RSS FEEDOld Photos & Heirlooms | Safe Alternatives to Basement & Attic Storage
Old Photos & Heirlooms: Safe Alternatives to Basement & Attic Storage
Archival Binder Pages & Collector Grade Binders are perfect for elegantly storing old photos on shelves
in your home or office, avoiding the many risks associated with storage in basements & attics.
(Please click on each image for more information.)
This is something that can happen to anyone (see photos above)—an old corroded water shutoff in a basement ceiling leaked onto a storage shelf and into a box filled with old photos & family photo albums.
While briefly discussed in other blogs, here we’re expanding on this topic as there are in fact many potential disasters lurking in almost every basement, including:
leaky pipes / leaky water heaters / overflowing washing machines /
backed up laundry drains / malfunctioning sump pumps / & more
All of these hazards are in addition to the constant and potentially damaging temperature & humidity fluctuations that plague most basements. The lower the temperature the longer your items will last, because cooler temperatures slow the rate of chemical decay and reduce insect activity. Keep the temperature below 75 degrees Fahrenheit (F).
Yet the basement is not the only household storage area that can harbor threats to old photos, heirlooms, wedding dresses & textiles, books, and even archival boxes specifically made to preserve such collections & artifacts (see photo below).
This archival Drop Front Box, stored in an attic, suffered the results of a leaky roof gable. Yet water damage is just one of the potential threats posed by attic storage.
In addition to the significant temperature and humidity fluctuations that, like basements, characterize most attics, on occasion other hazards exist—as in the case above that was caused by a family of bats.
Here a large, archivally matted and framed photograph has been exposed to bat excrement. Fortunately the frame and its glazing protected this print, which was subsequently removed from its frame and stored in the archival ensemble shown below:
2. sheet of 4-ply Museum Board under the print as a backing board for added support
3. large resealable Crystal Clear Bag to hold the print and its backing board
4a. large Drop Front Box, now stored in a hallway closet and not in an attic or basement
4b. top of Drop Front Box
(Please click on the image for more information.)
Old Photos & Family Heirlooms: Best Practices for Archival Storage
The “best practice” for handling important old photos, heirlooms and family archive materials is get them out of basements and attics as soon as possible and store them in the types of boxes & enclosures shown below. Once archivally secure, place these materials on a shelf or in a closet in your “living space” where the risks of water damage and wide temperature & humidity swings are significantly reduced.
(Please click on each image for more information.)
For family photo albums, consider placing them in Polyethylene Bags and then into Drop Front Boxes, which come in an assortment of sizes / colors and depths to match your tastes and the decor of your living space (see photos above).
Options for preserving individual old photos include placing them in acid-free 3-Ring Binder Pages and Archival Binders (see the images at the top of this blog), or in acid-free File Folders and then into archival Document Boxes or Record Storage Boxes, as shown in the photos below.
On the right are Document Boxes & a Coroplast Record Storage Box stored in a closet in a “living space.”
(Please click on each image for more information.)
(Please click on each image for more information.)
For wedding dresses, old textiles, quilts, military uniforms and baby clothes—which, unfortunately, are frequently stored in attics and basements—consider moving them to your living space in an all-in-one Textile Storage Kit (see right-hand photo), and whatever assortment of additional Archival Boxes and Archival Tissues will best fit your needs.
(Please click on each image for more information.)
Many of us have saved old toys from our own or our kids’ childhood, or perhaps have a variety of antique Christmas ornaments in the family archive. These can be easily stored in Polyethylene Bags, cushioned with Archival Tissue, and then placed in appropriately-sized Metal Edge Boxes and Artifact Boxes. This “multi-layered” approach to archival storage offers the greatest protection for such heirlooms, all of which can then be safely stored within easy reach in one’s living space.
(Please click on each image for more information.)
Old magazines, newspapers and books occupy an important niche in many family archives or collections. To protect these artifacts and heirlooms consider all-in-one Newspaper & Magazine Storage Kits, which are available in a number of formats, and various sizes and styles of Polyethylene Bags, Enclosures, and Metal Edge Boxes to match the size and shape of your materials (see the photo below of these kits and boxes being correctly stored).
In closing, the broad categories above illustrate just a few of the many different types of old photos & family heirlooms that are often found in attics & basements. Combining the perfect archival product ensembles for your particular needs, and then storing these items in your “living space,” will offer the peace-of-mind of knowing that your materials are safe & sound for generations to come.
If you would like more information on the archival storage and presentation products that are right for you, please contact us here at Archival Methods. We’re always there to help with any archiving, storage, or presentation questions you may have.
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January 23, 2020 @ 5:15 pm
I have come across an old metal storage box with approximately 300 love letters that my husband’s father wrote to his mother during WWll. I don’t know where to start with this preservation project. I’m thinking of scanning copies to CD for sharing and then I would like to put the original letters into an archival safe binder/album with slip cover to keep them protected. Please advise which specific products you would recommend for this project. Thank you!
January 24, 2020 @ 8:57 am
Hello Jackie, You found a window into your parents’ life – what a treasure. Your plan is a good one, scan the letters to share organize and preserve the originals. Read the blog “Preserving Old Letters“; it has links to product pages on our main website. Just click on the product photos.
November 20, 2019 @ 11:59 am
Hi there. what would you recommend doing with framed family photos for archival storage. Firstly is it best to remove the prints from the frames and then scan them? And secondly, once scanned would you keep them in archival sleeves rather than in the frame?
January 13, 2020 @ 9:31 am
Hi Rosie, many apologies for the delay in responding to your comment. Not sure where the notification got lost in the ether on our end!
Definitely remove the prints from the frames for scanning if you can do so without damaging them. Sometimes if they are stuck to the glass, your best bet is to photograph or scan as is (and talk to a professional conservator about removing it – don’t try it yourself!).
Either an archival plastic sleeve or a frame is a fine way to store photos. The caveat here is that for the framing option, to be archival, you would have to reframe using archival supplies (acid-free backer board and mat and UV-coated glass or acrylic – any frame shop can do this, or you can DIY with our frame kits). Framed prints should always be hung out of direct sunlight as well, even with UV-coated glass.
The sleeve option is certainly more cost effective if you won’t be hanging these for display. Once you have prints in sleeves, a great way to store them is a metal-edge box. The drop front on our 1 1/2″ boxes means that you have easy access to the photos inside for safe handling. We have lots of other photo storage options as well. Hope this helps!
June 27, 2019 @ 5:37 pm
We have just rediscovered an album that my father and mother in lalw put together during World War ii. It includes letters from each place he was from Normandy France, Paris, Luxembourg and Nuremberg… al …l the infor in in one album, the paper is worn and falls apparent when moved too much. I hate to disassemble a photo album they both spent so much time doing…. her in the states, him sending back photos, maps, and letters of where he was and what he was doing (uncensored stuf)f. Do you have any suggestions
There are photos he took that are historical … I want to do him justice… thanks for any suggestions.
August 13, 2019 @ 3:03 pm
Hello Laurie,
Keep the album pages together. Make high-resolution scans or photographs of each page and create a digital copy to share or for reference. Keep the original in low access storage using an acid-free box. Make sure it is in a controlled environment, low humidity and temperatures between 60-75 F
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