TIP #443 - PRESERVING HERITAGE PHOTOS AND MEMORABILIA In May of this year, our South Central Kentucky Historical and Genealogical Society had as its guest speaker, Cheryl Denny, Scrapbook Archivalist at our local Scrapbook Village in Glasgow, KY. As most of our readers know, especially our ladies, scrapbooking has become the most popular hobby around; and can create memories for generations to come. Genealogists, whether professional or family researchers, know that one of the most important things we need to do is to preserve our cherished old photographs and clippings. Cheryl told us of several important things to remember. I would like to quote from Cheryl who provided this to me to share with all of you! "Acid and Lignin are the two worst enemies of archivalists. Acid "eats" at your photos and documents causing destruction. This can be helped by spraying articles with an archival spray. These sprays neutralize the acids in papers therefore making them last for years to come. One good spray in particular is "Archival Mist" available at most quality scrapbook stores around the country. Lignin is from the pulp of a tree and it causes the discoloration. We all have those "red", "yellow" and "green" photos from the past. This can be helped with a mist such as "Paper Bright" available along with the archival sprays. (Note: Cheryl explained that this will not remove the discoloration from photos already yellowed etc., but to prevent it on those photos that are still their normal color). When it comes to preserving and storing photos, articles, documents and such, be sure to use acid free, lignin free and buffered papers, adhesives, and any embellishments as well as pigment inks, chalks and PVC free storage. Using these quality materials will assure your precious memories, legacies and heritage items will last for many generations to come. If you find articles stuck tight in old albums, have no fear...there is a way! Using an adhesive neutralizing product such as UnDu, you are in the preserving business. A few drops on the attached tool and a slide under your photos will take up your photos without any damage being done to them. This product is one you will want to make sure to have on hand when removing items. As you know, our hands contain acid. You should handle items for preservation with gloves if possible. There are some wonderful items available to help if you can't use gloves. Most scrapbook stores carry a soap, wipes, or lotion to clean your hands with before handling your photos that neutralizes the acid on your hands for up to two hours. When cleaning photos, removing fingerprints and smudges, microfiber cleaning cloths are wonderful! These lint free cloths are made with special micro-soft fibers that so there is no streaking or scratching." Two things that Cheryl stressed was not using rubber cement (oh boy, we were told all these years that this was what we should use!) and that we shouldn't use ball point pens to mark on our photographs. Instead you need to use a permanent, photo-safe, acid-free, waterproof pigment pen. You can find these supplies at most art or scrapbooking stores near you and maybe some of these tips will help preserve your wonderful memories. I know it's a lot better than having them all in a shoe box as I'm afraid most of us have done for years! Our local Scrapbook Village site can be seen at: http://scrapbookvillage.net/ but for those of you who live out of this area, search the web. There are hundreds of sites with wonderful tips and supplies to assist you! (c) Copyright 29 May 2003, Sandra K.Gorin. All rights reserved. sgorin@glasgow-ky.com Col. Sandi Gorin, 205 Clements Ave., Glasgow, KY 42141 (270) 651-9114 Publishing: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/ GORIN worldconnect website: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~sgorin SCKY resource links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html