Preserving old photos is crucial to ensure they can be enjoyed by future generations. As a preamble, let us emphasize that digitization is an ultimate solution for preserving images. It allows you to have a digital copy that can be saved, duplicated and shared without risking damage to the original. However, it remains necessary to retain the initial support, for example for historical or simply sentimental purposes.
Consequently, the following advice applies primarily to the preservation of physical media, whether they are paper prints, film negatives or even slides. Indeed, all these supports contain approximately the same chemical compounds and are sensitive to the same environmental hazards.
Preservation of old photos: Storage conditions
What storage are we talking about exactly? These are photos on paper, negatives, slides kept in archives, albums or other cardboard boxes... that is to say which are not permanently exposed to view.
Ideal storage conditions are a temperature of 18°C and a humidity level of 40%. As this is not easy to guarantee in a domestic environment, you must at least try to ensure a non-excessive (< 40°C) and stable temperature, in a clean, dry and dark place. In other words, avoid the attic subject to seasonal variations and especially to temperatures that can be very high in summer. Also avoid the damp cellar, the dusty garage or workshop, or even the kitchen and its water or grease vapors. The living room sideboard or bedroom wardrobe seems a reasonable option.
Staying flat is also important. Therefore, be sure to keep negatives and slides in their cases and paper prints in sleeves or ideally in albums, so that you can benefit from them more easily (be careful of destructive fixing methods, see part 2).
Preserving old photos: Handling
As the root of the word indicates, it is the “hand” tool that can pose a problem here. Indeed, certain precautions are necessary:
1. Avoid touching the surface as much as possible. Encourage input from the edges or margins. They are made for that!
2. Degrease and dry your hands before handling. A hydroalcoholic gel will do the trick very well,
3. If the archives are rare, old and visibly fragile, use clean cotton gloves.
If, despite everything, beautiful fingerprints visibly mark the surface, cleaning is possible on fairly recent photos (> the 1950s) as follows:
1. Dip the photo in a container of lukewarm water, diluting three drops of dishwashing detergent,
2. Rub the photo gently with your fingertips,
3. Rinse under water,
4. Leave to dry on a clean, new (lint-free) cloth, image side up.
Above all, do not insist too much. This would only make the situation worse.
Preservation of old photos: Conditions of presentation
This time, it’s about showing the photos clearly and permanently. Direct exposure to sunlight or even intense artificial light should be avoided in the long term. Indeed, the UV rays emitted by these light sources can cause irreversible damage to silver chemical compounds and pigments or simply to the supports themselves: the paper can yellow and the films can become tinted.
In practice, if you wish to exhibit a photo, you must prefer a dimly lit area or simply make a digital copy, expose the printed copy and store the original adequately.
If, despite everything, you notice that an exposed photo is starting to fade, darken or deteriorate, there is only one solution left: Proxiluz restoration!
Laurent
To be continued in the second part: framing and hanging, glues and adhesives, pockets and albums.
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