After receiving a Museum, Archive and Conservation Award grant from the Textile Society, staff at the George Marshall Medical Museum have recently embarked on their Threads of Health: Textiles in Medicine project with assistance from historical costume designer Lindsey Holmes. The focus of the project is the conservation, presentation and interpretation of a rare mid 1800s child’s pneumonia jacket in the collection.

The project, completed in September 2016 has supported a body of research into the role of textiles in healthcare, and helped to fund the creation of a replica of the museum's rare pneumonia jacket for display purposes. 

Above: The original jacket being measured by Museum staff and volunteers.

Above: The original next to the replica jacket. The replica jacket is put on display and the original is boxed ready for storage.

Above: After transportation to the home of the museums' costume storage, the original is boxed and padded in a museum grade costume box.

To read a short summary of the findings, which was submitted to the Textile Society, click here.