Family Matters: September 1998

Organizing Your Photos

This month, our topic is organizing your heritage photos. In many ways, this is far more challenging than organizing our current ones. There are lots more people, events we don't understand and family stories we've only heard third hand. Also, there are so many types of old photos, some of which require very careful handling. Next month, we'll talk about the different types of photos you may have and what the way to store them.

When I started researching this subject for my class, I found the Library of Congress's leaflet on the care, handling and storage of photographs. The information is mainly geared to librarians and serious archivists dealing with large collections, but some of it is applicable to an individual scale.

The first step in "collection management" is Inventory. Start by looking through everything you have, photos, papers, memorabilia. Also, include any oral histories you may have on tape or transcribed. You need to know what's there if you intend to present an organized history. This is especially important if you have boxes from different people or have been gathering for several years.

The second step is Appraisal. To the Library of Congress, this means valuation and deciding if it is appropriate to the collection. To me, and I think to any individual, it means "Is this an important shot? Is it a 2" picture of your 3rd great uncle looking over his shoulder at something you can't even see and you have no idea where or why this picture was taken and you have 4 other good pictures of him?" If it is, store it correctly and safely, but don't feel compelled to put it into your album. This is a story, but it doesn't have to be a mini-series. Appraisal also means determining what condition the piece is in. Some are too fragile to be in an album, while some need professional restoration. Some of the shots you have may need cleaning or even just careful dusting. If there is mold or an insect infestation, for example, you need to take care of the problem before you include this picture with your other photos. Look for things that will affect the structure of the picture, like fragility, flaking, tears and bends. You can also determine if you need to have copies made of photos.

The third step is to Catalog your collection. As you are organizing your collection, you can put things in chronological order, or in order of the subject of the photo. The second option is important if you want to arrange your album along the format of a family tree. Either way, start by writing down your family tree. It makes chronological dating easier if you know that the lady in the picture can't be Great-Aunt Lucretia because she died in 1888 and this lady is in a Model T. It also helps clarify the relationships of people and places to make a family tree album possible. I prefer a chronological album if you have only one line of the family to show, but if you have many, then try the family tree style.

Make a written record of everything you have, noting the condition, the source and the size. Later,as you plan the pages f the album, this will be extremely helpful. It will also help you to clarify whether you have many photos of one side of the family and many fewer of the other, or whether there are holes in your story that will need to be filled with journaling or other things.

The fourth steps the Library of Congress lists are Proper Housing and Storage.

To the scrapbooker, I think this is the hardest part. You need to determine how you want to store your pictures until you get them into albums, as well as determining what to do with the ones that you won't be putting in albums. You want to be sure that your pictures are not crushed together, but also that they will not slide around and possibly damage each other. For the last several days I have been pondering what to use myself. Many of my pictures are very small and I don't want them to get lost or bent. I'm not sure I've decided what to use yet, but here are some thoughts:

* Large envelopes. Many people use large envelopes, one for each person, to hold all of the pictures and other things for the subject. Although this will hold the larger sizes, it seems dangerous to the photographs to me. Sliding around the envelop, I think the smallest might get crushed. Plus, it is more difficult to organize your photos in one sweep and leaves you to plan each section as you get to it. But, as I said, there are people who like this idea.

* Plastic shoeboxes and archival quality photo boxes. These can hold the photos in order, using index cards as dividers; some come with dividers. They are strong, but most are one big compartment inside making it more likely that the pictures can slide without care. Also, they are limited by their size. I would use large envelopes or accordion folders to hold the larger items. I would insert a note into my organized photos that a larger item goes in at that time. This means, though, that if you are cropping away from home, you have to bring your envelopes or else. Additionally, you cannot do this as permanent storage for the larger items. If you have a photo box, make sure it is archival quality since you will be using it for permanent storage.

* Highsmith Photo Tote or Photo Chest. These are great boxes, made of acid-free cardboard and very sturdy. They are subdivided inside acid-free paper dividers are available. The smaller tote is also more portable than a plastic box, since it closes securely and has a handle. However, some people worry that the brown color means that it has lignin which will break down over time, making it inappropriate for long-term storage. I don't know about that, but I do hope to find out. If I do, I will update this article. For larger objects, you can use their Page Keeper, Jumbo Paper Tote or the larger envelopes as we discussed earlier.

* Cropper Hopper Photo Case. This is one option I have not yet checked out in person, but it seems to have many of the same advantages of the Highsmith Case. It's made out of plastic, though so any worries you have about lignin are eliminated. It comes with acid-free divider cards and is subdivided on the inside. Additionally, there is a compartment on the reverse side to hold larger photos. You may still have bigger ones that would need to be in envelopes or other things, but I believe it hold up to 8X10 easily. To me, that's a big advantage. But I want to see it in person before I commit to anything!

I'm sure there are other options, and I'd love to hear from you if you have some. This is just what seemed the most practical for my situation. For long term storage, you may be able to use your short-term method if it's safe, or you may need to invest in high-quality storage boxes. Either way, I recommend putting sheets of acid-free paper or tissue between your photos to protect them from scratches or acid migration from other photos. Maybe you'll even decide to make other albums to put them in!