What is the best way to store old documents like personal letters?
Nutritionally Fortified asked:
I have a ton of old handwritten and typed letters and need a good way to organize and store them.
I have a ton of old handwritten and typed letters and need a good way to organize and store them.
get an envelope. fold the letters and put em inside. or if you don’t want to fold em get a bigger envelope. once inside, put the envelopes in plastic air-tight bags.
that should keep em safe.
If you want to organise them so you can read them but keep them protected, why not make a scrapbook out of them? Use archival quality materials or photocopy the letters and documents onto archival quality paper so they don’t become brittle and yellow and crumbly with age. You can get scrapbooks with polypropylene (safe ‘plastic’) pockets and archival pages to put your documents onto.
This link might help you find out about archival quality materials:
Be sure to choose archival adhesives as well so they don’t go yellow or stain your documents with age
Of course, store your albums in a cool, dry place where you would be comfortable – not in a garage or attic as heat, humidity and sunlight are the ‘enemies’ of paper products.
HTH!
Find acid free page protectors to store them in.
There is a product called Archivers Mist. It stops documents from turning yellow -helps preserves them.
The most important thing you should do first is to scan your letters into your computer, make a CD from them and then use a good back up program to keep them safe. Sadly ALL paper will eventually deteriorate and unless your letters were originally printed on acid & lignin free paper they will not last a long time!
However if you want to keep them around for viewing as long as possible you should unfold them (fold lines will deteriorated first) and place them on acid free, lignin free paper. Use an adhesive sparingly and only in the uppermost corners of your letters.
It’s always good practice to wear cotton gloves when handling old papers so that the oils from your fingers don’t hasten the deterioration process.
If you want to use a page protector afterwards use only those specifically made for archival paper.
No plastic bags unless they are made specifically for archival paper! Putting them in plain baggies would be a very bad idea. And don’t fold them unless you absolutely have to (I’d say no) because of the damage long term of the fold disintegrating.
Acid-free paper on top and bottom of each page for the perfect storage.