Restoring Old Black and White Photos?

[christinew]

I have uncovered a huge box of black and white photos that were my Grandparents to look for WWII and WWI pictures of patriotism in America. These pictures are remarkable and now I am wanting to make this photos safe and enjoyable for others to look at and namely to keep in our family and pass on. I have photos as early as 1910. Any ideas on how to preserve, restore or keep these? They are loose and not in albums.

Thanks!

[sal]

Scrapbooking is a way to preserve these photos - if you do a search on the internet there are tons of links to provide the information you need. My personal preference is Creative Memories (direct sales), but there are many options. In order to prevent any further deterioration of the photographs, it is recommended you choose albums, photo protectors, paper, ink etc. (basically anything that comes in contact with the photos) that are acid- and lignon-free. You are so lucky to have those photos! sally

[lhall]

I work in a Library & Archives with a lot of photos and slides. I personally am not an expert, but I have done some research into this, mostly regarding some old slides.

Professionals/Archives consider scrapbooks BAD!
Especially the magnetic/stick page ones. You really want something that has passed the PAT (Photo Activity Test), not just something billed as "Archival"

If you really want to preserve them I suggest you talk to some film/photo professionals. Possibly a local Full Service Photo Shop, Museum or Library could help you find someone with photo preservation experience.

Personally I am in the process of taking all my photos out of albums and storing them in the photo boxes.

[Heidi]

Christine, I am in a similar position--I have a huge box full of old photos that I am just itching to do something with! They're not doing anybody any good just sitting there in that box, where nobody can look at them. I've been meaning to get them all in an album myself.

As far as how you should preserve them, I would recommend putting them in albums, as that is the easiest way to be able to look at and enjoy them. You have a couple of options--you can either stick with an album with plain pages, and just put the photos in, with no embellishments, or you can get fancy and decorate the pages, mat the photos, etc. Either way, you definitely need to make sure that you use an album with acid-free paper in it, and use acid-free adhesive, which won't damage your pictures. Do not use those 'magnetic' albums that were so popular a few years ago; the adhesive in them and the plastic that goes over the top contain chemicals and acid that will damage your photos.

If you do plan to embellish your pages at all, I think with old black and white photos, the less-is-more principle really applies. Stick with a solid color background in a subdued color, or even just black, which always looks classy and sets off the photos well. If you choose to do something a little more fancy, you can find cards, printed papers, stickers, die cuts, rubber stamps, etc. that have an old-timey or 'heritage' feel to them. I don't know if there are any scrapbooking stores in your area, but you can also check at a craft store or stationery store, and there are also loads of places on the web you can order things, or get ideas. I like www.creatingkeepsakes.com (Creating Keepsakes is a magazine devoted to scrapbooking), but there are any number of scrapbook/memory album websites, you just might search for 'heritage albums' once you find a site you like.

One of the most important things to do is also to label your pictures! Once you've mounted the photos on the pages, be sure to write on the pages who is in the photo, and where, and any other circumstances around it, so that the photos will tell stories, and not just be pictures on a page. Be sure to use an acid-free pen! You could even print out journaling on your computer, if you are more comfortable typing than hand-writing, and you get to use all the fun fonts.

If you have just scads and scads of photos and you're not sure you want to put them ALL in albums, you also might consider picking some of your favorites, and only putting those in an album, and placing the others in an acid-free photo storage box (they're about the size of a shoebox, and come with dividers so you can organize the photos) so that they are safe, and you can look at them if you want. Additionally, if you don't want to embellish every single page in an album, but want to add a little life to your pages, you might choose a few pages and only embellish those--like wedding photos, or military photos, or photos from a birthday party.

An option if you don't have any stores in your area or don't want to spend a lot of time running around looking for supplies is to see if you can locate a Creative Memories consultant; perhaps by looking in the phone book. Creative Memories is a direct selling, home-party type company, and you buy your supplies direct from the consultant...like a Mary Kay lady. I personally don't like the CM school of scrapbooking, it's just not my style. However, I think their motto is something like Simple pages, Completed albums, so if you just want to get the photos in an album, and safe, and aren't as concerned with all the decorative stuff, then they might be a great way to go.

Sorry for the novel-length response! Can you tell that I worked in a scrapbook store, and my mother still works in the industry, and I happen to live in the scrapbooking capital of the country? I have lots to say on the subject :) If you have any other questions, or want sources where you could purchase anything, just ask--I can probably locate them for you! In the meantime, have fun, and the most important thing is to get your photos into a safe environment where you can ENJOY them and look at them often--all the decorative stuff comes second to that.

Heidi

[mightyh]

I really have been happy with the albums from www.exposuresonline.com It's a catalog that specializes in photo-safe albums and frames... Really neat stuff.

[beejayw1]

...take them to a good photo place (like Ritz) that has a machine that 'photocopies' the pictures.

You lay the photos on the glass, cover them, and make a copy on photographic paper. You can 'mosaic' a bunch of photos and then cut them apart. It's a safe way of copying them; make certain that the professional who is handling the job understands that you want to duplicate the colors including the 'yellowed' look.

You can also have the photos photographed again.

Once you have copies safely set by, you can look into preserving what you have. I'll refer you back to the experts for that, except to remark that the less you do to the originals, the better it is.