Caring for Old Photographs

One question I am often asked is how to best store and care for old family photographs.  It is a challenge many family historians face - we become the family repository (if we are lucky) and our store of old,sometimes antique, photographs grows.

So here are the basics.

• The best place to store photographs is in a cool, dry place. Attics, sheds and basements are not good places to store your photographs.  A cardboard box in the shed or garage is just an invitation for mice to make a nest.
  
• Avoid storing photos extreme temperatures or in extremely high or low humidity. High humidity promotes mold growth and low humidity promotes brittle photos.
• Avoid storing photos in direct light - this will fade the images.
• Avoid magnetic or glue photo albums - these will discolor and ultimately destroy your photos.
  

The best storage is an archival safe box - but what does “archival safe” mean when it comes to storing your photographs? Archival safe means the photo box, album, sleeve, etc is lignin-free, acid-free, PVC-free and has a neutral pH to prevent the degradation of your photos.

Photo boxes are a popular way to store family photographs, and they are available from many camera shops and other stores. Even when you are using archival safe photo boxes, however, there are ways to further safe guard your precious photographs.

• Do not over fill the photo box. Stuffing “just one more” into the box risks scratching or tearing of your photo.
• Do not under fill your photo box either. Under filling a box encourages bowing of the photographs.  Avoid this by using the correct size box or use a spacer to if needed.
• Store similar sized photos together. This prevents excessive shifting that could scratch your photographs.
• Use archival photo sleeves to further protect your oldest or damaged photographs. Sleeves come in a variety of sizes.  Place only one photo in a sleeve and use a sleeve that is slightly larger than the photograph.  You do not want the edges of your photo extending beyond the sleeve.
• Over-sized photos?  Store in an appropriately sized flat box. Archival photo boxes come in a variety of sizes.
• Remember when you are handling your photographs, make sure your work area is clean and dry and your hands are free of any lotions or oils.

Disaster plan.  Sometimes the unimaginable happens and a natural disaster destroys your precious heirlooms.  A little disaster planning can prevent the loss of all your precious photos.

• Have copies made and store them off-site.  Distribute copies among other family members for safe keeping.
• Digitize photographs and back them up in cloud storage and/or on flash drive.  Always have backups of anything precious.
• This can apply to other physical items.  Take good photos of other precious items and heirlooms.  If Great Great Grandma's vase gets broken or her brooch is lost or stolen, at least you will have good photos of them.  
• Remember to record the 'who/what/when/where/why' in as much detail as you can.  It is all very well if you know this bundle of photographs were taken during your parents honeymoon at Hall's Gap in 1968 - but do your children and grandchildren know?  Will those details be handed down to whoever inherits your photo collection?  One of my 'lockdown projects' in the last few years as been to create a contents list for each photo box I own, and to go through all my digital photos adding details to the photo title.