Federally funded conservation treatment helps preserve Wright brothers’ family history

The federally funded grant was used to conserve four pieces in the Wright Brothers Collection – the largest archival collection of Wright family material in the world. (Photos by Wright State Special Collections and Archives)

Four pieces from the Wright Brothers Collection at Wright State University received conservation treatment through a grant designed to fund the preservation of unique items documenting Ohio’s history.

The $4,999 Library Services and Technology Act Conservation and Preservation grant was awarded by the State Library of Ohio in partnership with the Ohio Preservation Council and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

“Conservation treatment is specialized and can be very expensive,” said Toni Vanden Bos, head of Special Collections and Archives in the Wright State University Libraries. “A grant like this is a wonderful opportunity to provide individual artifacts specialized conservation treatment, while also sharing the history that these artifacts are evidence to.”

The four items that received conservation treatment are: 

• Orville Wright’s Botany Sketchbook

• 1903 Diary of Bishop Milton Wright

• French Legion of Honor Palm and Olive Leaf awarded to Katharine Wright

• Octave Chanute’s book “Progress in Flying Machines”

Prior to treatment, the items exhibited structural weakness and were rarely used for public display or presentation.

Because specialized training is required to avoid damaging the items, conservation efforts were led by Laura Moeller of Strange Stock Art Conservation.

A before and after glimpse of Bishop Milton Wright’s 1903 diary.

The most extensive conservation treatment was performed on the 1903 diary of Bishop Milton Wright, the Wright brothers’ father. The book had a weakened and worn spine structure, splitting leather and damaged fore-edges. Its treatment included dry cleaning the text block and covers to reduce dirt, repairing tears with Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste, reattaching loose leather and flattening and realignment by pressing between weighted boards.

Orville Wright’s botany sketchbook went through a similar transformation. The book had significant stability issues, with its front cover completely detached from its casing, and multiple pages were detached from the binding structure.

Vanden Bos highlighted the importance of preserving materials in the Wright Brothers Collection — the largest archival collection of Wright family material in the world.

“Preservation ensures that future generations will understand not only how the Wright brothers changed the world, but how their roots in Ohio helped shape their extraordinary journey,” she said. “This collection serves as a rich resource for students, scholars and the public seeking to understand the legacy of the Wright brothers while providing a profound connection to the spirit of our namesakes.”

Wright State was one of 16 libraries and archives in the state to receive the federally funded grant to aid in the conservation of historical objects. The university’s Special Collections and Archives previously received a grant in 2024, which funded three items in the collection.

Learn more about Wright State’s Wright Brothers Collection at libraries.wright.edu/special-collections-and-archives/wright-brothers-collection.