Don’t Let Your Old Family Photos Fade Away! Check Out These Tips!

Out of all the valuable items we get to see here at Dusty Old Thing, it’s the old family photos that we love the most. They’re like little family heirlooms, a slice of history frozen in time. If you’re like us, you want to keep your old family photos looking their best; that’s why we were thrilled to share this video from The Australian National Maritime Museum detailing how to preserve our old photos.

Some key points from the video:

• Store your photos away from exterior walls so the temperature and humidity can be regulated and constant; the cooler, the better.
• Be wary of adhesive-based scrap books or other storage methods.
• Consider getting your older photos scanned so you’ll have digital copies in case the originals get damaged.
• Don’t directly touch the photographs (especially older ones) as the oils in our hands can damage the gelatine emulsion layer.

Check out the video, and let us know if you have any tips or tricks to storing and protecting old photographs!