J.CAC VOLUME 28 (2003)
Setting the Stage at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres: Conservation of the Butterfly Scenery Flats
This paper describes the history and treatment of the Butterfly Scenery Flats, an original painted theatre set used for light interior comedy routines in the vaudeville era. The flats date from 1915 to 1920 and were used in the Loew’s vaudeville theatre in Toronto, now known as the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres. Conservation treatment of the matte, glue distemper paint on stretched canvas involved the following processes: detailed documentation, surface cleaning using sponges and erasers, local consolidation with Acryloid B-72, Rohatol B500, and also dilute gelatin applied using a mini-suction plate and a nebulizer mister, reinforcement of canvas folds with BEVA film and polyester fabric strips, reintegration of losses using acrylic gesso, UVS matte varnish, Methocel, and chalk pastels in application methods that compensated for the visual limitations and ageing properties of the materials, and finally, cami-lining. A selection of the Butterfly Scenery flats was installed in the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres in 2001.
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