PRESERconVersATION

Saving the Old Family Album

As mentioned last time, many old album collections that have been passed down through several generations have suffered damage, as much from handling as from the materials the albums are made from.

Problems inside your album can be caused by acidic paper pages, tape and various adhesives. If the pages are brown, dark yellow or break easily when folded it means they are very acidic (black pages are the same) and will continue to affect the photos. If possible, the photos should be removed and placed in a new, safer album.

The photos in your album may have been stuck to the pages using the wrong adhesives (e.g. animal glue, rubber cement, mucilage). Many adhesives harden and change colour, often staining the photos and making them very difficult to remove without causing damage. If it is not possible to remove them from the page easily don't attempt it. Consult a conservator for advice.

If the album itself is not particularly valuable or has no historical interest, the photos should be placed in albums with archival quality paper or card pages. If the photos can't be removed, the album could be unbound and the separate pages placed in polyethylene plastic sleeves in a new album system (as mentioned in the last issue). Remember, never use albums with PVC plastic pages.

If the album has a particularly fine binding, is of historical value or has valuable information written on the pages, you may wish to save the whole album as it is. It should be kept, wrapped in acid-free tissue, in a good quality box, in a cool, dry, dark place. If the paper pages are particularly acidic and brittle they should be interleaved with acid-free tissue or a thin polyester plastic sheet, taking care not to increase the thickness of the binding too much.

To protect your favourite photos you can have them copied. The originals can be stored in a safe place and the copies can be put in a separate album or on display.

A word of warning - if you take pages of photos (or the complete album) to a commercial photographer to get certain photos copied, be sure to specify that you don't want the photo removed from the page. Many photos have been irreparably torn and damaged by attempts to remove them by unqualified people.

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