While in the pursuit of your family’s history,  if you are fortunate enough to have someone who has the packrat tendencies, chances are that you’re going to come into contact with some old documents, birth, marriage or death certificates, in some cases old family Bibles or some of those amazing old photographs.

Keeping them viable parts of your family history will take a little effort but its well worth expending it to make sure that someone else has a chance to view them too.

Whether the documents are yours, your family’s or belong to something such as a local or national archive, there are certain things that you will need to do in order to keep them in good condition.

Pay careful attention when dealing with family bibles, since many of them are not only old, but assuredly irreplaceable and the paper will be stiff and in some cases brittle from age.

A few things you can do to make sure that your documents and books stay in useable condition are:

Before you begin to work with any old document, wash your hands thoroughly to remove the oils from your skin. Don’t use any kind of lotion or hand cream before handling them as the lotion or oil will bleed into the old paper.

When handling books, don’t lick your fingers to turn a page or use a dampened sponge as many do. Carefully turn the pages and do it slowly.

Never lean on the document you are using and don’t run your finger over it if you can avoid it. Use a piece of paper under the line of text you are reading instead.

Don’t let the edges of the document hang off the desk or table you’re working on. Make sure the entire document fits on the desk so that it is not creased or torn.

Never hold a document when you are reading it. Keep them spread flat on a desk or table so that the weight of them does not cause tears of creases.

When handling older books try to lay them down and use  a wedge to keep them partly closed as this is easier on the spine of the book.

Carefullly turn the page and then let go of it, using a page weight to weigh it down to read. Don’t hold the book while you are reading it, or run your finger under the lines of text. Use a paper to mark the row of text that you are currently reading.

Older Bibles particularly will have thin vellum type paper that gets brittle with age. Treat it gently.

Photographs are often brittle and not of the quality that they are not. When you must handle them, wear gloves, optimally cotton glove and never touch the center of the photo. Hold the photo or tintype by the edges so that the natural oils of your hands do not mar the images.

Tags:  antique bibles antique books antique documents antique photographs Old documents