Preserving Postcards
Preserving Postcard Collections
No matter what condition a card is in, once it is in your possession you should do your best to look after it and stop it deteriorating. There are several companies that specialize in protectors for paper products such as BCW, Collector Safe and Ultra-Pro. Whatever type of protection you use they should be archival quality and acid free. Some brands also pass the PAT (Photographic Activity Test).
Soft Sleeves
Most of these inexpensive sleeves are made from 2 mil polyethylene, polypropylene or polyester (Mylar). Of these, Mylar is used for professional archival purposes but is more expensive than polyethylene or polypropylene. Flexible (plasticized) PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) sleeves should not be used as the plasticizer can leach and the chloride can decompose causing damage to whatever is in the sleeve.
The most common material for these sleeves is polypropylene, but Bags Unlimited sell 2 mil and 4 mil soft sleeves made from polyethylene. I was a bit disappointed when I ordered a pack of each of these as these sleeves, despite being labeled "Extra Clear" are nowhere near as transparent as those made from polypropylene. Surprisingly however, when a postcard is placed inside them there really is hardly any difference between the polypropylene and polyethylene sleeves.
The problem with soft sleeves is that while they protect against scuffing and most damage caused by handling they cannot protect against bending and creases. The 4 mil sleeves are obviously thicker than the 2 mil sleeves but they will not prevent the postcard from creasing if they are bent.
Rigid Sleeves
These are also called toploaders (the opening is on one short side) or sideloaders (the opening is on one long side). Nearly all the rigid sleeves I've seen are made from 16 mil rigid (unplasticized) PVC, and are produced by the same companies that produce the soft sleeves.
One thing I find disconcerting is that while there is plenty of information regarding how harmful the plasticizers are in PVC, I cannot find any information on how safe these rigid PVC sleeves are for long term storage of postcards or other paper products. I think the manufacturer's also have the same problem. for example, BCW's 2 mil polypropylene soft sleeves have "No PVC" printed on the packaging as if all PVC might be harmful. Ultra-Pro has "Archival Safe" printed on the packaging of their 2 mil polypropylene soft sleeves, these words are missing from their 16 mil uPVC sleeves. However, it is possible to place the postcards inside soft sleeves and then place them inside the rigid sleeves.
Boxes
There are plenty of providers of storage boxes for postcards. The best kind are advertised as being "alkaline buffered and lignin free". Lignin is a natural product found in wood fibre and can make paper products darken when exposed to light. Many people use shoe boxes, but these should be safe so long as the individual postcards are kept in sleeves.
Albums
I like the idea of using albums to store and show off postcards. There are some problems with albums though. Many people pasted postcards into old albums, usually those made of heavy, black Kraft paper. Doing this ruins the back of the postcards. Not only that but the paper is not archive quality and the acid in it will eventually damage the postcards. The corners used for stamps can be used, but these need to be acid-free. The problem with paper album pages is that the backs cannot easily be seen and for many postcards the backs are nearly as interesting as the front.
A ruined postcard that had been pasted into a Kraft paper album
There are several types of plastic postcard albums around. Use the type where pages can be easily added or removed - this prevents lots of handling of the postcards as they are rearranged. Some people like to add two postcards to each slot in these pages. Again, these hide the back of the postcards so I prefer to use only one. Some postcards album pages are designed to fit standard 3-ring binders but this means that the four standard postcard (3 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches) size sheets are placed at right-angles to the spine. Pages for the continental and modern size postcards (4 inches by 6 inches) only hold three cards - two vertically and one horizontally. I prefer the larger album pages where each can hold 4 of postcards horizontally.
Be careful when choosing pages for the album as some slots are a very snug fit and the corners of the postcards can be damaged by taking them in or out of the individual pages.
Postcard Preservation
First Aid for Postcards
The
website at Oldpostcardsforsale has a page of great tips for keeping
collections of postcards.
Paper - What It's Up Against by Artlab
Postcard Storage Ideas
Postcards: Navigating
the Preservation Options by Jan Merrill-Oldham
Preserving Treasures
Dating Postcards
A Brief
Guide to Identifying and Dating Postcards in the US
Frith Postcard
Reference Number Dates
Guide to Dating Curt
Teich Postcards
Guide to Dating Curt Teich Postcards
Guide to Dating
Old Postcards
How To Date U.S. Postcards
by Postage Amount
Postmark Dated
Curt-Teich Cards
Postcard Dating
Guide
Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes - How
to Identify Real Photo Postcards
Tips for
Determining When a U.S. Postcard was Published
Postcard Resources
A to Zee Postcard Collecting Web Directory - clubs, collections, conventions and more
List of Ellis Real Photo Postcards by Number and Caption
List of Known I & M Ottenheimer Postcards
Postcards and Postcard Collecting - a great site of articles and links
Postcard Artists
Postcard Publishers
Ross Verlag Movie Star Post Cards Checklist
Terre Haute Postcard Sites
Hometown with Tom Roznowski - a tour around 1920's Terre Haute
Penny Postcards from Vigo County, Indiana
Terre Haute Memorabilia
Vigo County Postcards
Wabash Valley Visions & Voices - much more than postcards
City & State Postcard Sites
Arnprior, Ontario
Baltimore, Maryland
Chicago, Illinois
Effingham County, Illinois
Iowa
Johnson City, Tennessee
Muskogee, Oklahoma
New York State
New York, New York
New York, New York
Penny Postcards by State
Portland, Oregon
Rochester, New York
Postcard Resellers
Any Other Bids
Christine's Postcards - Dedicated to postcards
Delcampe - A collection of resellers
ebay postcards
eCrater
Hake's Americana & Collectibles
iOffer
Judnick's Postcards - Dedicated to postcards
Jumping Frog
Ken's Postcards - Dedicated to postcards
Moody's Collectible Vintage Postcards
Playle's Online Auctions - A collection of online stores dedicated to postcards
Ruby Lane - A collection of resellers
Shoporium - A collection of resellers
The Postcard - A collection of online stores dedicated to postcards
Tias - A collection of resellers
Vendio Stores - A collection of resellers
Vintage Toys
Wagglepop - A collection of resellers
This page created 25th March 2008, last modified 18th July 2009