Written by Progress on the digitisation is good. We are still in pilot mode assessing what are the best camera settings, backgrounds etc. Some principles are mid grey background for most items however anything with “show through” e.g. pulled work or fringes is done on black as they show up better. We will finalise the principles in December before planning more days for the new year.
We have been going for 5 weeks at 2-3 days a week. Off site processing is taking place by the photographer between shooting days.
To date we’ve photographed 360 items. We have received back everything taken during October, and these are loaded to our shared cloud account so we can check and verify them all.
As well as the table stand set-up we included larger items that need a floor set-up and a few items on mannequin to test these processes as well. My photos of the floor shots include the largest item done to date – and has enabled us to determine the maximum size we can do at Halton – it is red Asian coverlet with shisha mirrors and is 215cm by 130cm.
We are aware that we may need to hire a specialist space for anything larger however we’re not at those items yet and we have plenty to do in the meantime!
One unexpected benefit of the project is discovering items that were thought to be mislaid. We were approached a few years ago to confirm which pieces by Beryl Dean were in EG Collection. At that time a cover for a bible couldn’t be located however we found it as part of the digitisation as it had been on loan to Edinburgh. See the featured image (above). This has delighted The Beryl Dean Trust, to know we do have it – and it’s in excellent condition.
We are starting the discussions with Art UK to load our Collection to their website. More details will follow on this once we’re ready to launch.
Anne Haigh, Trustee
Please note these photos are copyright of the Embroiderers’ Guild and must not be shared, copied or used in any way without express permission of the Embroiderers’ Guild.
For details of the project, see our earlier news post: Digitising the Embroiderer’s Guild Collection
Art UK is new to me, and has just sent me down a rabbit hole of remembering my local childhood museum and the silk weavers of Macclesfield. So thankyou for that!