Destructive Magnetism

The idea, or rather the need, for this blog came from a recent experience at a local home show. My business, TimeSorters, LLC (timesorters.com), had a booth to share our services and the table was filled with examples of the kind of items we all have in our home history collections. You know what I mean: scattered old photos, musty books shedding their covers, a hat and white gloves (the kind your great-aunt or grandmother would have worn to church), etc. But by far the one item that gained the most attention, and drew the strongest connection to those visiting our display, was the so-called “Magnetic” photo album.

The Culprit

Near as I can determine, “Magnetic” photo albums came into being sometime in the early 1970s. As most people know by now, despite their given name they aren’t really magnetic. The catchy designation was given to these albums because they allowed photos to be quickly positioned in more random and artistic layouts on a page unlike pocket-page albums, and, at least initially, photos could be lifted and re-positioned multiple times just like a photo on a magnet board.  Convenient, right? Of course!

Add to it the groovy bright designs on the cover, or even better the cute animal picture, and it was a no-brainer to grab these by the dozens! To enhance the opportunity, it wasn’t long before cheaper versions were coming from overseas markets making the incredible convenience ridiculously affordable. And then time – like the buzz-kill it can be – interfered.

 

Bad Advice

In preparing to write this blog edition, I came across a fascinating article from the Chicago Tribune titled Albums Can Have Negative Impact on Cherished Photos.(Vettel, 1985) The question submitted by a reader asked the author, presumably an expert on photography, about the damage “magnetic” photo albums could have on her photos. It seems that friends had warned her off of using the convenient, and extremely popular, album style and wanted – hope against hope – to be dissuaded from rehousing her collection. What made this article so fascinating is that it was written over 30 years ago in 1985! What’s even better, is that the advice was given after this staple of family history collections had already been in use for 10-15 years. The advice was not only completely off the mark – it was incredibly snarky in tone.

The author, however, should not be wholly ridiculed for his lack of farsightedness. After all, how many times have we each prognosticated on an issue or point of “fact” and been completely wrong? Ultimately, time is the only way to tell what will really happen in the future.

Capturing the photo album “as it is” is a critical step to retaining the integrity of the story that the album intended to tell.

That said, I want to share how entirely and confidently wrong the photo expert was as a word of warning to those of us who believe we know the future. Following is his response to two explicit warnings about the adhesives that “eat slowly at the backs of the photos, making them all but impossible to remove safely” and the “chemicals from the plastic sheet could attack the front of the picture, destroying the image”:

He confidently states,

“Neither is particularly likely to happen. First, not all photo albums contain these chemicals. Second, the chemicals, assuming any are present, do their best work in closed environments. They would dissipate quickly in a well-ventilated, temperature-stable room.

In other words, where you keep the albums is more critical than any corrosive agents that may be lurking about. … A photo`s main enemies are still heat and moisture; eliminate those and your photos should be in good shape.”

[WRONG! Both environment AND what they are kept in are important!]

He hedges his bet a bit and continues:

“I`m not saying it can`t happen. … According to Kodak`s spokesperson, any long-term damage created by photo albums is more a matter of speculation than anything else. …many of today`s products haven`t been around long enough to let us do anything but guess at what will happen 20 years down the road.”

And a scant year and a half after the 1985 article, a New York Times piece  (Fading Memories: Albums Damage Photos (Collins, 1987)) accurately confirms what has been denied in the past. And now, nearly FIFTY years down the road, voilà! the feared significant damage HAS indeed happened.

So, what’s next?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, everyone at our booth knew all too well that these albums were trouble. Although initially blinded by the convenience and “bling” of the “new” technology, we know better now. You MUST remove your photos as soon as possible from these types of albums.

This article tells you HOW to safely remove your photos from magnetic photo albums.

To help those of us who still hold these album relics from the past as part of our collections, following are the materials and techniques you need to know to successfully remove your precious photos from their seemingly permanent grasp.

3 Things to do to prepare:

1. Capture the album as it is. Scan each page of the album, and the cover too if you like the cute animal picture. Capturing the photo album “as it is” is a critical step to retaining the integrity of the story that the album intended to tell. After all, we don’t usually just throw photos in an album. Instead, we share pictures that represent specific and often notable events from our lives. If a photo didn’t matter to someone initially it would not be in the album to begin with. Having a digital copy is also a handy thing to have should any of the following attempts result in damage to a photo. So scan what you have to start with and then try some of these techniques on less desirable albums/images before going after the irreplaceable ones.
2. Wash and dry your hands and put on nitrile gloves. If you don’t have nitrile gloves, be sure to handle photos by their edges. White cotton

   

   museum/archives gloves are OK, but they aren’t ideal since they can catch on the photo edge and cause, or increase, tearing.

