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Every now and then something happens in the storage world that is really cool. You may have missed the news, because it didn’t exactly make headlines, but this week Haverford University discovered that it was in possession of a letter written by René Descartes, a letter that had been stolen from the Institut de France in the 1840s. The letter was more than 350 years old…but still in good condition. Why? Because of good archival storage, that’s why!
Documents are one of the most fragile things you can store. If you are not careful with them, they can become yellow and brittle. In honor of Descartes and historical documents everywhere, let’s take a moment to talk about how best to preserve something that is written on paper:
- The first and most obvious step is keeping documents safe is just common sense, but it’s worth stating. Historical documents, and for that matter documents that have a lot of sentimental value, should be stored in sealed containers, where they cannot be weathered by sunlight and air movement, and where they cannot be nibbled by insects.
- Documents need to be kept in a dark place, away from sunlight and even away from bright indoor lights. Light ages documents and photographs.
- A climate-controlled environment (like a self-storage unit) is important, because it will keep papers cool and dry. Warm, moist air speeds up aging.
- Acid can make documents and photographs turn yellow — and ordinary paper and cardboard contain acid. So does human skin. Documents should be stored in acid-free folders and boxes, and when you handle them, if they are very fragile and old (like Descartes’ letter), you should wear linen gloves.
- If possible, archival boxes should have rigid metal corners–that way they are less likely to be crushed if you stack boxes on top of each other.
While you might not be preserving documents that are hundreds of years old, the same principles apply to personal correspondence, family photos, you name it. If you take good care of them, you will be able to enjoy them for a long, long time to come, handing them down to your grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and generations beyond.