(Or, Don’t Keep All Your Family Photographs in a Damp Trash Bag in Your Basement and Other Advice from Archivists Who Have Seen It All.)

by Olivia Luntz

We know how to protect our most important digital files, diligently backing them up on the Cloud or a hard drive. But what steps should we take to preserve family documents and photos, to ensure they can be enjoyed for generations to come? Archivists and curators at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History offer wisdom and advice based on how they preserve historical documents in the Gilder Lehrman Collection.

Something Is Better than Nothing

To start off, there is no need to fear home preservation as a colossal task or one that requires a huge amount of expertise. Rather, a minimal amount of work will make a significant difference in the lifespan and quality of documents. Gilder Lehrman Institute Project Archivist Alinda Borell says, “Doing something is better than doing nothing because you’re terrified of doing something wrong. Minimal care is fine. Just no basements, no attics, no garages!”

2. Closets Are Better Than Attics

The most important factor in document care is where they are stored, so an easy change that will greatly improve the condition of your documents is moving them from a basement, attic, garage, or any other space that is subject to extreme temperatures, has lots of humidity, or that has risk of flooding. Cooler temperatures, below 75 degrees Fahrenheit, lead to longer-lasting documents because these conditions slow the rate of chemical decay and reduce insect activity. Although it is instinct to store “old stuff” in attics or basements, a much better place for family documents would be a closet inside a house, which maintains a stable temperature, does not get too humid, is free from any rodents or insects, and is usually free of light.

3. Use Boxes

Moving documents from the attic down into a closet also provides an opportunity to change the container the documents are stored in. Curatorial Assistant Laura Hapke states that the ideal container for documents is simply a box. A box, says Hapke, “helps protect your treasured items from light, dust, and other potential environmental hazards.”

Letters from the 1940s preserved in archival boxes at the Gilder Lehrman Collection

Allison Kraft, assistant curator, points out that The Container Store sells archival storage boxes that are acid- and lignin-free that additionally will keep out dust, dirt, and light. They start at $10 at Gaylord Archival, which offers many products for storage of family documents and is where the Collection sources their archival materials. One small archival-quality box can safely store a photo album or family bible, or several documents in individual folders. Even if an archival quality box is not possible, a regular box can still protect documents from light and other outside elements and also keep documents orderly and together.

Project Archivist Christine Calvo explains that for photographs that will be viewed frequently, “archival photo albums are probably better for personal use because it limits handling and you can see the image instantly.”

4. Organize According to Material

When a photograph or letter that was part of series goes missing, so does part of the story, so organization can be just as important as storage conditions. But it is the material of a document that plays one of the most crucial roles in how it should be preserved. Calvo states that older forms of photography, such as tintypes or daguerreotypes, which are metal not paper, or ambrotypes, which are printed on glass, should be stored separately from paper photos as they can scratch or cause abrasions on paper.

Assistant Curator Allison Kraft with Gilder Lehrman Institute staff in the Collection vault with documents organized by material

Kraft comments that some family archives contain newspapers, which are among the hardest documents to preserve because the paper was never intended to last a significant amount of time. Counter to instinct, when preserving a newspaper, if possible, do not fold it up as with a regular paper, but rather try and store it completely unfolded and flat, to prevent creases from turning into tears.

5. Don’t Use Tape for Tears

If documents are torn, in multiple pieces, or otherwise damaged, Collection archivists recommend going against the human instinct to slap a piece of tape on them or otherwise attempt a DIY fix. Hapke explains that “the core ideal for a lot of preservation and conservation work is that it’s reversible.” Therefore, tape, staples, and lamination should be avoided. Hapke elaborates: “Never use tape on something you want to preserve. Tape can rip paper, and if you leave it on for a long time, the adhesive can degrade and stain and damage the paper below … Staples and paperclips are also bad for long-term storage because they can rust and stain the paper they are holding together.”

Letter from Mary Katherine Goddard to George Washington, March 23, 1789 (Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC9706.04) showing the effects of well-intended but destructive taping.

Calvo recommends placing a torn document in a mylar sleeve as opposed to taping it, saying, “That way the item can still be accessible, but you do not have to worry about accidentally tearing the item more.”

In terms of signs of future deterioration to watch out for on documents, mold is the largest concern, as left unchecked it can cover entire documents over time. Calvo notes that mold can look like little spots on a paper or a “purple bruise.” The worst way to store photos is “in a large wet trash bag in the basement,” says Calvo, who had the archivist’s waking nightmare when she discovered that a relative had stored photos in this fashion.

6. Label Everything with Details in Pencil

Preserving family history does not just involve keeping family documents and photographs preserved. Anyone can preserve physical objects, but only your family can preserve the stories that these objects contain. If you have a photograph that you can recognize the people in and/or have an idea of the date or location, it is great to note those details in pencil, writing in small letters on the back of the photo. This information will then be preserved for generations to come.

7. Digitize for Back-Up Carefully

Finally, creating a digital copy of physical documents or photographs is a great way to ensure a backup copy in case anything ever happens to the original document. It also makes it much easier to share and create copies to display. High-quality scanning is the best method for this process, but in some cases may not be accessible or ideal. For documents that are very fragile, having them handled and scanned can risk tearing or damage from the light of the scanner. In these situations, taking a photograph of the document against a plain background is a good solution.

Calvo reminds us that “just talking to your grandparents, aunts, uncles, or parents about an event they experienced and recording it is an amazing way of preserving history.”