Civil War Uniform Framing

In picture framing, there seems to be no greater fulfillment for me than to frame an item or collection of family memorabilia.

I look at it as a “rescue mission”; preserving important artifacts that can be handed down to family members while knowing the item or items will be protected and kept intact.

A customer recently asked me to frame a cap (kepi) and short coat of a Civil War uniform that belonged a distant relative, a Union soldier. While he researched the history, I went to work sewing these pieces on an acid free fabric that was mounted on a 100% cotton board. Then, I fabricated an acrylic box about 3” deep with clear sides. Sewing is very time consuming but, in the future, should the owner wish to release these items from the framing, a quick snip of the scissors, will do the job. I think that anything done to artwork in framing should able to be undone with no harm done. The means applying glue, tape, staples, etc. are outside the bounds of responsible framing.

This acrylic box frame solution was somewhat contemporary given the subject matter to be framed but one that allowed the side angles of the piece to be visible.

The material used was an OP-3 acrylic which screens a high percentage of ultraviolet rays.

I discussed with the customer where in his house it should hang and we determined that a north facing room that received very low amounts of indirect natural light was the perfect place.

I’ve framed items for families from the Civil War, WWI, WWII and the Viet Nam War. And sadly, there will be more to come.