My Uncle (and neighbor) passed away in March, his wife recently asked if I had any interest in some furniture that had been in their basement for many many years. I hated to see it thrown out without at least giving it a chance, so I lugged it all out of their basement yesterday and started going through it. A dresser, two trunks, and a desk, all absolutely stuffed with old letters, receipts, deeds, hand drawn maps, tax forms, banking papers, you name it. The earliest that I have found so far is a letter to what would be my great grandfather's grandfather that is dated April, 1864. As I mentioned, these have been stored in the basement for decades, and some were almost damp, and moldy. Lots of them were folded as small as they could possibly be folded.... Any advice, and or tips for preserving what I have? It would be trash to most people, but it's my family's history.
Thanks.
If you search the Smithsonian's website for preserving old papers, they will have some good advise.
Good luck, it's nice to have family treasures.
wish I could be more specific, but there is spray that will kill mold and mildew on old papers, not sure of the name, but works from what I have heard,seperate, layed out on a table with a dehumidifyer will be a good start. use care, and week end sawyer has some good advice too. david
Might also pay to call a Library or a Historical Society and inquire too.
Or the internet ;)
http://www.familyarchives.com/pages/documents-how-to-preserve-your-documents.html