Mike Horn in his workshop.
Artists & Performing Arts
Bringing the Past to Life
Two Restorers Combine Hard Work and Artistry to Preserve History


One of Mike Horn’s restored model ships looks ready to hit the water.


It takes careful precision to rebuild each ship’s masts, spars, and rigging.


Quilt samples are a kaliedoscope of shapes and colors at Rocky Mountain Quilts.


Washing an antique quilt before restoration — in the bathtub!


Unofficial mascot Challie guards a treasure trove of antique quilts. 

It is easy to be enchanted by antiques, as if they are imbued with the energy and spirit of the people who created them. It is a sad truth that so many antiques are lost or severely damaged. In the modern era, when our grasp on history is sometimes tenuous, it is reassuring to know that there are people who can revive those artifacts that help bridge the gap between then and now. Thanks to the efforts of skilled antique restorers, the material legacies of our ancestors can be intact and strong once again.

Mike Horn of Ogunquit, Maine, is dedicated to keeping the past alive through restoration. For the past 25 years, Horn has been restoring model ships, a craft that requires a lot of time. “It taught me a lot about patience,” says Horn. “There’s only one way to do it and you have to do it the correct way.”

He first became interested in model ships when he kept seeing them in obscure antiques shops. “I became aware there were a lot of old models in total disrepair,” he explains.

After cleaning and preparing the hull, Horn does some research to find plans that match the particular model he is restoring. He often ventures to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., or the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. After Horn is settled on a basic structure that is comparable to the original ship, he begins work on the masts, spars, and rigging (ropes that control the sails).

Standing rigging are stationary ropes that brace the masts, whereas running rigging is used to adjust sails and anchors. “Every line on a ship is dependent upon another line to maintain stability,” says Horn. So it is imperative that he be as precise as possible when working on these particular sections. Sometimes, even with definitive plans, there are no guidelines for assembly. “It’s a lot of hit and miss, and a lot of guessing how it fits,” he says.

Horn uses a special turning lathe to turn masts, as well as for shaping and sizing pieces to fit. The primary deck material Horn uses is boxwood, and for the lifeboats he uses pine. To preserve the quality of the wood, Horn uses prescriptive oil, as you would for a piece of antique furniture. Depending on the complexity of the project, a restoration could take anywhere from 300 hours — about three years — to complete.

Even though “each [ship] has basic requirements and you have to adhere to the right equipment and the correct physical layout,” Horn is not just a slave to accuracy. He is allowed some aesthetic liberty with the ships he restores. “I’m not much of a purist,” he says. “I like the design of things. I’ll still invent my own ideas.” He often modifies traditional designs, such as the look of the figurehead, to make a ship uniquely his own. Ultimately, the work that Horn does pays homage to shipbuilders and sailors of old. “The lives that these sailors led were pretty demanding,” he says. Horn’s efforts educate us in the challenges that touched so many lives here on the Seacoast. 

Like Horn, Betsey Telford, owner of Rocky Mountain Quilts in York Village, Maine, preserves more than just material history. “During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, quilt making was undoubtedly the major form of art expression for most women,” says Telford. Restoring quilts is to restore significant works of art, as well as information about the lives and times of quilters. Appreciating the history of quilting only makes it easier to appreciate the work. Quilting necessitates not only innovation but also intelligence. “Creating a unique quilt requires a high skill level in math, graphic arts, color sense, execution with a needle, and an amazing amount of patience!”

Quilt restoration is often more difficult than making a quilt from scratch, as each stitch must perfectly reflect the original quilter’s work. Because Telford is so committed to honoring the integrity of each quilt, the restoration process is meticulous and time-consuming.

A restoration job begins with washing the quilt, then inspecting it for damage. After a restoration plan is completed, clients have the option of choosing what services they would like to be executed. In many cases, fabric samples are cut to the exact size and shape to match those on the quilt, and then hand sewn over the original fabric. “We have been pleased to have helped our clients through the years in preserving their family textiles in a historically accurate manner,” Telford says.

To do this, she turns to her extensive collection of antique fabric, dating from the 1700s to the 1980s, which allows her to match the fabrics used on antique quilts her company restores. “The original fabric is left beneath the restoration 95 percent of the time,” explains Telford. Performing an “invisible” restoration is impressive, as the restorer must match the style and skill of the original quilter.

In addition to possessing technical prowess, Telford says that “a genuine sense of respect for the original creator of each quilt” is vital to a quality restoration. Quilters of the past did not undertake such an arduous task only to have their work completely changed by a modern-day restorer. Telford’s dedication to accuracy is at times demanding, but the payoff is worth it.

 Most of the quilts Telford restores are from a time when women did not enjoy the same freedoms as we do today. Restoring quilts is a way to keep the voices of those women loud and clear. Telford and Horn, as well as countless other antique restorers, are able to indulge their own creative urges while resurrecting the past, albeit with a little more polish.