A historic garment can hold far more than fabric, lace, and thread. It can preserve the memory of a person, a place, and a moment that changed history. Katharine Wright’s dress does all three.

On June 10, 1909, Katharine stood beside Wilbur and Orville Wright at the White House as President William Howard Taft presented the brothers with gold medals from the Aero Club of America. A photograph from that day shows Katharine wearing the dress now cared for by the International Women’s Air & Space Museum (IWASM). Its recent conservation at ICA brought renewed attention to Katharine’s own enduring role in the Wright family story.

Katharine Wright’s Place in Aviation History

Katharine Wright was much more than the sister of two celebrated inventors. She was the only Wright sibling to attend college, graduating from Oberlin College in 1898. Wilbur and Orville did not attend college, although both later received honorary degrees from Oberlin.

After graduation, Katharine taught Latin and English in Dayton. At the same time, she helped manage the Wright family household and bicycle business while providing practical and emotional support as her brothers pursued their experiments with flight. When Orville was seriously injured in an airplane crash in 1908, Katharine left teaching to care for him. She also traveled with her brothers in Europe as their work gained worldwide attention.

Her presence at the White House in 1909 reflects the importance of that support. The International Women’s Air & Space Museum includes Katharine among the many women whose work, advocacy, and encouragement helped advance aviation and space exploration.

A Dress Worn at a Defining Public Moment

The dress is an elegant example of Edwardian summer fashion. It is made from panels of white cotton lawn joined by bands of cotton or silk lace. Thread-wrapped bone or horn buttons fasten the garment, while machine-made lace, whitework embroidery, and hand-finished details add texture and refinement.

Its visual delicacy is part of what makes the object so compelling—and so challenging to preserve. White textiles can be particularly vulnerable to discoloration, staining, fiber damage, and changes caused by past repairs. The dress had experienced more than a century of use, storage, alteration, and exposure before arriving at ICA for treatment.

Examination documented yellowing and acidification in the cotton and lace, brown staining and tidelines, small holes and losses, lace tears, loose threads, and distortions in the embroidered medallions. Earlier repairs were also present, including adhesive applications that had stiffened some fibers over time.

Thoughtful Textile Conservation Treatment

Textile conservation requires a careful balance: conservators seek to improve stability and appearance while respecting the material history of an object. Textile Conservator Zoey Hasselbring led the treatment, with assistance from pre-program conservation intern Justin Salazar.

Work began with methodical surface cleaning using a HEPA-filter vacuum. Fragile areas were protected throughout the process. Earlier repairs that could have put stress on the garment during wet cleaning were documented and carefully removed.

The next stage was wet cleaning. The dress was temporarily supported with fine net and other conservation materials before being cleaned in baths of deionized water and a gentle surfactant. Localized treatment helped reduce more persistent staining and tidelines. Every step required close attention to the dress’s fragile lace, embroidery, buttons, and historic fibers.

After cleaning, damaged areas were stabilized. Fine net underlays were stitched beneath tears in the lace, embroidered medallions received support, loose threads and unraveling lace were secured, and the buttons were reattached. Carefully controlled steam helped relax larger wrinkles without placing unnecessary stress on the garment.

An Oberlin Connection Across Generations

This conservation project also created a meaningful connection between Katharine Wright’s past and the present. During the treatment, Justin Salazar assisted with the wet cleaning process. Like Katharine, he is a student at Oberlin College.

More than 125 years after Katharine’s graduation, an Oberlin student participated in the preservation of the dress she wore during one of the most significant public moments of her life. This connection illustrates how cultural heritage preservation can link people across generations through shared places, stories, and care for the objects that carry them forward.

What the Dress Revealed About Its Own History

Conservation treatment can do more than address an object’s present condition. It can reveal evidence of how that object changed over time. In this case, comparing the dress with the June 10, 1909 photograph provided valuable clues.

In the historic photograph, Katharine appears to be wearing the dress with full or three-quarter-length sleeves. Today, the sleeves are half-length, suggesting that they may have been shortened later. The lace ruffle at the cuff may also have been added after the White House event. The collar looks different in the photograph as well, indicating that it may have been replaced or altered.

Additional details suggest that buttons may have been moved during earlier repair or alteration campaigns. The embroidered medallions contain evidence of a later backing layer, possibly added to reinforce them in the past. These changes are not simply imperfections; they are part of the dress’s history and help tell the fuller story of its life after 1909.

Preserving an Ohio Story for Public View

The conservation of Katharine Wright’s dress was made possible through a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the State Library of Ohio, supported by federal funds through the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The grant supported preservation work that helps cultural institutions care for objects with lasting educational and historical value.

For IWASM, the completed treatment means this remarkable garment can return safely to public view. As Executive Director Alexandra Lausin shared, the museum team was struck by the dress’s renewed beauty and structural integrity after treatment. The work allows the dress to engage visitors for years to come—not only as a beautiful example of historic dress, but also as a tangible reminder of Katharine Wright’s story.

At ICA–Art Conservation, textile conservation helps museums, archives, historical societies, and private owners preserve objects that connect communities to their cultural heritage. Katharine Wright’s dress demonstrates how careful treatment can protect both the physical materials of an artifact and the stories woven into it.