Old Paper

Coming across a stack of old paper or old photos can be the beginning of an exciting adventure. Perhaps you have found the old paper in your grandmother's attic or in a box of things you bought from an auction or yard sale.

Old paper can be very valuable, and not only in the monetary sense. It can be a light into the past. A world gone by. Old paper can be a treasure, especially if it includes information vital to a genealogical research. Even if it is not supporting any of your family tree, old paper findings can be a fascinating read.

Among of the things that have been found in stacks of old paper are: letters, postcards, certificates, deeds, receipts, health records, newspapers, magazines, and old books. Finding old letters can be so interesting if you are related to the people mentioned in the letter or even if you are not. Since writing letters was the only means of communication to friends and family living in times past, the content of the letters was usually quite detailed. It is interesting to read old paper such as letters even if you are not related to the people. It sheds light into someone else's world and gives lots of good information about how the people lived in past generations.

When it comes to preserving old paper, the utmost in care should be taken. If you cannot afford to have a professional archivist look after your old paper, there are certainly some steps that you can take to take care of it yourself. As it ages, old paper becomes discolored and fragile. Several factors contribute to this deterioration: humidity, light, heat, pests and acid containing items which come into contact with old paper. With time, the ink disappears and the paper is so crumbly that handling it is not possible or further damage will occur. In order to preserve old paper in it's current state, there are several things that you can do aside from having a professional treat your old paper.

Preserving and Storing Old Paper

First and foremost, your old papers and old photos must be kept in a humidity-controlled environment. They must also be kept acid-free. There are several methods of storing old paper. There are acid-free folders and sleeves that you can purchase for holding the old documents. Sort out all the old papers by category or theme and carefully put the in these folders. If you are putting more than one old paper in the same folder, separate them with a piece of acid-free paper. Then put the folders in an acid-free box. Be sure to not store the boxes in a basement or attic. The humidity and dampness from these locations will cause further damage to the valuable old paper inside. There are many other archival-safe materials that can be used for storing your valuable old paper. Look for them at scrapbook stores and museum supply stores.

If you prefer to have access to the old papers and photos, then you can purchase archival safe albums and materials for scrapbooking at your local craft store. The old papers and photos can be attached into the scrapbook under a safe plastic sleeve. You can even notate beside them information that is pertinent to the materials using archival pens.

It is a good idea to have a back-up system and to prevent handling the old papers to much. Scan the originals and file them electronically on discs so that you can retrieve and study them whenever you would like. It is especially a good idea to copy and/or scan old newspapers as they are made of a material that can deteriorate even more rapidly.

Taking care of your old papers will ensure that future generations will also be able to enjoy them and learn from the contents contained within these gems.