Preservation of WW1 photos

Mike J Andrew · 12 July 2008, 02:25 PM

I have recently been given some photos dating from 1916-18. Some are regular photos, some are postcards and some are on card. The photos seem faded and the card pictures have a silvering, which seems almost to highlight some of the faces. I am concerned they need storing in a corrrect manner and would like to ask if anyone could offer any advice?
Also what is the best way to scan/enhance them?
Many thanks
Mike

Jenny · 12 July 2008, 06:40 PM

Firstly, you need to keep the photos away from light, and in an acid free environment. Do you live near a photography museum or historical society? If you do, I am sure that you can get some assistance in properly caring for your collection. Also, I assume that you live in the UK. Have you tried the Imperial War Museum? You may need to have the acid removed from the paper that the photos were printed on. You will probably have to have the photos professionally removed from the card stock and then restored. I love looking at old photographs. It sounds as thought you might have a real treasure in your possession. Do not do anything with the photos until you consult an expert. Good luck! Jenny

Cigogne · 14 July 2008, 06:30 PM

Luckily, we live in the digital age. You want a scanner that is capable of higher resolution and the ability to scan in 48-bit. Stick with Epson, Microtek, Umax brands... no name brands or cheapo scanners will give you problems.

1. Use gloves when handling them. Oils from your fingers will cause more damage. At photography shops they are available.

2. Scan them at a minimum of 600 dpi. That will allow them to be worked with and improved. If scanned at a lesser resolution, 300, it will be at par, but won't gain you anything to really restore and improve the image quality. Bigger is better. Also, these old photos come in different sizes. The smaller the image, the higher the resolution. I had some photos that I scanned for somebody that were from an old Kodak that were maybe 2.25 inches wide. I scanned them at 2400 dpi to give me the equivalent of a good 11 in x 8.5 in photo.

If higher... scan at 1200, or 2400 (multiples ot the number. Don't do 400, 500... they need to be multiples of each other. The best optical results are what I noted above.

3. Have the scanner color settings set to RGB or Full Color mode or at least 24-bit which is millions of colors. Don't scan at 8-bit or grayscale as that will limit the tones that will be scanned from the image and you'll lose delicate detail in the shadows and highlights.

4. The native format setting to save the scans should always be TIFF file format. Never save the raw scans as JPEG. That is a compressed format that makes for a smaller file... at the cost of a loss of information.

5. Also, you'll want to make sure you have a good hard drive or backup external hard drive if you are scanning a lot of photos.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

buzz1941 · 15 July 2008, 12:35 AM

Cigogne's advice is all good. Note, though, that the amount of detail is reflected in the megabyte size of the image. A 600-dpi scan in color -- should be more than 50 megs. A good scanner can get quite amazing detail from a very small photo, down to the weave of the photo paper.

Jim · 15 July 2008, 01:17 PM

Just to add a bit - store them flat in archival quality inert polyester envelopes, but make sure a bit of air can circulate around them. Do not pile them high to create pressure on the photos. Also, keep them in a room where the temperature remains constant and cool, and where the relative humidity remains constant and low. Temperature variations cause the paper to expand and contract, as does humidity variations. Also, high humidity allows mildew and fungus to grow. Spearate out any photos that have fungus or other rot and keep them away from the ones that do not - you do not want it to spread. Be sure to keep them in a place where no insects will come, and where no mice will come either. And keep them out of the sun and only view them in a dim room.

Get them copied digitally since there is nothing you can do to prevent them from eventually disintegrating at some point. To the extent you can have any conserved professionally, focus on the ones for which there are no known duplicates. All WW I era photos are just copies made from negatives - some may be the only copy made or the only one surviving while others may have many known copies and be less tragic if they were lost.

Mike J Andrew · 15 July 2008, 02:06 PM

Thanks for such detailed advice. I will pop down to my local photographic store and see if I can get something more appropriate to store them in than their current 1954 envelope! They are all pretty much unique, so I feel duty bound to do my best to look after them.
Might the best course of action be to scan them and donate the originals to a decent museum where they could be looked after properly? Or would they just dissapear from view?
Mike

Jenny · 15 July 2008, 04:36 PM

Dear Mike,
Sounds good to me. Check with the Imperial War Museum to see if you have something of value. I would also check with an expert on conservation prior to making any copies. I do know that museums discourage taking photographs of paintings because because the images can be damaged. I don't know whether this applies to photos. If the photos are important, perhaps you could donate them to a museum, and have copies made for yourself and others on an as needed basis. Goodluck. Jenny

Colin · 16 July 2008, 12:28 AM

Mike, you should contact Cross & Cockade International in the UK, part of whose remit is to preserve all such aviation associated photos in the public domain, and often make use of them in their quarterly journal, why not search them out on Google.

Jim · 16 July 2008, 08:39 AM

If you are not able to care for them then donating them to an appropriate museum or library is a good choice. BUT, before you do be sure to talk with them since some museums or libraries do not accept donations easily (everything they accept they will have to care for and that implies an ongoing budgetary cost to them and they all have limited budgets). Also make sure they have a policy to make such materials available to the public, even though they may not display them. Finally, ask them about their policy on deaccession. Pretty much all museums and libraries sometimes do something called deaccessioning. This means they sell off trade away whatever they do not care to keep to get cash for their operating costs or to acquire things they really want.

Do not worry about photographing your photos - it will not harm them if you do not do it constantly and if you do not focus exceptionally bright lights to blaze away on them. Make your digital photos very high resolution and put them up on a website where everyone can see them. There are some free webhosting sites where you can do it for little or no cost. Once they are out on the web people will copy them and and they will become preserved for the future in a way they never would be if they were only kept in your collection or in the collection of the museum or library.

Yank44 · 19 July 2008, 08:51 PM

Hi Jim! I PM'd you with something I thought you could help me with. You should find it very interesting.
Yank

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim

If you are not able to care for them then donating them to an appropriate museum or library is a good choice. BUT, before you do be sure to talk with them since some museums or libraries do not accept donations easily (everything they accept they will have to care for and that implies an ongoing budgetary cost to them and they all have limited budgets). Also make sure they have a policy to make such materials available to the public, even though they may not display them. Finally, ask them about their policy on deaccession. Pretty much all museums and libraries sometimes do something called deaccessioning. This means they sell off trade away whatever they do not care to keep to get cash for their operating costs or to acquire things they really want.

Do not worry about photographing your photos - it will not harm them if you do not do it constantly and if you do not focus exceptionally bright lights to blaze away on them. Make your digital photos very high resolution and put them up on a website where everyone can see them. There are some free webhosting sites where you can do it for little or no cost. Once they are out on the web people will copy them and and they will become preserved for the future in a way they never would be if they were only kept in your collection or in the collection of the museum or library.