Preserving WWI artifacts...letters, pictures, uniform items

Factual Questions
1

As the only person on my Mom’s side of the family that has served in the military, I have been granted guardianship of a trunk full of my great-uncle’s belongings from World War I (among other things.)

I want to preserve them as well as possible, and I must say that it’s a bit of a miracle that any of it has survived to this point. For years, it sat in a falling-down house exposed to heat and humidity though fortunately not direct precipitation.

It’s a project I’ll be taking up this winter when I’m stuck inside, so I have time to procure the supplies I need. I know there must be an expert or two here who can help me with methods or products.

Included are several letters, written on lightweight USO paper and in envelopes. The letters have writing in ink on both sides. I plan to scan these and then transcribe them for other interested family members, then store them. After that I don’t plan on ever laying hands on them again.

There is a more-or-less complete wool Army uniform…Pants, blouse, shirt, hat. Again, miraculously untouched by insects. Smells rather moth-bally, though! Fabrics all seem to be holding together well. Not sure I want to display it, at least not at the moment. Just get it clean if possible, and stored but accessible.

There are a few small photographs, but the prize is a large landscape-style unit photograph. Maybe 8" high and 25" long. It is currently rolled up into a cylinder about the circumference of a pint beer can, where it seems to want to come to rest. I unrolled it carefully and it seems to be fairly intact, except for some cracking or damage on the end that is on the inside of the roll.

Thanks in advance.

2

The folks at the National Archives tend to know what they are doing. Here’s a link to their info about preserving documents and photographs.

The National WWII Museum of New Orleans has some good info for preserving uniforms and other artifacts:

3

Archival quality storage media can cost a bomb. Sometimes there are much cheaper workarounds, but only believe those from a materials conservator, not just someone who’s done a bit of scrapbooking or steam-irons old letters to get the creases out (scary true) and is happy that ‘in most the ink hasn’t run much at all’.

Sounds like you’re on the right track. Getting other members of the family interested and aware with transcripts and copies is the best way to confront the other great conservation risk - inter generational apathy.

4

Thanks for the links and advice. I am poking around and there’s a lot of info out there, but there’s usually an expert or two on anything around here.

The letters and pictures I think I’m ok on…I’m going to scan them (scored a decent used scanner for $20 last night), then store them in non-reactive “L sleeves” I think they’re called. Out of the envelope and opened. Then stored in a box between acid-free cardboard. That should take care of those.

The panoramic photograph…I’m going to call around to a few photography shops and see if they have some kind of progressive scanner that can image it without damaging it. I had considered doing it in sections and ‘stitching’ it together, but I’m afraid of creasing it.

The uniform, it looks like I can have professionally dry-cleaned fairly safely.