Preservation of a Lost Faces Album Part 4

Please see Part 1 , Part 2 and Part 3 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 remove all the photos from the album, and notate on the verso (back) of each photo in pencil, it's time to scan and store them in acid-free containers.

My husband scans the front of each image. If he has time he also scans the verso so that I have a record of the photographers' logos and addresses. He works with a flatbed scanner in jpg format at a resolution suitable for publishing online. Resolution and format are important and the better quality image you require means you need higher resolution and a better file format. jpg is used when small file size is more important than maximum image quality such as my use on the Lost Faces website.

Here is a good explanation of types of file formats you can use when scanning, and the pros and cons of each. 

My storage boxes from pfile.com

Once my husband has scanned all the photos, I place them in acid-free "sleeves" and store them as a unit (an entire photo album) in acid-free boxes. I used to store them in acid-free binders for ease of looking through the photos but as my collection of rescued photographs grew, that system became too cumbersome. 

Using the boxes instead of binders has other positive effects. I can easily open a box and sort photos by years or fashion choices or hair styles or genres. Because I have the photo album number and photo number notated on the verso I will never lose the place where any particular photo belongs.

Last item is uploading and publishing these gorgeous rescued ancestral photographs online on Lost Faces.