Preservation of a Lost Faces Album Part 3

Please see Part 1 and Part 2 for the start of this process of how I rescue, archive, and publish on Lost Faces antique photo albums I save from disappearing.

After I have finished documenting every page in the rescued photo album, I sart the process of gently and carefully removing the photos. This can be a very laborious process are many are "stuck" to the pages with 100 or more years of dust and grime. I use a very thin plastic flexible ruler when necessary to gently assist each photo out of its slot. My goal is to not damage the album pages or the photo of course, so I do not want to just grab the photo and pull it out.

As I remove each photo, I assign a two letter abbreviation designating the name of the album and a number consistent with the order the photo was placed in the album on the verso (back) in pencil. If there is anything written on the album page that is not also written on the photo, I add that information to the photo back.

I also note (in pencil) the album number and name in the front inside page of the album. This allows me to reassemble the photos with the correct album in the future.

The next stage involves scanning, then storing each photo in an acid-free sleeve and storage box. More on that in my next blog post!