Storing antique documents

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Old 02-17-2017, 08:23 PM
BirdBrain BirdBrain is offline
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Question Storing antique documents

I recently came into possession of a small paperback composition book that belonged my great-grandpa. It has a high school assignment he wrote about birds so it was passed on to me since I'm the bird fanatic.

I'd like to keep it in an envelope or something similar...what do I use that won't degrade the paper?
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Old 02-17-2017, 09:30 PM
Bogie Shooter Bogie Shooter is offline
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Do a google search on How to protect old documents
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Old 02-18-2017, 09:09 AM
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twoplanekid twoplanekid is offline
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I use their storage bags to protect my vintage aviation maps that I sell at Oshkosh and SunNFun.

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Old 02-18-2017, 09:27 AM
Boomer Boomer is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BirdBrain View Post
I recently came into possession of a small paperback composition book that belonged my great-grandpa. It has a high school assignment he wrote about birds so it was passed on to me since I'm the bird fanatic.

I'd like to keep it in an envelope or something similar...what do I use that won't degrade the paper?
Hi BirdBrain,

You will need to store it in something that is acid-free and know a good place to put it. Acid, light, heat, humidity, bugs, and a few other things can cause the paper to deteriorate.

For a start, look up a company called Gaylord Archival. You can go to their site directly or find them on Amazon. (I would put a link here for you, but......(blush) I am on my iPad and keep forgetting to ask somebody to show me how to link on it.) There are other companies for these supplies, too.

Anyway, you will find exactly what you need for archival quality storage.

And may I say, how wise you are to know you need to know how to do this.

Also, what fun to find the words of your great-grandfather, writing about a topic that you love learning about, too. It is a joyful find for you and fits right into the questions we sometimes have about why we are who we are. Nature? Nurture? I bet you have been fascinated with birds as long as you can remember, but probably never got to talk about the topic with your great-grandfather -- yet, there it is.

And how nice of someone in the family to see to it that the composition book landed in the right hands.

Boomer

Last edited by Boomer; 02-18-2017 at 09:37 AM.
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Old 02-18-2017, 10:59 AM
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villagetinker villagetinker is offline
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The other thing you can do is scan the pages into your computer, in this manner you will be able to refer to the book whenever you want without inflicting any further damage. Most multifunction printers will do this and I have a stand alone scanner.
I agree with the above comments about consulting a specialist. You might check at the local library as they should have access to a specialist for this type of work. Due to the possibility of high humidity, you might also consider a desiccant in the storage bag/container.
Hope this helps.
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