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How to Store Old Letters and Documents

  1. Storage Environment: Agents of Deterioration
  2. Getting Started & Digitizing
  3. How to Organize Letters
  4. Archival Storage Elements: Boxes
  5. Enclosures & Interleaving
  6. Archival Storage Elements: Binders
  7. Binder Pages
  8. Sample Scenario

Many people ask us, “how should I store old letters?” There are multiple ways to archivally store letters, photos, and other paper-based items in your collection. This post will cover several good storage options for collections of old family letters and vintage or important documents. Read on to find out how to store old letters and documents using archival storage supplies!

Old letter and documents partially inserted into an acid-free archival paper flap envelope
Archival acid-free Flap Envelopes #21-002 (8-1/2 x 10-1/2″) work well for storing old letters and documents.

Writing letters and postcards to communicate over distance was commonplace in the twentieth century, especially up to and during WWII. Once telephones and telephone lines became ubiquitous, letter writing started to decline. The advent of email (electronic mail) made letter writing an even rarer phenomenon. 

Despite the fragility and acidity of paper, many letters have survived into the 21st century.  Love letters and letters written home by soldiers were often saved. They might have been tied with string into a bundle or thrown into an old cigar box, then stashed in an attic or dresser drawer for many decades. 

Pro Tip: store letters and documents unfolded because paper fibers weaken significantly along folds

Stack of old airmail letters in envelopes tied together with twine

External Environment is Important

Our Preservation Guide has a good overview of best practices for organizing and storing your family archives, which often includes letters.  

  • Your items should live where you live. No attics, basements, or garages. These areas are more prone to temperature and humidity extremes, dust, air pollutants, pests, and leaks. 
  • Use archival storage supplies from trusted sources.  
  • Store your items out of direct sunlight. 

Here is a good article by the NEDCC about Caring for Paper Collections. It covers things we talk about in many articles – agents of deterioration – light exposure, high and fluctuating heat and humidity, dust, air pollution, mishandling, acidic storage environment, and insects.  

Illustrations of agents of deterioration, things that will harm your collections
If you do just one thing to help prolong the life of your keepsakes, move them to somewhere in your main living space.

Your Workspace

  • Use a clean table for your workspace, no food or drink
  • Don’t wear gloves when handling letters and documents; cotton gloves might snag on fragile paper and cause more damage
  • Wash and dry your hands thoroughly before handling your letters
  • Wear clean cotton or nitrile gloves when handling photos and negatives

Digitize It!

  • Scan or photograph your letters and documents to create back-up digital files that can be shared and translated, if needed
  • Have your digital files saved in several places. ie: computer, external hard drive, the cloud
  • Keep the originals! The less handling of the original the better. Digitize them and then store them in archival boxes or binders. 

How to Organize Letters

The thing about letters is that they usually have multiple, separate components that go together (one exception is the aerogram). There’s the envelope and often multiple pages. Sometimes there are photos or news clipping included too. This can make archival storage solutions more challenging. You could keep the letters folded and in their original envelopes (not our recommendation) filed and stored inside an archival box (something like the 4 x 6 Simple Kit). This would be better than an old shoebox, but we’re going to go over some better options.

  • Remove letter and contents from the envelope and unfold the pages, store items unfolded whenever possible as folds weaken the paper fibers
  • Remove any staples, paperclips, or rubber bands as they will cause damage over time
  • Use a #2 pencil to label the envelope and pages in the lower right corner using a numbering system so you can match them up in case they get separated

A Labeling System

Each letter would need it’s own designation. Pick a system that makes sense to you. Perhaps put the initials of the sender of the letters, then a number to signify each letter (organized chronologically perhaps), and then a letter for each page. MK-1 on the envelope and on the pages MK-1A, MK-1B, MK-1C. If there’s a photo or news clipping write MK-1 on those, too. (see Tips for Labeling Photos and Snapshots)

  • Create a spreadsheet to add more information about each letter
Example of a spreadsheet for organizing and archiving letters and documents
Sample spreadsheet for organizing old letters

The spreadsheet might include the letter identification code (MK-1 in this example), name of sender, date, location sent from, name of recipient, list of anything included with the letter, short summary of the letter’s contents. and other info you have or find useful. And, of course, the final storage location (ie: Box 1 – Letters).

Archival Storage Elements: Boxes

Many of our storage recommendations start with Box vs Binder. Our boxes and binders, made in Rochester, NY, are acid-free, lignin-free, archival, and buffered. We will start by looking at box options.

