Preservation

Preservation Techniques for your Family Heirlooms

Part I - Photographs

During the holidays, families take pictures in order to make holiday memories last longer. These cherished family photos often end up in a jumbled heap in the kitchen junk drawer, or arranged in a chemically unstable photo album. If your New Year’s Resolution included organizing the chaos of your family photos and storing them in a safe environment, here are some tips to follow.

When handling photographs, either wear white cotton gloves or wash your hands frequently. Oils from skin remain on photographs and cause permanent damage. Handle photographs only along the edges. Remove all foreign objects, such as rubber bands, metal paper clips, etc. Metal paper clips will cause the emulsion of the photograph to crack and flake. Remove photos from their enclosures if possible. If they are glued into an album or enclosure, do not remove them. Doing so will cause more damage to the photo than the enclosure itself.

Use a pencil to write information about the photograph on the back of the photo. Do not use a pen. Ink may bleed through to the front of the photo. Also, commercial inks are not chemically stable and will eventually fade. Pencil fades at a much slower rate than ink. For recent photos with resin coated backs, use a blue photo marking pencil, which can be found in most photo or art supply stores. You may also use pigma pens on resin-coated photographs. Pigma pens contain chemically stable inks that are fade proof. They should not be used on photos with a paper backing as pigma pen ink may bleed through the photo. Pigma pens can also be found in most office supply stores.

Extremely fragile photographs can be encapsulated using mylar, a chemically stable plastic

Photographs and documents should never be laminated. This process, which uses a chemically unstable plastic, actually heightens the deterioration process. Photographs that are very brittle and in danger of falling apart should be encapsulated. Encapsulation involves sealing the photo between two sheets of mylar, a chemically stable plastic. Unlike lamination, encapsulation is reversible. The encapsulated photo can be easily removed from the mylar, should an improved method of preservation become available.

Photographs are easily damaged by their surroundings. Photos should not be stored in albums with “sticky” or “magnetic” pages. Acid in the adhesive and the cardboard pages of the album interact with the photographs, which causes the photos to yellow and become brittle. As the photo absorbs the chemicals from the adhesive and the cardboard, you may notice tiny brown spots scattered across the photos. Photos should be placed in acid-free storage. Many local office supply stores now carry acid-free photo albums and photo boxes.

Once photos have been placed in acid-free storage, they should be kept in a climate-controlled area. Temperature fluctuations, humidity, and light cause heavy damage to photographs. Fluctuations in temperature cause photos to expand and contract. This constant swelling and shrinking process stresses the photo and causes cracks in the emulsion. Items subjected to humid conditions encourage mold and mildew growth. However, items stored in an environment that is too dry will lose their natural moisture and will crack and become brittle. Storage areas should have a relative humidity of 40% - 60%. Use a humidity indicator to monitor the relative humidity where your photographs are stored. Sunlight and fluorescent lighting will cause photographic images to fade. If you display photographs in your home, make sure they are placed away from windows and direct lighting.

The Wyandot County Museum uses a humidity indicator card to monitor the humidity level.

If you have questions about the proper storage of your photographs, or other family heirlooms, please contact the Wyandot County Museum for more information. We would be glad to help you locate archival storage materials and discuss preservation options with you. Extra issues of archival supply catalogues are available free of charge upon request.