Storing photograph and paper ephemera collections

All, Mansons asked a question in one of the Introductions threads, and I thought others might be interested in discussing this. How do all of you store collections of photographs, paper ephemera, or other flat items?

Here is the thread, by the way. I think this link will bring Mansons' message up and you can scroll earlier to see the piece of furniture in question.
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/hi-everyone.5713/#post-80943

Next post, I will talk about my collection of photographs.

 

Most of my photographs are from the era when photos were attached to card mounts. Or even earlier, when they were in cases. I collect all sorts of sizes and types, as long as they are from about 1839-1929 or so. I have a few from later, but not too many.

I have a few hundred photos, which is really not a lot compared to some that I've heard of. Have been a serious collector since 1999, when I joined eBay and found so many interesting things. My collection started out mostly being photos of people wearing costumes of various sorts. That is still the main focus but I also have branched out a bit into other areas.

Storage: I like to be able to look at my photos. Most of the paper photos are in 3-ring binders with archival-quality plastic inserts for the photos. The inserts have a variety of sizes of slots because the photos are different sizes. I have about 8-9 of these binders. Some of the binders also have slip cases to help keep dust out. Right now these are stored in my living room, and lying flat in stacks in an out-of-the-way part of the floor.

I have cased images stored in a few small boxes. The cases are flat in the boxes. Some collectors store this type of image in drawers, and this is one of the things I was considering if I could get the right type of cabinet. Photo experts who belong to collector groups on Facebook have said that technically the cased images should probably be stored upright or with the cover glass facing downward. Some of them admitted that, although they know this is the case, not all of them do that.

I've been running out of room in the binders that I have for the photos and am contemplating either buying more binders or filing the photos in boxes, in either paper or plastic sleeves. Some collectors do this.

Now, what do the other collectors among this group do?

 

Great info Fig!

 

We are not photo collectors but our stock of ephemera for sale is treated as follows:

• Photos and papers up to A4 size are put in individual polypockets and laid flat in box files
• Larger photos are laid flat in boxes with intervening paper leaves
• Postcards, including RPPCs, are stored in dedicated custom postcard files
• Posters are rolled (unless small) and stored in postal tubes.

 

I'm in a humid environment, so I put some dehumidifying packets in the (plastic) box, then seal it up with tape. Replace the packets every two years or so.

 

Storage has been a major headache for me, but I think I finally have paper storage (mostly) under control.

I have a wide variety of paper items, in many different sizes. Here's what I'm doing currently for storage. Anything directly touching the items is acid-free and PVC-free.

-- Postcards are in small photo albums meant for 3x5" photos.

-- Victorian trade cards, greeting cards, etc. are in 3x5" photo albums or the next size up if the item is larger

-- Prints, magazine and newspaper ads, photographs, and miscellaneous other ephemera are in Itoya portfolios of varying sizes. I love these portfolios... they make it very easy to safely store the items plus they're easy to look through. Some of these items are also in 12x12" photo albums.

-- Very large prints and old newspapers are on shelves in a deep pantry-type cabinet or in flat boxes meant for storing paper.

The smaller albums fill up a small bookcase with shallow shelves in my upstairs hallway. The larger photo albums and smaller Itoya portfolios are standing upright in 14" cubes on a closet shelf, with the cube shelves turned so they're vertical.

Most of the larger Itoya portfolios are standing upright in several plastic magazine holders in the bottom of a pantry-type cabinet. The largest ones are lying flat on a shelf in the cabinet.

Even with all that, I still have a lot of antique and vintage magazines, catalogs, thicker pamphlets, etc., that I wasn't sure how to store. If they're at all heavy, I've found they don't work well in albums or portfolios and aren't well-protected standing up on a shelf. Lying flat on shelves, they were a pain to sort through and at risk of being damaged.

So... for these items, just this week I purchased some flat Sterilite stackable boxes that are fairly short and have clip-on tops and almost straight sides. They're working really nicely so I'm about to get more in two sizes. I'm putting each item in a plastic sleeve and then stacking the items with the largest on the bottom in each box. I'm going to store the boxes on wire shelves that my husband installed in a closet.

Whew, I wrote a book! Getting these things safely stored and organized has been a major occupation/preoccupation for me recently, so it's dear to my heart.

 

Oh, I forgot about movie posters. The ones that were folded by the publishers are lying flat on a shelf. The others are rolled, some in cardboard tubes, and all are standing up in a box that's just a little taller than the rolls. To conserve space, rolls that are more tightly rolled are inside other rolls.

The box is sitting in my living room at the moment... ugh... have to figure out a place for it upstairs.

 

Pat, thanks for the very informative post. Gives me even more ideas!

 

You're welcome, Fig. Happy to share my experience!

Forgot to mention what I'm doing with some smaller picture and photo frames that could work with cased or framed items.

I've been putting some of the frames in file folders in a hanging file drawer. If there's more than one frame in a folder, I put thin foam or bubble wrap between them.

It lets the frames stand upright and makes it easy to look through to find and retrieve one.

 

To conserve space, rolls that are more tightly rolled are inside other rolls.

Tightly Rolled paper , over the long run can hurt or damage the fibers .
Larger tubes and loose rolling is preferred .

If'n ya can !!

 

Agreed, Komo. We could reroll them, but then they'll take up far more space. We're already short on that commodity, so it would be a problem.

They're not rolled extremely tightly, just some more than others so they can fit inside each other.

 

Well if ya can't....remember to unroll them on a humid day.....and slowly....little be little.

 

Good advice... thanks.

They're not old, so at least the paper isn't fragile. I wish I had space to store them flat, but they're too big.

 

"I wish I had space to store them flat, but they're too big."


For years I used two 2' by 4' sheets of foam core board with the flat posters stacked between them and slipped under a double bed. I Just had to remind whatever girl was running the Hoover that they were there...not that they were wont to do under the beds anyway, but we kept up a polite pretense...............

 

Foam core is a great idea. I use it inside envelopes and boxes when I ship prints and love how rigid it is without being heavy.

I'll have to see if I have any boards that are large enough for the posters.

 

Wellllllllllllllllll... here is the Mexican Solution... we only "collect" what we can hang on walls. It wouldn't occur to me or my peers to store stuff. A very SPARTAN attitude (appropriate cross-cultural anthropological reference, I hope)... not sure why. I'll think on it.

 

At least in my case, only some of my things are my own collections. Most of my items I either inherited or purchased for resale, and most of the inherited items are in the "to be sold" category.

When you sell items from your home, storage issues naturally crop up.

 

Ah, I see... interesting cultural differences... my folks are more likely to have storage issues for car parts than ephemera!

 

Don't they just!!!

 

Yup!