding your collection. If your collection, in full or in part, is a good fit for the Museum, we will work with you to coordinate both a time and a facility to start the digitization process, which includes:
Catalog
Our team will carefully examine and catalog each garment. This includes tagging and creating detailed construction and material notes along with creating an overview of any conservation required.
Photograph
After notes are taken and a conservation assessment has been completed, each garment will be carefully photographed. Detailed photos of the pieces will then be uploaded to the website along with any relevant notes and information.
Pattern
When time and resources permit, our team will carefully draft, true to inch patterns. These patterns will then be available as free downloads on the individual garment pages.
Contact us today about digitizing your collection.
We look forward to hearing more about your collection. Please fill out the form below and we will contact you shortly. Upload here, any relevant photos that might help us determine if your collection is right for The Merchant Tailor Museum. We appreciate your support in helping create the most comprehensive database of men's garments produced during the 19th century. Together we can preserve and share with the world, the textiles that defined an era.