Preserving the Past and Present for the Future
Friday, February 29th, 2008By David Waterman Preserving your personal keepsakes, collectables and family history In most homes, we probably all have tucked away a huge assortment of items that we choose to keep for one reason or another. These items may be valuable or they may hold wonderful memories and are priceless family treasures. The list of things that we keep and collect is almost endless, such as photographs, family papers and letters, old newspapers, certificates, old passports, books, china and wedding dresses etc. Each item that you choose to keep and collect represents something unique and therefore deserves special treatment and care. Clearly, if you choose to keep theses items, you want them to last for years to come. People spent fortunes on collectables and yet they ignore the preservation of these items at their peril . A recent news story was released that detailed the extraordinary discovery of the Gospel of Judas. What was highlighted in this story was the fact that this codex had survived hidden for 1700 years and yet it was almost completely destroyed in the 20 years since its original discovery in the 1970s simply as a result of lack of care and thought. In order to ensure that the items that you keep are well preserved you need a very basic understanding of conservation principles. Careful storage and safe handling are the golden rules for ensuring the preservation of your family treasures, regardless of media type. What do you need to do to ensure that your most precious memories are always kept in pristine condition and how do you protect such a diverse range of items in a normal domestic environment? You need to be practical and understand the basic rules. Whilst you can control how family members treat your treasures, it is inevitable that over time, some wear and tear will occur which, in many instances, is perfectly acceptable and an important part of the item’s history and character. However, as temporary custodians, the objective is to extend the life of your collection so that future generations can enjoy it just as much as you and past generations have. These items often have great sentimental value and yet they have the similar preservation requirements as the items held by any archives or Museum. Similar to any professional conservators, you too should try to protect your personal collections from harmful external factors as best you can. The first signs of damage are discolouration, mould, smell or the items become brittle. If items are damaged you may need the assistance of a professional conservator. If you are in any doubt about the methods you are using to store items or you wish to get professional help with any conservation matters you should contact the Institute of Conservation. www.icon.org.uk. In order to help preserve the items that you wish to keep it is important to use good storage materials. These disciplines are used throughout the World to ensure that the most valuable national treasures are safely stored. You must use Archival (Acid Free) paper and boxes to wrap, cover and box the items that you wish to keep. This is something that all keen scrapbookers are now all familiar with. If an acidic product (That is ordinary cardboard box, plastic, newspaper or wood etc) comes into contact with paper, photos or textiles or other similar items, the acid can migrate, causing permanent damage and decay. This is why it is so important to use good quality Acid Free and Archival materials for the preservation of your treasured memories. Storage in archival products will slow the aging process and add years of life to the items you value. It is better to prevent damage and deterioration, than try to repair or correct it.Materials deteriorate as a result of the quality of the materials used and because of environmental and chemical changes that take place in the fibre of the materials over time and in changing environmental conditions. These materials are readily available now with papers and books for scrapbooking available from any good craft shop and safe archival boxes available from www.memories-nostalgia.com. It is useful to understand the issue of permanence and changing use of materials in the modern world. It is a fact of life that many of the modern materials that we come into contact with are not produced for long term survival, we are living in a disposable world and a cost driven world and often the quality of materials will suffer as a result. However it is important to keep originals and have them stored well. There is always a risk that fast changing technology will either degrade or due to technological obsolescence be unavailable for you to access in the future. (e.g. Cine film, 8 track) Consequently it is vital to preserve both the original records and the machines required to read them. A very good source of preservation information for the care of specific items is: http://www.conservationregister.com/caring.asp?id=4 National Preservation office also offers guidance www.bl.uk/services/npo/npo.html Library Of Congress provides a very comprehensive resource on preservation . http://www.loc.gov/preserv/careothr.html You can also contact you local council records office for advice from the conservation and archives office. Many council offices offer advice sheets online that are a very useful source of information. General Helpful hints Donts Dont store anything in direct sunlight or bright light, ideally store in the dark Don’t use self-adhesive photograph albums Don’t use newspaper to wrap documents or line boxes Don’t use ordinary envelopes, files, folders, tissue paper or standard cardboard boxes Dont use pens or felt tip markers on or near your artefacts Don’t use standard polythene or plastic bags, PVC, plastic envelopes and files. There are some plastics (polyester) which may be used, but you need to be certain what is safe Dont use frames that have poor quality mountboard or are backed with wood Never under any circumstance use any standard form of pressure sensitive tape or adhesive tape Never laminate a photo or document to preserve it. Also never use standard glue Dont use rubber bands, staples, pins or metal paper clips Dont store in areas of high humidity such as conservatories, near airing cupboards or places where condensation forms or near any heat sources Dont store anything in damp areas like cellars, attics, sheds or garages Dont store boxes against external walls, as these have high temperature fluctuations Avoid folding items and excessive handling, or ensure minimal folding Consider carefully the risks of storing items with a strong odour Do not overfill box as this will harm the contents and it will be unsafe to handle the weight Do not allow the box or its contents to get wet. Dos Try and store to as constant a temperature as possible, such as 13-18˚C and the relative humidity should not exceed 50% for a prolonged period. However, Please note that some collections may need more specific temperature and humidity guidelines and you may need to seek advice on this. Do use Acid Free tissue paper to interleave between pages of volumes with colour plates to prevent off-setting or blocking Keep originals in original and permanent formats When you are handling any precious items always ensure that your hands are clean and free of grease and dirt etc. Handle all items with great care. Handle photographic media gently and with great care to avoid finger marks on the images Try to ensure that you store your box in an area or room where air can circulate and ensure that you store your box in a pest and insect free area Ensure that the items that you store are clean or cleaned if necessary and remove any dust carefully before storing and keep box and contents as clean as possible. Always use archival quality materials (paper, adhesives, tape or embellishments) for your collection or for the decoration of your pages, box or collectables Glossary of terms: Archive Quality This is a term used to indicate that materials have undergone laboratory analysis to determine and confirm that their acidic and conservation properties are within safe levels. Ph Factor This refers to the acidity of a material. The ph scale is the standard for measurement of acidity and alkalinity .It runs from 1 to 14 with each number representing a ten-fold increase:Ph neutral is 7 and Acid free products have a ph factor of 7 or above. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Waterman http://EzineArticles.com/?Preserving-the-Past-and-Present-for-the-Future&id=232506 ambien price ativan dosage for sleeping viagra ambien gift ambien dependence