Protect your Family Papers

Everyone has some paper item that is of great importance to him.  It might be a letter, clipping, certificate, map, deed or diploma.  It might have legal importance, such as a will or professional license.  Its value might be purely sentimental, such as one’s best attempt at poetry.  Whatever it might be, paper has played a crucial role in the documentation of history and the creation of art.

Six thousand years ago, “paper” was made from thin, flat reeds, woven and pounded together.  This was “papyrus,” the word from which we get “paper.”  However, paper as we know it wasn’t invented until 2,000 years ago in China.  It was made from pulverized linen, hemp, and mulberry bark.  The recipe for paper traveled to the Arab world, where they made paper from cloth rags made of linen, cotton and hemp.  The recipe arrived in Europe in the 1200s, where they continued to use rags for paper pulp.  When moveable type was invented, the demand for paper increased astronomically, and the supply of rags could not keep up.  In 1850, a German papermaker succeeded in making paper from wood pulp. 

Wood is cheaper and more readily available than rags, but it has a few drawbacks as well.  Its fibers are shorter than those of linen or hemp, and thus wood pulp makes a weaker paper.  Wood also contains acids which attack its own fibers and cause the paper to become brown and brittle.

Also damaging to paper are insects, molds, dirt, moisture and sunlight.  Fortunately, there are preventive measures that can be taken to protect old papers and to ensure that current papers will last.

Environment

Paper made before about 1865 contains very little acid. However, it might have been written on with a type of ink called iron gall ink. Iron gall ink was used extensively until the beginning of the 20th century. This ink is extremely acidic and can even eat completely through a piece of high quality linen paper.

Temperature and humidity can greatly affect your family papers. High temperatures cause acid to work faster, making paper brown and brittle or helping ink to eat through a page. High temperature and humidity also encourage mold growth.

The iron gall ink has eaten through this linen paper.

Fluctuation in temperature and humidity causes paper to swell and contract, which is very damaging to paper.  For instance, storing papers above air conditioning units or heat vents can lead to some severe temperature and humidity changes. 

Attics and basements make very poor storage places, as do any rooms with washers and dryers or heavy machinery. Attics tend to be very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter.  Basements tend to be damp. Washers and dryers give off heat and moisture, and sometimes washers can flood. Some machinery also gives off a lot of heat. Cool and dry conditions are the best for paper, slowing the acidic reaction in the paper and discouraging mold growth.  The optimal temperature for paper is 65° Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of 40-55%. This level might be hard to attain in our Florida summers, so levels that are close to that are acceptable. A good rule of thumb is, "If you are hot and sticky, your papers are, too."

Stable temperature and humidity is as important as proper temperature and humidity. It is better to keep items stored in a slightly warm but stable environment than to store them in an environment that changes every day.

Good ventilation is important in the area where your papers are stored, providing a cooling effect and inhibiting mold growth. High efficiency filters, such as the HEPA filters, are recommended to pull dust particles, molds, mildews and pollutants from the air. HEPA air filters are available at your local hardware and department store.

Pollutants, such as car exhaust, contain sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide, when mixed with water (humidity in the air, for example) changes to sulfuric acid, which is extremely damaging to paper.

Light can also be very damaging to paper, not only the most harmful UV rays, but the visible rays as well. Light can fade paper and ink, especially colored inks. Store papers in the dark or in acid free boxes.

Storage

Store papers in acid free folders and boxes.  Acids from shoe boxes or grocery bags, which are made from very cheap paper, can migrate onto your papers and make even high quality paper brown and brittle.  For more information on archival quality storage, please see Buzzwords in the Archival Industry.

Storage boxes are available from vendors of archival products. For more information on these vendors, see Conservation On-line Supplier's List: http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/suppliers/.

Labeling the boxes and folders with their contents will save wear and tear on the individual papers when looking for a specific item. Soft pencil will last longer than will most inks in pens and will not run when it gets wet.

Store papers upright in acid free folders. Papers stored flat might suffer damage from the weight of papers stored on top. Folded or rolled items should be opened up if possible. Do this very carefully; do not force open rolled, folded, or creased papers.  Brittle paper will break along fold lines. 

Sometime papers need to be clipped together, but often paper clips, staples, and other metal fasteners rust to paper or tear it easily.  Plastic clips are a reasonable substitute for metal fasteners and can be found in the local office supply store. 

Handling

It is likely that your old family papers are fragile and should be handled with care. Wash your hands and dry them thoroughly before touching the papers, as oils from your skin can damage the paper. Also, be sure the area where you are working is clean and dry.

Keep food and drink away from papers; crumbs and sticky spots attract bugs to paper.  Cockroaches and silverfish enjoy munching on paper and will happily make holes in valuable items.  Food and drink can also stain papers permanently.

Bugs will happily make holes in valuable items.

Very fragile documents might need special care when being turned over. Slide a piece of clean paper beneath the fragile one to support it.

If the documents are going to be handled often, encapsulation is a reasonable approach.  Encapsulation uses clear polyester to envelope a document so that it can be handled.  It also is completely reversible and will not damage the paper inside it, as lamination does. For more information, see Encapsulation.

There are two kinds of lamination process, and both are very damaging to paper. Lamination is not a recommended method for saving old or valuable documents.

Lamination is very damaging to paper.

Photocopy newspaper clippings, as newsprint is very unstable and will quickly become brown and brittle.  It also transfers acid and stains to other family papers.  Use permanent paper for photocopying newspaper articles you wish to save.  For more information on newspapers, please see “Protect your newspapers and clippings.”

It is very tempting to mend torn items, but sometimes mending will do more damage than the tear itself. Nearly every pressure sensitive tape, such as “magic tape” or “masking tape,” has an acidic adhesive.  It will turn yellow, and will turn the paper yellow as well, before falling off and leaving behind a sticky residue. 

Sometimes mending will do more damage than the tear itself.

Although it is best not to use any sort of tape on documents, there is no very good home alternative to taping a torn letter.  If the document is very valuable and old, it might be worthwhile consulting a conservator.  Another option is to encapsulate the item, tear and all.

If this is not feasible, there are some types of “archival quality” document repair tapes available at art supply or scrapbook stores.  Look for tapes that are both acid free, have an acrylic based adhesive, and have passed the PAT, or  Photograph Activity Test. Although we are not discussing photographs, tape which has passed the PAT will be safer for your papers.

When applying tape to a tear, keep in mind the following tips:  If possible, do not cover text, as the tape could potentially lift it straight off the page.  Use the least amount of tape you can possibly use to mend the tear (i.e. don’t use a 6 inch strip to cover a three inch tear).  If possible, snip a small bits of tape from the roll and tack the tear together.  Apply tape to the reverse side of the document, especially if there is no writing there.