Old ‘n’ Dusty

• May 28th, 2005 • • framing, how-to •

I’ve been doing a lot of archival and restoration work this week. My family has many old photos in frames which have suffered at the hands of neglect: foxing, acid burns, cockling, water stains etc. By no means am I a professional, but I think I have figured out how to re-frame most of these pieces so that they are protected a bit better than before. (Putting glass on one of the frames probably helped it a great deal!)

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Admittedly, I purchase cheaper frames and modify them. My process has consisted of:

1) Clean the glass with ammonia-based glass cleaner. (Yes, I would use UV-plexi if it wasn’t cost-prohibitive. Besides, MOST of these photos are hung in dark hallways.)

2) Seal the glass into the frame with silicone sealant. Why? I don’t like how most frames have glass that wobbles around. It usually seems to settle back in the frame to rest on the art/photo. Glazier’s points are used if the frame is antique or old and the picture has become coupled with the frame. I’ve read about how pictures need “air flow” but I feel like the silicone seal helps to protect the front of the frame, where it’s most-likely to get hit by water, bugs, dirt etc.

3) Either: mat art, mount art (in archival photo corners, no glue) or fit art back into frame. I never thought about keeping the art/photo from touching the edge of the frame before, but after removing an old photo with a mat around it from a frame, I noticed that there was an acid burn the size of the frame on the perimeter. Use spacers or extra glazier’s points to keep art from touching wood/frame.

4) Fit art into frame; if it needs more fill space, put in a piece of foam board or davy board. Fit with glazier’s points.

5) If I have a scan of the photo, I affix a CD in a paper sleeve to the back of the foam/davy board.

6) For neatness, I put dust paper on the back of the frame. This is done by lining the entire outside edge with mounting tape, and rolling out brown paper or butcher paper over the tape border. Trim off the edges, and the back of the frame looks tidy and has a breathable barrier against dust ‘n’ bugs.

7) Attach desired method of hanging. NO I never use those awful “alligator” hooks most frames are provided with. Typically I use some kind of eye loop with regular picture-hanging wire.

My personal experience has been that the frame should be a safe display box for art or a photo to exist in. Moisture cannot be protected against; but I’m sure someday a vacuum-sealed frame home kit will be available.

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Searching the Internet for information hasn’t returned me much on how to conserve/identify old photographs, though I did find a few good sites: Cyndi’s List has a good section on photographs, as well as other old items of geneological importance. Guidelines For Preserving Your Photographic Heritage provides a hefty manual for photographic preservation. But what about identifying ages and types of photographs? That information has been lacking. I suspect that I could best find answers by scouring a college bookstore. Based on what information I have on family members in the photos I can guess an aproximate age, but being the printmaker that I am, I want to know about how they were made.

 

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