I've run into a problem

[Beanie]

I am doing my Heirloom pages tonight of my great grandparents and have run into a problem...I have two pictures, that are so very old and they are on this very hard cardboard backing (??)...I have tried to scan them and then print out a picture, but it looks blurry and not what I wanted...I am not sure what to do now, as these are very important pictures and I want to keep them the way they are...Any suggestions on how I can add them to my scrapbook pages? They date back to 1905 and are starting to deteriorate (sp?) from all the wear on them.

Thanks

 

[RRBB]

Sounds like you don't want to include the original photos in your album. Can you take them to a photo lab to get copies made? I know that's what my father did several years ago with some photos of his grandparents. They actually came out pretty good.

 

[Beanie]

Actually I am not sure if I want to include them or not...I tried to reprint them myself, but they didn't come out very good...I think I might try a photo lab though and see what happens there...if I don't like them still, I will try to include them in the scrapbook like they are...just need to figure out how...

I uploaded them so you could see what I was talking about with the hard cardboard backing on them...I wonder why they did that back then??

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid59/p99083152d09f7e64fccb8834aabb3ea8/fc5cf1fa.jpg">

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid59/p74ce683f4cc1084da60c4d8dc9342e79/fc5cf1fd.jpg">

 

[RRBB]

wow, those are wonderful photos.

Another suggestion, if the photo lab doesn't work out. Get some archival photo sleeves to put the photos into. That way you can include them in your album without adding any adhesive or anything to them, they'll be safer, and you can always take them out at a later point.

 

[BevS97]

I have a picture of my dad that is like that. I included it, by putting it behind my scrapbook page, and cutting out a window in the page, so I could see the picture, and frame it that way.

I attached the old photo to the back of my page by using photo corners, so that there was no adhesive actually on the picture. It worked pretty well.

Bev

 

[DiznEeyore]

My grandparents' wedding portrait is the same way. I took it to one of the Kodak Picture Maker machines and was able to get very good copies made. Maybe that would work for you?

 

[OurDogCisco]

This is kinda of a pricey option but if you really want to save the actual photo, you should take them to a photo restorer. I did this with a couple of my Mom's old photos. Then, once the picture was restored then, I made additional copies with the Kodak machine. HTH, Tina

 

[Beanie]

Thanks so much for all the advice...I think I will first try to reprint them at a photo store and if that doesn't work or I don't like them, I will try the photo restore as Tina suggested...Thanks again!

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

Lots of good ideas here on getting a usable print so I won't rehash but I do know why it was done.

Photography was relatively new yet in those days and it was "presumed" that formal portraits would be framed or at least displayed. You know all those scenes of pianos covered with photos in movies of the era?

Anyway, the mounting was done in part as customer service and also because the paper used at that time was relatively fragile.

Actually some photogs still do it today. Often larger portraits (11 x 14 plus) of graduating seniors, families, etc. are automatically mounted because it makes it easier to frame them. I ordered a professional print of our high school choir's Singing Christmas tree for my son's album and it came mounted.

Your photography history trivia for the day!

Deb

 

[Beanie]

Thanks, Deb! It was interesting to read that, as I had no idea why it was done..although, I figured it must have had something to do with the photo paper, since my two photos are very, very thin!

Thanks again!

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

Now if I could just remember those bits of trivia that would get me ahead in life!

Deb

 

[December99]

I actually talked to a lady at my LSS about this about a month ago and what I should do with some of those same types of pictures. She said you don't want to put them actually in your books. She said the best thing to do is to go and either have them copied or go to a refinisher and have new photos made from them which, as someone else said, can be very expensive to do. I have alot of pictures of my grandparents and of my mom that someday I will start working on and I wanted her opinion of the best way to do these pages. It all started with a conversation we were having about her working on someone's album that had old newspaper articles and then we got on the subject of pictures. But she didn't go into detail about why they should not be put in the book. I think because there is NO archival material in anything that is either on the picture or accompanying the picture and you have a large risk of the ink from the photo eventually running at some point - especially if they get damp and that alone could ruin the whole book.