Metal Edge Drop Front Box

Acid-free 1/2" Drop Front Metal Edge Box provides safe, archival storage for letters and documents.
1/2″ Drop Front Box is a good choice for storing old letters and documents. Add Card Stock and Sleeves for more protection.
  • Use for flat storage of papers and photos
  • They come in 1-1/2″ and 3″ depths and many sizes
  • Drop front panel makes inserting and removing contents easier and safer
  • Metal edging makes the boxes sturdy and stackable

Document Box

Acid-free Document Storage Kit can be used for safe long-term storage of letters, documents, and ephemera.
Gray Document Storage Kit comes with 50 archival File Folders.

Enclosures and Interleaving

Most old letters and documents are on paper that is not archival. That means there are acids and lignins in the paper that will degrade over time. If you want to protect pages from each other you can put each one into a plastic sleeve or interleave them with a piece of archival paper between each one.

Pro Tip: If the letter includes any news clippings you should definitely isolate them as they are very acidic and will harm the other papers. You can put it in a plastic sleeve and still store it with the original letter.

Business letter from 1875 with Merchants and Planters National Bank header stored in an archival Side Loading Print Sleeve.
Polyester Side Loading Print Sleeve protects old letters and lets you see pages with writing on both sides

Plastic Sleeves

  • Plastic sleeves let you see the contents and handle the pages while protecting them. Here is a Plastic Sleeve Size Chart that includes all the different sizes we offer.
  • Crystal Clear Bags and 3-Sided Sleeves are made of clear polypropylene. 3-Sided Sleeves are open on one end while Clear Bags have a resealable flap closure
  • Side Loading Sleeves are made of polyester, the most inert and clearest of the archival plastics. Side loading design with side flap makes inserting content easy. Natural static charge of the material helps hold the paper in place. Sleeve is open on top and bottom
  • Add a piece of archival Card Stock to support one-sided documents
Letter from 1878 stored in a polypropylene 3-sided sleeve with an acid-free card stock backing board for support.
Polypropylene 3-Sided Sleeve with an archival white card stock insert supports and protects this antique document

Envelopes

8 x 10 acid-free flap envelope next to a small stack of 19th century documents that will be stored in it.
Archival Envelopes are a good way to sort and store old letters and documents
  • Our archival Envelopes are available in different sizes. Open End Envelopes don’t have a flap. Our other envelopes have a non-adhesive flap (it just folds over) on either the long or short end. Here’s a PDF comparison chart of the envelope options we carry
  • Envelopes are good for sorting. You can write notes on the outside about the contents (before you insert the contents!). The folders can be stored inside a Drop Front Box or a Document Box
  • For archival storage it is recommended that envelope seams be on the sides and not in the middle. All except two of the paper envelopes that we carry have the side seams. The two exceptions are the 9 x 12 Flap Envelopes (#21-003) and the 11-1/2 x 15-1/2 Flap Envelopes (#21-004)

Folders

Appraisers Oath and inventory sheet from 1800s stored inside an acid-free legal size file folder
Half Cut Tab Legal Size File Folder (#24-202) storing historic 19th century estate documents.

Your documents might already be stored in tabbed file folders inside a filing cabinet. Switch to archival file folders and make sure the folders aren’t slumping in the storage cabinet. Our tabbed archival File Folders are another good solution for storing old letters, birth certificates, marriage licenses, wills, genealogy records, and other important documents.

Interleaving

Interleaving means placing pieces of paper between loose or bound pages. The papers we sell are all archival, acid-free and lignin-free. Most are buffered but some are unbuffered. Buffering means that calcium carbonate was added to the board or paper during manufacturing. The alkali reserve (calcium carbonate) has the ability to capture or neutralize acids that may be in the air, the photograph, or in the material itself.

Order our Board & Paper Sample Pack if you’d like to compare the papers before you order. You can use archival interleaving paper with both horizontal and vertical storage options.

Archival Storage Elements: Binders

1-1/2" and 2-1/2" Collector Grade D-ring Binders shown with and without a protective slipcase.
1-1/2″ and 2-1/2″ D-ring Collector Grade Binders in forest green, blue, red, and black can be ordered with or without a black slipcase

Archival Binders and Pages are a good option if you would like to access and look at your original letters and documents more frequently.

