Preserve photos
Photography has been around since 1830. In the years
since, many different photographic processing methods have been
employed—daguerreotypes, glass plate negatives, nitrate negatives, chromogenic
color, Polaroid, and polyester to name a few. These are all analog types of photo. Todays photos are digital.
Each family’s photo collection
has differing representatives of these many processes. The photo preservation techniques I talk about are
generalized to encompass all of the types. It takes an expert to identify
photos by their processing type. Safely prepare your photos for lasting
storage
Cleaning, Handling, and safe identity caption
for photos
Best
photo storage solution and Storing negatives & slides
Do not remove photos from old photo albums
Photo albums with black paper
pages and photos affixed with paper corners are a keepsake in themselves. Many
have captions and other memorabilia in them. If the photos appear to be in
fairly good shape, leave them where they are and store the intact album in a
stainless steel, anodized aluminum, or steel with a powder-coated finish
cabinet or box. Self-stick and “magnetic” albums, on the other hand are
damaging. Remove photos from these types of albums.
Preparing photos for safe storage
Many of the materials found in your home—e.g., wood,
paper, pvc plastic, painted surfaces—emit gasses (outgas) or contain acid that
are harmful to photographs. Film processing is a chemical procedure and some of
the photos and negatives themselves can be a source of outgassing (Eastman
Kodak and nitrate processing).
Store individual photos in paper or plastic enclosures
(envelopes, sleeves, portfolios) that pass the Photographic Activity Test (PAT) to isolate them from these harmful substances. Provide
several layers of protection by first placing photographs into sleeves or
envelopes, then into folders, and finally into document storage boxes.
Paper should be of high quality, non-acidic, lignin-free
and made from cotton or “highly purified” wood pulp. Plastic should be of
uncoated, pure polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester (mylar D or Mellinex
516) and must be clear. A cloudy appearance indicates the presence of a
coating.
If you plan to use paper enclosures, look for ones that
have the seam down the side rather than in the middle. Put the photo in the
enclosure so that the image side of the photo does not come in contact with the
seam (turned away from it).
Insist that all paper and plastic that comes in contact
with your photos passes the PAT. It will be marked if it is. This is the
standard established by the American National Standards Institute and has been
adopted in the US, Canada, Britain, and many other countries. Avoid polyvinyl
chloride plastic—common household plastic, has a distinctive odor.
Provide your photos with
support so they don’t slump. The Library of Congress suggests putting individual
photos in mats. Make a hinge by taping the back board to the mat. This keeps
the photo from coming in contact with the tape and the enclosure as well. You can
also use a file folder with rigid dividers. Lay large photos flat inside an
archival box. Don’t overstuff albums and folders.
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Copyright September 2009 Family History Coach. All rights reserved Last update April 27, 2010
