What can you do to ensure that those precious family keepsakes stand the test of time?
Photographs, letters, and other paper documents face a number of known enemies: light, heat, humidity, acids in papers, plastics, adhesives, pollutants, and pests. But with a little know-how, you can do your part to ensure that these pieces of your personal and family history are preserved for decades to come.
Here are a few ideas:
Photographs, letters, and other paper documents face a number of known enemies: light, heat, humidity, acids in papers, plastics, adhesives, pollutants, and pests. But with a little know-how, you can do your part to ensure that these pieces of your personal and family history are preserved for decades to come.
Here are a few ideas:
- Store important family documents in acid-free folders or an acid-free box in a temperature- and humidity-stable part of the house (that means no attics or basements)!
- Limit light exposure. If you’d like to display an item, look for a picture frame with UV filtration.
- Replace the cardboard backing on framed photos with archival acid- and lignin-free paper or board.
- Refrain from using adhesives to mount photos in a frame. Instead, use photo corners, adhesive mounts (where the adhesive doesn't touch the art), or even corners clipped from an acid-free envelope.
- Use window mats and spacers to keep framed artifacts, including photos, from touching the glass of the frame. Archival acid- and lignin-free conservation matt board is ideal for preservation purposes.
- Protect aging photos and documents from deterioration by placing them between two sheets of polyester film. If you use plastic, make sure it’s PVC-free. And never laminate your documents.
- Line cedar chests, if they hold family treasures, with acid-free paper, or wrap heirlooms in a cotton sheet. Heirlooms should never come into direct contact with the wood.
- Never store silver (or your gun and lead bullet collection) in an oak cabinet.
- Label the backs of photos using a dull, No. 2 pencil.
Sources: Jewel Feldman of ReviveArchive, Photo Restoration; The National Archives Web site.
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