Did you know that October is American Archives Month? To celebrate, we’ll be sharing some behind-the-scenes stories from our Photograph Collection and highlighting some of the work we do to preserve, organize, describe and provide access to the images in our collection. This summer our staff, interns and volunteers have been been digitizing, researching and cataloging our Early Photography collection: 600 daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes.
Here’s a tip: photos hate basements and attics. Photographs are finicky objects and sensitive to myriad contaminants, but most especially light, pests and fluctuating temperatures and relative humidity. These four elements alone can rapidly deteriorate your photographs if not controlled. Fortunately, there are some simple, cost-effective ways to protect your family photos.