prints - How to preserve and store very old photos (50/80 years old)?

A friend of mine has some very old photos where the deterioration process seems to have increased in the past few years, and the owner is worried about the preservation of these old memories.

They have been stored inside an album within plastic sleeves. The owner is not aware of the display method prior to that.

I have been informed by the owner that since being in their possession, they seem to be looking worse than when first viewed and seem to be falling apart.

He is looking for the best way to preserve these photos inside an album, but not really sure what would be the best method. I have suggested for the albums as a whole to be stored in vacuum sealed bags for now, but I'm not even sure if that is good!

I am looking for any suggestions or personal experiences from anyone who has had to deal with such photos and what they did to preserve their memories.

Answer

Others have given advice on digitising which is very worthwhile and I would suggest this should be done as soon as possible. However, assuming that there is value placed on the photograph itself as a historic object not just the image it contains as a historic record then you will want to do your best to also preserve them as well as you are able.

The National Archives (UK) have published a short guide "Caring for your photographs".

To quote the most relevant part:

Environment

• Photographic materials benefit from a cool, dry, well-ventilated storage environment. Avoid storing photographs in the attic, the basement, or along the outside walls of a building, where environmental conditions are prone to extremes and fluctuations and where condensation may occur.

Storage

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  Keep photographs and negatives in folders or pockets to protect them from dust and light and provide physical support during use. Chemically stable plastic or paper folders or pockets, free of sulphur, acids, and peroxides, are recommended. These storage materials are not readily available but can be ordered from specialist conservation suppliers. Plastics are unsuitable for photographs that have a flaking binder layer or friable surface components, such as the pastel colouring often seen on crayon enlargements.

  
  


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  Store film-based negatives (single sheets or strips cut into lengths of 4-6 frames) separately from other photographic materials, as they can produce acidic gases as they age.

  
  


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  Keep cased items, such as daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, in their original cases or frames. Wrap them in acid-free or photographic storage paper to reduce wear and tear on fragile cases.

  
  


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  Place individually packed prints, negatives, and cased items in sturdy, acid-free or photographic conservation board boxes for extra protection from light, dust, and environmental fluctuations.

  
  
  


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  Preserve old photograph albums intact, storing them flat, preferably in acid-free or photographic conservation board boxes. They serve a dual purpose of organising groups of images while protecting them from physical and environmental damage, and can be wonderful sources of historic and genealogical information.

  
  


• Check stored boxes of photographs from time to time to make sure that they are free of dust, dirt and insects.

Although they recommend keeping photos in albums, the plastic sleeves may well be an issue. I would be inclined to try and remove them and put them into a new acid-free card based album to preserve the order while removing the plastic.