 |
| My Grandma and Grandpa on their Honeymoon in 1948. |
It's a snow day here and everyone is snowed in. I thought it would be the perfect day to sort through and label all of those family photos that have been collecting over the years. Although I am very strict on how I keep my photos, my family has a notoriously bad system of keeping their photographs.
My grandma gave me the photo at the left yesterday. My grandmother and my grandfather went on their honeymoon in Miami. My grandmother said that they had to take the bus all the way down because the trains were full of soldiers and that they still couldn't get meat. She got sun poisoning and was subsequently very sick. Her photos are really cool but are seriously degrading because of the photo books she has them in. The albums that were popular at the time were made with paper that contains acid which helps break down photographs.
Before you can preserve a photograph, you need to identify what kind of photo you have.
Types of Photographs
·
Daguerreotypes
(1840s-1860s) These photos are really fragile and
most were placed in glass frame cases to protect the image. The image is printed on polished silver. These have a shiny , mirror-like quality to them. These are normally reversed images due to the photographic process used to make them.
·
Ambrotypes (1854- 1880s) The picture is a
negative image printed on glass and is backed with black paint, paper, or cloth to make the
image appear as a positive.
·
Tin Types
(1850s) Image is printed on an iron
plate.
·
Carte De
Visite (CDV) (1860-1870s) The image is printed on paper and glued to a
heavy card, frequently including studio information on the front or back of the
card. These pictures are normally 2 ½ x 4 inches. These were printed in sets of 8 and were given
to friends and family.
·
Cabinet
Cards (1870s- 1900s)These photos look like CDV’s but in a larger size, 4 x
6 inches and were glued to heavier card stock.
 |
| My Great, great Grandfather, Paul. |
·
Gelatin
(1890s-1960s) These images are glossy images printed on card-stock. The images
are in true black and white.
 |
| This is my another picture of my Grandma. The original photo is in clean black and white, it looks brown because of the lighting. |
·
Resin
(1970s photos) These normally have a brownish tint.
How to Clean Photographs:
Daguerreotypes:
Daguerreotypes normally have tape around the edges to prevent the image
from tarnishing. To clean Daguerreotypes, you need to remove them from the
glass or case while wearing gloves. Put the image in a safe location and clean
the glass with distilled water, diluted dish soap and cotton swabs. Make sure
the case is completely dry before replacing the image. The image is far too
easy to scrape off if you clean the image, but due to the tape around it, the
dirt is normally just on the glass anyway.
Ambrotypes:
If the image is sandwiched between two glass plates, the glass can be
cleaned carefully using cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol. Make sure that you
only touch glass and never touch the image or blackening. If the ambrotype only
has one plate of glass, do not attempt to clean it, it is too easy to
accidentally chip the black paint or image. Never try to open a sandwiched
ambrotype.
Tin Types: Tintypes
are normally in cases and can be scratched easily. Only hold the tin type by the edges and clean
with compressed air.
Carte De Visite: Cartes De Visite should only be cleaned with a soft brush or canned air.
Cabinet Cards: Cabinet Cards should only be cleaned with a
soft brush and canned air.
All later photographs: Modern photographs should be
cleaned with canned air, soft brush and lint-free cloths.
How to Store Photographs
After cleaning, Daguerreotypes,
Ambrotypes and Tin Types should be stored in archival paper envelopes which can
be made cheaply and easily using acid free computer paper. Make sure that after
you make the envelope, you remove the photo, write the photograph information
on the envelope then replace the photo and seal the envelope with a little bit
of tape. Many people suggest that you store These types of photographs upright
but it isn’t really practical unless you have a large number of them. Place
your envelopes in a box, labeled with the photos contained therein. Store in a
drawer or closet where they can be protected from temperature fluctuations,
dampness and light.
Cartes De Visite,
Cabinet Cards, and modern photographs should be stored in acid-free albums
(modern scrapbooks are normally good). Use photo corners to attach the photos
to the page and be sure to write the photograph information on the paper to
avoid having to remove and replace photos unnecessarily.
The Do’s and Don’ts
of Photograph Preservation
-Don’t keep photos in contact paper
books, the glue ages and browns and also ruins your photos.
-Don’t fold, tape, rubber band or
paperclip photos. Tape eventually browns over time and will eventually hurt
your pictures. Today, we can digitally reassemble a torn photo.
-Don’t glue photos into photo
albums or they will likely be damaged when removed in the future.
-Always write the name or names of
the people in the photos, the year and the location with a photo safe marker or
lightly with a pencil. Regular pen ink deteriorates and can harm your
photo. (Really, do this. In a few years
you might not remember as well as you think you will. It will also help your
great grandkids in the future; it’s horrible to have a box of photos of unidentified
people.)
-Always keep photos in temperature
controlled areas (closets are good,) the extreme temperatures in attics will
damage photos.
-Always use an archival scrapbook
(the ones currently sold in craft stores are archival and contain no acids) and
photo corners. Most older albums are actually bad for your photos.
-Always hold photos by the edges,
don’t touch the image.
-If you can, wear cotton gloves
when touching photos.
-Make a copy, store the original. If you display a photo, the light will
eventually fade it, always make a copy and store the original safely. Physical and digital copies of your photos
also back up your photos if the original ever gets destroyed.
 |
This photo of my grandmother was damaged in a house fire.
|
 |
| Torn photo as a result of being glued into a book. |
Making copies is very important. If you display a photo, the light will eventually fade it, always make a copy to display and store the original safely. Physical and digital copies of your photos also back up your photos if the original ever gets destroyed.
A lot of people don’t
like to display copies because they think that they lack the charm of the
original. Photocopying and art techniques can create an image that is
practically indiscernible from the original and also preserves the original.
This CDV is not only a copy but completely fake. It was made completely with modern photographing techniques and art. We keep this photo around as an example of what can be done to copies to try and preserve the charm of the original. Always make sure to write on the back of copies that they are not the original so you don't confuse future generations. Remember a lot of museums make similar replicas of their sensitive artifacts so the originals can be preserved for the future. You can even tell people that they are replicas--they will probably be really surprised.
Phew! That was a lot!