3. Gather your tools. Items needed to help break the bond of the damaging glue are:
   • micro-spatulas (available at many science/lab suppliers and archival materials places such as Hollinger Metal Edge and TALAS)
   • dental floss (available at any pharmacy or grocery store) – NO FLAVORS and Teflon or at least waxless variety only
   • hair dryer with a warm/low setting option

5 Techniques to removing photos:

1. Remove the plastic covering the page. This often comes off as one sheet folded across the front and back of a page. Discard the plastic page.
2. Give the page a gentle bend. The first, and easiest option is to see if the images will release from the page with a little encouragement. Don’t fold the page, but instead have one hand on the edge of the page and your other hand supporting the photos. Bend the page SLOWLY AND GENTLY in both directions. You should hear some crackling noise that often is the adhesive releasing the photo. Many times, this is all that is needed and photos will fall from the page. If these are priceless images be extremely gentle and bend very little or use the next options.
3. Other options to break the attachment. Using the micro-spatula, or dental floss wrapped between the fingers of two hands (just as if you’re flossing your teeth), find a photo corner that may have lifted a bit. Gently push down where the photo meets the adhesive to break the bond between the two. YOU DON’T WANT TO LIFT – but instead move the spatula or floss in a downward motion (floss gently side-to-side) to avoid separating the image from the paper backing. WARNING: Dental floss used this way can cut both your fingers and your picture. Move slowly and use light pressure or damage to the photo and your fingers, not to mention bleeding, will likely occur.
4. When all else fails – use hot air. Sometimes, using the above efforts, you can get all but a single spot to come loose from the page. Don’t force it. It can mean that the glue has literally bonded with the paper and forcing it will only result in damaging your photo. Instead, use your hair dryer. ONLY IF THERE ARE NO PHOTOS ON THE PAGE BEHIND THE STUCK IMAGE, hold the hair dryer about 4-6 inches from the back of the stuck image and turn it on low. Using a continuous back and forth motion, warm the page. The temperature can be checked by placing your free hand on the stuck image – place a cloth between your hand and the photo if you aren’t wearing nitrile gloves. It should be warm, NOT HOT. As soon as it feels warm, turn off the hair dryer and try the spatula or floss again. Repeat as necessary to remove the image BEING CAREFUL NOT TO OVERHEAT THE PHOTO AS THIS WILL ALSO CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE.
5. Cut it out. At the very worst of situations I have had to simply cut the image out of the album to get a better angle in removing it from the backing. If you absolutely cannot remove the back, scan the image and print a new copy. If it is a treasured item, keep the backing in place, but be sure you isolate this image from others as the contaminated backing is still in place.

Photo Storage Alternatives

Once photos are removed from the album, put them in a place that time, and chemistry, have proven to be safe: a photo box or plastic sleeves. HOWEVER, whether box or sleeve, it should be archival quality.

The box needs to be acid- AND lignin-free and the sleeves of a safe plastic, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester or Mylar. Several companies provide these materials including: Hollinger Metal Edge; University Products; and Gaylord Archival. If your memories are worth saving, they are worth the extra costs for keeping them safe.

If you cherish the memories more than the original photos, consider scanning the images and then keep them digitally; dispose of the originals through donation, dispersion among family or friends, or throw them away. In most cases, photographs are NOT recyclable. Check with your local recycling company before placing any photographs or negatives into your recycling bin.

What if you don’t have the funds right now for optimal storage? Do it in stages that will fit your budget. Or, as The New York Times article notes, keep your photos in a regular shoe box as it’s a better option than keeping them in damaging “magnetic” photo albums. It isn’t a good permanent solution, but it will be much less destructive than where they are now.

For additional help, or questions, feel free to contact us at timesorters.com

The term “acid-free” has become the hallmark for preservation quality materials to the mass consumer. The ubiquitous term is now so synonymous with the idea of doing something good with your family treasures that, as a result, it’s actual meaning and application have been lost. Certainly, most folks aren’t aware of what it DOES mean when something is supposed to be acid-free or how it is a good thing.

But it’s not their fault. In many cases the archiving term is not only incorrectly used, but it is carelessly tossed around by manufacturers as if somehow merely invoking its name in some fashion makes everything okay. Worse yet, it has become a deliberate ploy by some manufacturers to get people to buy their products, which is wrong for both the consumer AND the item being protected.

When I first started working with one of my wonderful long-term clients, who just happens to have a treasure-trove of great family history documents, she presented me with several items that were carefully and lovingly placed inside 3-ring binder plastic sleeves that were obtained at a local office supply store. She was pleased about her early preservation efforts because the sleeves, according to the box, were “acid-free”. Upon completing the project, she now has many, many empty “acid-free” plastic document sleeves that she’s considering what to do with.

