Conservation of framed photos

[LB023]

Dear people from the WAF,

Since I am a college student who does not have a lot of money to spend, my main focus is the collecting repro photos form German WW2 veterans. Over the years i have been able to correspond with some 40 Ritterkreuztragers and some other German veterans. Currently I am all storing them in a map, but I would like to frame them all to make a nice display on the wall.

However, I was wondering if this is possible without colouring by the sun and/or eveparation of the signatures on the photos.

Perhaps anyone who has experience with the framing is signed photos could provide me with some advice?

Thank you very much in advance,

L

[Alistair L]

I too am in the same position as you and was about to ask the same question.I have a few photos and other paper material in my collection that I want preserved but displayed at the same time.I am in college as well so money is a bit of an issue too.For me I have tucked them in a dark area until something better comes around.

[LB023]

I too am in the same position as you and was about to ask the same question.I have a few photos and other paper material in my collection that I want preserved but displayed at the same time.I am in college as well so money is a bit of an issue too.For me I have tucked them in a dark area until something better comes around.

Dear Alistair,

So I guess I'm not the only one experiencing this problem!

Do you also collect signed photos from German veterans?

Kind regards,

L

[Alistair L]

Lol I reckon not the only one.At the moment I have autographed newspaper clippings of WWI ace Ernst Udet in 1931 and Eddie Rickenbacker 1959.I also have two Sanke postcards of Oswald Boelcke and Werner Voss framed.I am building up gradually but I want them to last much longer as you do.

[KLMKsunbunny]

Discussing your requirements with a professional framer will give you a better idea of your options, but for a better level of protection you will need conservation grade glass and mount - the mount keeps your photos from touching the glass which helps prevent damage if condensation builds up inside the frame (usually in winter when the temperature drops and heating is switched on). UV protective glass will filter out sunlight to prevent fading, but keeping the frame out of direct sunlight is still recommended. Both UV resistant glass and conservation grade mount board will cost more than the basic stuff.

In my collection I have several lots of soviet documents, the ink used back then is notorious for fading very easily, and when I considered framing some I was advised by another collector to display colour copies instead, and keep the originals safe, so I will throw that out there as an option...

[Michael Fay]

collector conservation caveat

Discussing your requirements with a professional framer will give you a better idea of your options, but for a better level of protection you will need conservation grade glass and mount - the mount keeps your photos from touching the glass which helps prevent damage if condensation builds up inside the frame (usually in winter when the temperature drops and heating is switched on). UV protective glass will filter out sunlight to prevent fading, but keeping the frame out of direct sunlight is still recommended. Both UV resistant glass and conservation grade mount board will cost more than the basic stuff.

In my collection I have several lots of soviet documents, the ink used back then is notorious for fading very easily, and when I considered framing some I was advised by another collector to display colour copies instead, and keep the originals safe, so I will throw that out there as an option...

I concur with all stated by KLMKsunbunny,

I will add that by "professional framer" it is meant, not a generic retail type chain stores offering framing services and/or framing supplies, as I find they either do not know anything about truly "archival issues/and or what type of products truly meet the requirements of ...what collectors need to protect your paper and photos, or the salesperson will just lie to you to make the sale.


It means sadly, that you must find those who specifically claim they can do the correct work-and that does translate into what it will cost.
The more you research what is required to really ensconce your collection in the safest mediums is not always affordable.

PS normal glass is permeable by vapors, smoke, etc.
Usual types of glass offered are also, themselves ,not necessarily deemed safe for the long run.
These two snippets of the issues with conservation are not known about by chain store framers, or the typical old-fashioned mom and pop framer (if any still exist somewhere)
Finally: I have always known more than these framers have about conservation and so have been tipped off not to trust most of them as they normally claim items are "safe" to my face ,that I have known for years are NOT.

My experience is only within the locality of So Cal on actual framers interactions with me, but I taught myself about the issues of conserving collections by searching the web for Museum web based sites that have their standards of archival materials and those within that world who discuss there ever-evolving opinions (and new hoped for miracle tech-which is problematic as it will take an actual 30-50-100 year test to assure the efficacy of the new tech claims and that there are no unknown drawbacks later on with your collection)on how to preserve items,
as well as checking out old websites that offered detailed explanations on what is dangerous about most panes of glass, plastic, etc to enclose the most expensive and rare movie posters in the world. It was that one site that taught me I can NOT afford to do the best towards preserving my paper and photo collection.
-Instead, I seek out those items such as museum quality acid free backings from wherever I can find it cheapest and cut them down to fit .
Personally I have opted to not frame any photos or docs and only go the whole way with a small grouping of original SS posters.
Good luck

[Brig]

Professional framers are expensive, while archival framing can be quite affordable as a DIY.

First, you need to decide if you want archival frames. These are the most expensive part of framing, and are acid free and UV resistant. They can be found online quite easily.

Additionally, you want acid free matte board as a border. This will allow you to create a buffer between the image and glass and prevent damage from humidity and condensation. This can be a bit more expensive if you get the pre-cut borders. However, you can buy rather large sheets of it at a craft store (Michael's sells them). A pencil, ruler, and exacto blade/razor and you can make your own borders for a fraction of the cost of the pre-cut.

Additionally, acid free backing material is important. You can get good acid free thick paper at most offic supply stores. Acid free photo corners for album mounting can be found for a couple bucks on Amazon and help mount photos to the backing so they don't slide around

If framing becomes too expensive, you can use the above materials and acid-free document sleeves (again, available at most office supply stores) to keep them in an archival album in a 3-ring binder

I have collecting antique USMC photos and documents for over a decade using these products and none have deteriorated

These are portraits I framed myself with the above techniques...I did not use all archival frames, but the only things touching the photos are all archival acid-free. Probably cost around $100-$150 to do all of these

[Hans Kristian]

wise words above, I use the products from: https://www.secol.co.uk/
to archive material and they are excellent. Not cheap, though, but the collections are usually not cheap either, and they are worth protecting.

Hans Kristian

[Valter Gorenc]

Lots of valuable and expert advice, but you probably missed our young fellow is a student with limited budget. So i would offer another way: get your photos scanned in (reasonably) high-res then make photo prints or alternatively, make good color photocopies (you can even enlarge them), then frame these as you want / can afford, without bothering about wellbeing of originals. Keep the originals in acid free map, with layers of acid-free papers between them, in dark, dry and cool place, and they will be better preserved and protected than in any professional frame.

OK, scanning/photocopying will expose the originals to certain amount of strong light, but in the long term, this is better than hanging them on the walls. Or alternatively, istead of scanning, just reproduce them with camera (without flash) and then print photos. That way you probably won't get the exact reproduction of original as with high-res scanning, but with some experimenting you can get results good enough to display on the wall, and your originals won't be exposed to strong light of scanner/copy machine. Most of the visitors wouldn't know the difference. Most collectors scan or otherwise digitally reproduce photos from their collections anyway, for archiving, inventory, insurance purposes or display on forums like this.

Long-term storage of photos, especially color ones, is not as easy as it seems. Some reading (there's plenty more on the web):

http://www.ala.org/alcts/preservationweek/howto/photos

http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/photo.html