Save your memories

The first photographic prints were typically based on high quality linen rag papers. The linen rag paper was coated with liquid containing gelatine, and once the gelatine had stabilized the picture could have a very long life time. To make the image even more stable, sepia or selenium were often used. When sepia was used, the image got a brownish tone. When selenium was used, the tone of the picture would instead be light and silvery. If you want to be able to store your photographs for a long time, you should only use fibre-base paper, such as the old linen rag sheets. Today, there is fibre-based paper available that has been processed in order to meet archival standards. Ordinary paper is usually less reliable than high-quality linen rag paper when it comes to protecting an image from the wear and tear of time. Paper can easily become too dry when stored and eventually crack. On the other hand, high humidity can also cause the picture to vanish. One of the main problems when trying to save old photographs is that tiny amounts of photographic fixer medium have been left on the paper, which will eventually cause a change in the colours and even complete image loss. Similar problems can be caused by contaminants from the water that was used to wash away the fixer medium from the image when it was processed. Today, fixer is removed during 30 minutes or more and the water must be changed at least six times for every 30 minutes. Commercial companies will often add certain chemical to the soaking to make the process more rapid. Regardless of paper quality, photographs should never ever be allowed to become wet. Unfortunately, accidents do happen. There are several ways of trying to rescue wet photographs and the result will naturally depend on a wide range of factors, including how wet the photographs got, how soon you discovered the damage and in which shape the photos were to begin with. Do not allow a pile of wet photos to dry out, since they will become stuck and impossible to separate without severely damaging the image. Never use force when separating photographs from each other. Instead, place your photos in a bucket with cool water. It is important that the water is clean and fresh. The emulsion might be released into the water. It is therefore important that you check the water regularly and change if it looks impure. In really difficult cases, you only option might be to leave the photos in water for an entire day. Some of them might never recover from being soaked, but at least you have a better change of saving them with this method than by the pull-by-force method. You can also turn to professionals for help. If you have old vintage photos, a conservator is usually the best choice. Ideally try to find one that specializes in old photographs. With modern photos, you can instead contact a photo lab.