The fact is, there is MUCH MORE to the concept of acid-free and many other things to consider when doing some basic good to preserve the paper-based items that make up most family and business history. Below are 4 things to remember when getting ready to store your family treasures. But first, get the terminology right. Read on.

Three Archiving Terms to Understand:

Let’s set the record straight about terminology. Here are 3 specific things about acid-free that should help set the record, and your purchases, straight:

1.  Paper must be involved. Acid-free is a specific type of paper-based product. In order for something to be acid-free, it should first be made of paper, be it file folders, tissue paper, boxes, you name it, and that paper has a neutral (or basic) PH balance of 7 (or slightly higher). Also, the material is sometimes buffered (shielded) with an alkaline layer to neutralize acids within the document or the space surrounding the item.

2.  “Acid-free” for Plastics is irrelevant. Given that paper needs to be involved when discussing “acid-free” you can see where PLASTIC sleeves are incorrectly included in the category of acid-free products. A plastic sleeve can be acid-free, but the plastic that it is made from may contain other materials equally hazardous to your collection. There are safe plastics that are used for archiving materials – those are referred to as inert or stable. You can find the right one for your needs by searching one of the archiving and collection storage companies listed at the end of this article.

3.  Archival Quality is more than just acid-free. It is also a bit misleading when the term archival quality is used interchangeably with acid-free. Paper items that are suitable to be used in professional archives (hence the name) are not only acid-free but are also lignin-free. Lignin is a naturally occurring, and self-destructive, material found in wood-pulp based papers. So just because something is acid-free does not mean that it is “archival quality”. Paper manufacturing is another blog entirely, but just note that acid-free and lignin-free offers true archival quality.

As an example, over time pulp-based paper self-destructs and the length of the paper fibers shorten making it brittle.

Add repeated folding and a document that is only 80 years old is literally falls apart (image at left). In contrast, the image on the right is of a 121-year old rag-based newspaper that looks almost new in spite of being repeatedly folded and without special storage considerations.

Getting Your Acid Out Isn’t Enough

But the thing is, even if something is acid-free and lignin-free it doesn’t automatically make it the perfect storage option and there are other things to consider when protecting your items.

Four Things to Consider to Properly Store Your Family Treasures:

1. Items Must be Separated. Most items benefit from being stored apart from other items. Off-gassing, acid-migration and other mysterious goings-on by one item can be permanently harmful to the items they are stored with. Newsprint, for example, is the bane of many paper-based collections. From roughly the 1850s/60s, newspapers stopped being made with old rags (there goes the rag picking business!). Instead, a cheaper form of paper making process was developed using wood. The newspaper clippings, and other items, that come from the later wood-based paper will cause discoloration and deterioration as well as self-destruct over time – guaranteed.

2. What something is made of makes a difference. Storing paper is different than storing photographs, or animal-based materials like leather and wool, and all of those are different than other plant-based items. If you aren’t certain how to best store your items, it’s better to ask a professional. There are no secrets to “how” to take care of your items, but there are some rules.

This scrapbook includes a mix of animal, human and plant materials as well as metallic decorations. It has been isolated in a bag made of an inert plastic.

3.  Give some thought to how clean an item is before it is stored. It’s easy to imagine what a suitcase would look like if you were to pack your clean and well cared for clothes inside along with a pair of dirty sneakers you just wore during the latest mud-run. It’s silly to even think of doing, yet many times we don’t consider carefully removing some of the loose dust, and dirt from our own history items, or isolating the unclean object by enclosing it in a proper storage bag. NOTE: removing dirt and even dust can be tricky so it’s best if you check with a professional on the ideal method for your item(s).
This document needed to be removed from improper framing and carefully cleaned, removing old tape, dust and dead bugs, before it could be properly stored.

4.  Environment is key. No matter how good the storage container, leaving it in an area where even you wouldn’t want to be is going to cause harm to your items. Sure, it’s easy to stash things in attics, basements or unused enclosed porches, but extreme temperatures, moisture, light and bugs are among the major causes of permanent damage to collections. A professional can tell you about the recommended guidelines for specific materials you are storing. But, until you can ask, just know that if you wouldn’t be comfortable sitting in that space, your stuff won’t be either.

There are more items in our homes that tell great histories than in all of the museums combined and undoubtedly there are real treasures that have yet to make their public appearance. That fact makes it extra important to do your best as a keeper of that history and preserve it for generations to come. You may not have a million-dollar piece in your collection, but the story your history tells is priceless.

These are a few great resources for true archive quality materials:
Hollinger Metal Edge: www.hollingermetaledge.com
Gaylord Archival: www.gaylord.com
University Products: www.universityproducts.com