How to archive old B&W photos

First and foremost, being single, I was bored on this Valentine's Day. I decided to finally tackle my photo archive I've been compiling. I also decided I would take some pictures and show you how to safely archive photos so you can do it yourself as well. This doesn't only have to be for old photos, nor do I claim it to be professional or the most perfect way to preserve them for a thousand years. It's certainly better than I'm sure most of these people stored these in the first place. This can work on new or digital prints as well; the possibilities are endless. I apologize in advance for the date stamp on all the pics. I realized it after the fact and now it's disabled, so sorry for the distraction.

Being a history nerd and an enthusiast of photography (esp. B&W), I decided to combine the two. I've recently bought a lot of photos off of Ebay that are original WWII photos. Most of them are of German origin and actually shipped from there. Usually taken at the time by photo attachés to the Wehrmacht army in German, French, and Russian campaigns. Allied and American photos are harder to find, and usually a lot more expensive. So here I had 50 or so original WWII B&W prints. Nothing like having some real history of one of the worst wars humanity has seen. I want to be able to save these, archive them, and pass them down the line for either family, or for future generations to see when many more years have passed. Nothing like authentic photos, and these are one of a kind, very interesting photos. As with any old prints, you should scan them as a backup in case the originals are destroyed or damaged. At suggestion from a friend, instead of pulling out the originals to show, I will scan them professionally and make prints to be able to make a quasi-original display album to show my nerdy friends. This is a 2nd project as it won't be a cheap one. Anyhow, I digress.


How do I archive all these great photos to weather the years? (Click for a sweet closeup.)

Black and white photos can last a very, very long time if stored correctly due to the chemicals in development and lack of other pigments. Like humans, photos don't like extreme high and low temperatures, or a lot of humidity. Keep photos in a dry, climate-controlled place like a room or shelf. Control temperature fluctuations and extremes; that means no attics, basements, or outside storage. Always handle photos with clean (wash them first), dry hands. If you wanted to be extra careful, even use cotton gloves. The oils, bacteria, and chemicals on your hands can destroy or damage old photos. Sun and water are two of the worst destroyers of photographs.

The first step is to figure out your maximum photo size and work backwards. Since my biggest were 5 8x10's, I knew I could use standard 8x12 page-size photo protectors for the largest photos. The box is 8x10, so I had to trim back the protectors a little to fit inside the box. Since the next largest of the photos were just under 4x6, I knew I could order the plastic photos sleeves at that size and be ok. Once you've figured out your dimensions and storage method, you're ready to order and go to the next step.


Largest: 8x10's in acid-free, Avery brand page protectors. (These are intel photos of Allied bombing maps/flight plans. Shown are flight paths out of Belgium into West Germany for bombing, and also locations of German troops and AA flak emplacements. Click for a better view)


8x10 Acid and lignin-free, museum archive box.

I ordered some supplies from an archival company called Archival USA. Under fifty dollars got me 100 4x6, 6 mil individual plastic photo sleeves, a museum-quality archive box, and some specialty photo interleaving tissue paper (acid free). The tissue paper is for if I wanted to ever just leave "naked" photos out in the archive box (which I don't recommend). The tissue paper keeps the emulsion layers from touching the back of the other photos if you're keeping them in a stack.

Now when you have all your materials, the next step is to create a nice, clean work area. I used a cotton towel to lay on my coffee table to put the photos on. The last thing you want is dirt, food, or liquid to get on the photos. Make sure your work area is neat, clean, and free of clutter to avoid unforeseen disasters.

Besides the 5 large 8x10's, the rest of the photos are a considerably smaller. I didn't want to order a smaller box just for that though, I'd rather just combine them in the one archive, and save money on the storage method. How you want to do it is up to you. Be sure when you use archiving supplies to always use acid-free materials. The museum archive box is crush proof with metal corners and a drop front feature for easier access ("that's what she said").


Drop-front access. Makes life easy.


Crush-proof metal corners. A must-have for long term
survival for packrats like myself..

The museum-quality archive box is specially treated to absorb environmental pollutants from the air, and is also acid-free and lignin-free. I then just put each photo in its own individual sleeve. These are 6 mil plastic sleeves of which 3 sides are sealed. These are top-load, so it's easy to slide the pictures in so they won't easily fall out. They are PVC-free, so they won't effect the photos or the emulsion layer. Do not keep more than 1 photo per sleeve no matter how tempted you are to save space or money. You never know how two photos will react in the same plastic sleeve. Never store anything else in the plastic sleeve with the photo just to be safe.


100 4x6, 6 mil, PVC-free photo sleeves.


This is how it looks when the photos are placed in the sleeves individually. Ultimate protection from the elements. (Click for closeup.)

Never let two photos touch each other outside of the plastic sleeve or store them touching each other without tissue paper or in a sleeve. You may damage the photo paper or emulsion layer (hence the interleaving tissue paper for "naked" photos). Never write or stick any labels on the BACK of the original photo, as it could bleed through or affect the emulsion layer over time. Leaving labels on the outside plastic sleeve is ok though, and exactly what I plan to do to index them.


This is the final product, all secure for archiving and storage on one of my shelfs.


Finally, you should index your photos. I have a bunch of sticky, printable labels of the address-type to later fill out. This will include information, location, details, or titles of the photo so 50 years down the road I don't have recall this. I strongly recommend you start your own kind of index system so that you are organized. If you ever need to make an album or sell the photos in the future, you know what you have and are ready to go (and not to mention in great shape).

Happy archiving, and to all the history buffs, take care of old photos; they are invaluable pieces of still life. For all the current digital photography buffs, keep your photos of today, for 50 years from now, you'll wish you had kept them. Get some kind of copying and backup plan, if you have only one source of a backup, it's not a backup. Keep your photos safe.

P.S.: When I scan my photos in, I will share them in a Picasa album for everyone to see.