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Papers and documents

Many people have letters, diaries, postcards or other paper documents that they wish to preserve. Of all war memorabilia, items on paper are perhaps the most fragile. The key to preserving paper is to treat it with care.

The strength and quality of paper can vary greatly, depending on how old it is, where it was made and what it was made from. Some paper over 100 years old can be quite strong, yet a modern paper could contain impurities that weaken and damage it.

You should not bend or fold pages or sheets of paper as this will fracture the paper fibres and create a weakness along the line.

One good way to protect documents and papers is to place each one flat into individual archival plastic sleeves.

The archival transparent plastic sleeves are ideal because, as well as providing the necessary protection, they allow you to see the documents clearly with less handling. Food storage bags made of polyester, polyethylene or polypropylene (from supermarkets) are all suitable alternatives if you have trouble obtaining proper archival sleeves. Oven bags are also suitable as they are made from a polyester, which is particularly safe for paper.

Documents in archival plastic sleeves can be stored in an ordinary ring binder or in boxes. Boxes help to reduce damage and may also act as a buffer against extremes of temperature and humidity. You can also store documents in archival-quality photograph albums with plastic sleeves.

Very large items should be rolled around a cardboard tube of at least 75 mm (3 inches) diameter. Most cardboard tubes are made from highly acidic materials that over time will cause damage to the items wrapped around them. To avoid this, the tube should be wrapped with several layers of acid-free tissue paper before an item is put onto it.

Metal clasps such as staples or 'bulldog' clips and rubber bands can all cause damage to the paper as they rust or perish. The marks that are left can be difficult to remove, quite apart from the damage caused to the underlying paper.

If documents are beginning to fall apart, especially those with printing on only one side, there is often the temptation to glue them onto cardboard or have them laminated to try to strengthen or mend them. All the institutions consulted in preparing this booklet warned most strongly against such actions. It is far better to simply place a tatty document in an archival grade plastic sleeve as a way of avoiding further damage.

Especially, do not laminate important documents. Although lamination is sometimes advertised for preserving paper, its long-term viability is uncertain, and because it cannot be removed from the paper any damage it does cause cannot be restored. Just look at an old laminated driving licence to see how a laminated document might look in a few years time!

Make photocopies of your documents if they are fragile and then, as much as possible, avoid handling the originals. See the Photocopying your documents section for more information.

Do not unfold or unroll brittle papers as they can crack, especially along the folds. These papers need to be humidified first. Contact a conservator for advice.

If you want to frame your documents, refer to the advice in the Artworks section.