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The Littlest Angel BoxRead the article this discussion is about
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» Barbara Nicholson Bell - Those boxes! Both my parents, now deceased, were only children and thus the memorabilia of both sides of the family were concentrated in their hands (and their closets) until a year ago when I brought the many boxes and scrapbooks home after my mother's funeral.Mark, can you suggest ways to preserve as well as utilize the contents of these boxes? There are letters, diaries, newspaper clippings, photos, albums, all my father's WWII V-mail correspondence, ration books, some things going back to the 1830's! I want to make sure they are safely stored but I also want to make them accessible to my descendants, either by putting them into a book or a display of some kind. Or would it be better to donate the more interesting items to a local historical society? -- posted by Barbara Nicholson Bell » aggie80 - Re: Those boxes! In response to message posted by bici:Well, preservation is always a challenge! My earlier article Protecting Records of Our Past has a number of tips and hints. For those interesting things like bicycle clips and medals and the like, in addition to acid free, moisture is the next biggest danger, with oxidation playing the role of destructor. Packets of desiccant can be a big help! I would highly recommend making copies and digital pictures of all the items you have. More on that can be found in my November Article Sharing What You Know which elaborates on the ideas. Museums are a great place to send things, but check and see before showing up with boxes of stuff! Sometimes items will end up being stored in back rooms where there is no access to the public. But at least they are relatively safe! But do be aware that the little local museum that is open only on weekends may not even have heat during the week. Same with air conditioning, a must if humidity is to be kept at bay. Another way I have seen of displaying items is to create shadowboxes of the items, with a printer's box or deep frame. The danger here is that universal problem of light, which fades colors and destroys paper. -- posted by aggie80
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