Photographs

The do's and don'ts of handling photographs

Handling photographs with care and commonsense helps prevent damage. Because photographs are highly susceptible to physical damage from improper and frequent handling, you should handle them as little as possible.

When you must handle them, make sure your hands are clean. You can wear gloves for added protection—cotton gloves are often recommended—but they are not always appropriate because they can make it much harder to pick up individual photographs. Clean, close-fitting, surgical gloves are a good alternative to cotton gloves.

Old photographs can be very brittle, particularly if they already have tears and creases. So it is important to give them proper support when handling them. New photographs also need support so that they are not damaged.

If you must pick up a photograph to examine it closely, it is better to place it on a rigid support, like a piece of cardboard, and lift the board.

This fragile and damaged print is being supported on a rigid support during handling. Photograph courtesy of Artlab Australia

Holding a photograph in your hand can make it curl and involves greater risks of damage. If you must carry photographs over any distance, they should be carried horizontally and supported on a rigid support, like a piece of cardboard. Even if photographs are mounted on cardboard, don't tuck them under your arm to carry them. They should be supported as described above. Many old photographs were mounted on board which becomes very brittle over time. If these boards break, the photographs attached will break as well. Placing them in folders, Mylar pockets, Copysafe sleeves or polyethylene bags provides added protection.

The backing board for this photograph became brittle and snapped in two, breaking the photograph at the same time. Photograph courtesy of Artlab Australia, reproduced with permission of the History Trust of South Australia

Photographic emulsions are easily scratched and need to be protected when you are handling more than one photograph at a time. You can protect them by separating them or interleaving them, ideally with archival materials such as photographic storage paper, Mylar and acid-free glassine. For short-term interleaving, silicon release paper or other papers with a very smooth surface can be used.

Make prints of frequently-used photographs. The copy prints can be used as the working records, instead of the originals; and the negative can be used to produce new copies when the first ones wear out. The original photographs can be stored safely.