My understanding has always been that the paper used in WW2 era photo albums - the commonly seen black paper - is highly acidic. Isn't there a danger that photos kept in these albums will age prematurely, turn brown & start to disintegrate? How can one reconcile the desire to keep the albums original & historically intact with this fact? Is this a danger one is willing to accept to protect "history"?
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Brian:
This is an extremely good question, and I must admit that I am thoroughly stumped in this case. All things considered, this may well be one of the few cases where photos are best left on their acidic albeit original photo album pages. As much as removing them may protect them in the long run, I agree that it just doesn't seem right to destroy the item as it was assembled by the original owner. However, I guess the other thing to consider here is what is more important. Is it the photos as isolated artifacts, or the album with the photos, in its originally-assembled state? That could be the ultimate subjective issue to consider.
That's just my somewhat on-the-fence opinion, and I'm interested to hear what others have to say about it. There's no doubt that plenty of other members here have had to deal the same dilemma.
Chris
P.S. If I had to make a decision for such an item in my own collection, I believe that I would ultimately choose to leave the photo album as is, and consider this a reasonable exception for doing so. -
My pre-WW2 era German photo album has black pages and no evidence of reaction to acid on any of the photos. I'm guessing this old German album has acid-free paper. Did they have it in the 30's? AmmerseeComment
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I'm not sure what type of paper they used during the period. However, just looking at the photo album Ammersee has presented above just strengthens my final decision to leave such pieces as they are. I personally can't imagine taking something like that apart.
Chris
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I'm sure that almost all papers made from wood pulp - and I'm fairly certain that the black paper is one of them - are highly acidic. Only expensive rag or linen content papers - used then for expensive documents & proclamations - had low acid content paper. Maybe there is something in the photo paper that acts as a kind of buffer to the acids. You will notice that ordinary newsprint paper in the albums turns brown fast. I'm not trying to argue the case either way here - just trying to get input. Any photo collectors out there who are also chemists?Comment
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I used to be a trained professional photographer for 20 years before I became a conservator. Yes, I am some what a chemist. I also am a trained film and photographic paper conservator. Remember during war time people wanted them selves photographed. For there left behind family, wives, friends, and lovers. An item to hold on to while they were at war. During wartime any local photographer was in high demand.
First of all I will start with the photographs. During the 30’s photography was still a relatively new emerging field. With new acetate film replacing the old glass plates. New photographic papers were also emerging. The photographer did not completely understand the whole chemistry behind the image, or understand the need to wash black and white film or photographic paper. Also what needs to kept in the fore front was there was a war going on. Chemical were not always in plenty. Photographers were also cutting corners on processing. Photographers would use there chemicals beyond the useful tolerance. They shorten processing times of both film and paper. The image in the album that has a silver/gray appearance is cause by either silver reacting to the environment, or exhausted chemical Unfortunally there is nothing that can be done to halt that reaction. The only sure thing to due is keep the humidity levels stable, and keep away from light.
The other question is the album paper. Yes, 85% of the paper uses in the albums are acidic, Yes wood pulp sulfur paper binders poor washing of papers are just the fuel to get things going. So with all of the potential bad things going on with the album. It’s just a matter of time before something happens to it. If you do not keep the entire album stable it will happen sooner. For historic value I would not remove any photos. If in time this progress to a worsen state. The only thing to do is copy the actual photo image using either on real film, or digital. PaulComment
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I'm thinking of one possible solution - if you are concerned about the acid paper. Photograph the pages in the original album, remove the photos, keep the album intact separately, and insert the photos into mylar sleeves. If the album is a common one, with an undecorated cover & no notations, I don't see a reason for keeping it.Comment
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why even consider removing them, have any of you had any problems with photos gone bad? I have 100 year old photos that have been on black paper since that time and nothing has happenend. Same goes with my ww1 albums, 20'-30's albums along with the ww2 and postwar.
You also risk to damage the photos while removing them. Many of them also tends to curl after beeing removing, then cracks can appear.Comment
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The acid paper in the album can cause a original photograph to turn yellowish brown, or blackish grey. From a conservation point the album sumbitted by AMMERSEE calls for no action. Other than keeping it stable.
For historical reasons I would not remove anything from the album. Keep the album in an acid free box, and keep the humidity between 43%-45%. PaulComment
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Can anyone show an actual picture of an item be it a photo, document, etc that was damaged by using a paper containing acid? When I graduated from college and received my commissioning as 2nd Lt I had my commissioning certificate framed. Being fresh out of college, I still had the poor college student state of mind and opted going the cheap route in framing and did not get the non-acid free bordering. The lady warned against it but I said I'll take my chances, and to be honest, 22 years later and living in the Southern US for about 20 of those years with high humidity it looks as good as it did when I got it framed it back in 1986.
Best,
John<O
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Last edited by John F.; 06-08-2008, 12:32 PM.Comment
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I do some picture framing & have seen plenty of matt burn from using acidic matts - this leaves a brown border. I'm not suggesting panic & that everyone remove photos from albums - just that if a better method of storage is available why not use it? Goerings personal photo album is one thing - the thought would be keep it intact at all costs. Some albums have elaborate covers or detailed descriptions underneath. But if the album itself has nothing distinctive or important about it - just a thrown together group of msc,. photos, AND I was worried about deterioration, I don't see any harm - for my collection - in removing the photes & placing them in space saving new clear sleeves.Comment
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Originally posted by BrianK View Post
Brian,
I agree, it's yours you can do what you want. However, some people will say you are destorying history, but since the album has no written entries and you do not know the history behind any of the photos or the person who took them then it is just a photo journal of WWII.
Best,
JohnComment
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When it comes to the question of removing photos from a period-assembled photo album, this is all a matter of many different perspectives. There are those, like myself, who will say that such an album is better left intact and preserved in the best way, as is. There are others who will argue that such an album has no specific "historical" value as an album, and should therefore be disassembled for the sake of preserving only the photos. This is something I suppose we could debate about endlessly. Of course, there's never anything wrong with a good debate.
Chris
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as I also deal with art and I know what acid can do. Lithographs or drawings framed with a passpartout that is not acid free will turn yellow/brown in about 10-30 years. But then the paper is directly against the artwork, this is not the same thing as with photographs.Comment
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