‘Most I saw were very dirty, some very ragged and all of very coarse cloth’: The Conservation of the Nineteenth-Century Student Gown in the Hunterian, University of Glasgow

A rare and important 19th century student gown in the collection of the Hunterian Museum had survived remarkably intact over the years, but to ensure its future long-term preservation, it was sent to the University of Glasgow Centre for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History for conservation. This paper describes the history of the gown, and details of the decision making and the work of the conservator involved in its preservation.