  • Collector Grade Binders (with optional Slipcase for added protection) are a popular option that come in four colors with standard 1-1/2″ and 2-1/2″ D-ring binder mechanisms
  • RingFolio Binder Box also comes with 1-1/2 and 2-1/2″ D-ring options with black or white lining
  • Accent L-Series Binder Box comes with a 1-1/2″ D-ring and is covered in elegant black bookbinding cloth
  • Binder-in-Box is a metal edge clamshell box design with a 1-1/2″ O-ring binder mechanism, this is our most affordable binder option
Positive customer review about the Binder-in-box for storing her grandparents WWII letters
Customer review about our Binder-in-Box for storing their grandparents letters! Archival binder pages are sold separately in a variety of sizes and styles.

Binder Pages

1874 business letter from a law office stored in a polyester 3-ring page protector binder page.
The Polyester 3-Ring Page Protector is open on the top and bottom but thin papers are often held in place by the natural static of the material.

We offer a few different binder page styles. The Binder Boxes and standard size Collector Grade Binders will accommodate all of the standard binder pages. Non-standard binder and pages include Narrow Binders, Legal Binders, and our 11 x 17 (horizontal) binder.

  • Polypropylene Print Pages feature top-loading pockets of various sizes. The top-loading design is easy to work with and holds paper items in place.
  • Pocket Pages with Inserts are Print Pages packaged with archival Card Stock inserts.
  • Polyester 3-Ring Page Protectors are open at the top and bottom and come with a buffered white paper insert which can be removed, if needed. The natural static of polyester will often hold paper in place without using an adhesive. If you need to attach your photos or documents to the insert use Mounting Corners or E-Z Dots.
  • Archival 3-Hole Mounting Pages are archival Card Stock that has been hole-punched to go into our binders. There’s no plastic. It is reminiscent of the old style photo albums from the 1920s and 30s. You would need Mounting Corners or E-Z Dots to attach items to the pages.

Pro Tip: Include a note with your finished project that tells the next caretaker of the collection that archival supplies were used for storage

Sample Scenario

Four letter envelopes from Poland sent to the US in the 1980s featuring different stamps and postmarks
Here are four letters to the same person from overseas. I’ll use them to demonstrate how one might sort and store them in a binder.

We recommend that you keep the envelopes along with the letters when you can. They are a part of the letter! The handwriting, stamps, postmark, etc..

Polish letter and envelopes with a newspaper clipping laid out and unfolded in preparation for archival storage
The first one I am labeling A1 with a pencil on the envelope, letter, and news clipping.

Assess and Measure

Once I open the envelope I remove and unfold the contents and lay them out. You will need to measure things for this project. Maybe you are lucky and all your letters are the same size. This was a good one to use as an example because they are not! I reattached the stamp to the envelope with E-Z Dots. The single sided letter and the clipping are small enough to fit in an 8 x 10 binder pocket page.

Old envelopes from Poland and a newspaper clipping stored in acid-free archival polypropylene binder pages
On the left is an 8 x 10 Print Page (#52-010) with a Card Stock Insert (#52-010-P) to separate the letter from the news clipping. On the right is a 5 x 7 Print Page (#52-017) with Card Stock Insert (#52-017-P) for the envelopes.

The envelopes will all fit into the 5 x 7 pages. This is why the numbering system is important. The second envelope above I labeled A2 in pencil on the back and I labeled the card stock insert as well.

Assortment of old letters and ephemera stored in acid-free archival polypropylene binder pages
Letters and envelopes stored in archival polypropylene top-loading print pages. Two sided letters do not have a card stock insert.

Get Organized

Envelope A3 is seen above and that letter included a color photograph from someone’s wedding and some stamps of the pope. I decided to use E-Z Dots to adhere them to the card stock and place them in the fourth pocket. Don’t forget to label the objects and inserts!

I used four different sized print pages for this project: 5 x 7, 8 x 10, 8-1/2 x 11, and A4. A4 is a common paper size in Europe so it’s not surprising that two of the letters needed this size. We get our pages from a few vendors which is why most of them are clear along the edge but the A4 and 8 x 10 sizes are white.

Front and back view of a letter and envelope stored in an archival polypropylene 3-ring binder page
Front and back view of a one-sided letter and it’s envelope inside an A4 size print page.

I opted to store the fourth letter with it’s envelope behind it (but I still numbered them!). You could use a piece of card stock between them.

The letters are in Polish and Google Translate was not very successful at translating them. There are professional translators who could help. One resource is the Language Services Directory. Once translated you could include that in the binder too. Print it out on our archival Permalife 20lb. Bond Paper!

We hope this has given you a good handle on how to safely store your old letters and documents. If you have any questions you can call or email us and we will do our best to assist you!