The blue tissue myth is probably related to 19th C. advice from well-meaning "experts". This is why I always warn not to use outdated care instructions and products. In the 1980s, when I started taking every museum-sponsored conservation/restoration course I could find that applied to textiles, we were taught that in dampness, floods, or if water was used to douse a house fire, dyes in tissue paper could run. Please do not automatically think blue tissue is good for your laces. Often, the same paper was made of wood pulp - the other tragedy waiting to happen being acid burn. Those of us of a "certain age" remember the post-WWII years when high school girls dressed like adults, and behaved accordingly. Finer dress shops used mounds and mounds of tissue paper (in various colors) to protect purchases that were packed in a box printed with the store's logo, so a new dress arriving at home would not be wrinkled. This was before new non-wrinkling fabrics were introduced. Dress boxes and hat boxes were made of cardboard - usually made of wood pulp! Over the years, re-cycled old tissue papers turned brownish, though some started as pastel colors. Items stored in these boxes and tissues often suffered from acid burn, though we did not know why at the time. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center -------------------------------------------------------- In a message dated 2/4/2014 11:10:11 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
I would suspect for the same reason people put "bluing" into their wash water for whites - the colour blue was held to make whites look whiter. You would think they'd use white tissue, of course, but maybe they figured that if some kind of colour transference happened they'd want it to be blue. Adele West Vancouver BC ----------------------------------------- On 2014-02-04, at 7:43 AM, laceandbits wrote: The Guild has been asked why, going back to before anyone was aware of acid-free issues, was lace traditionally stored in blue tissue paper? This is in the UK, was it a common practice worldwide? Our curator (who probably knows the answer) is on holiday, so I thought I would ask Arachne. Jacquie in Lincolnshire - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
