Preserving Letters

Caring for Family Archives often become the responsibility of the family historian. Personal letters, especially written by hand with first-hand accounts of a life and experiences can invoke a time and place and connect the family history researcher very much to their personal past.

Robert recently inquired at the library about binding his Uncle’s letters which he had recently inherited. We asked him if the letters were in good condition. Potential damage to look out for include: biological infestations, structural damage and adhesive damage and surface damage. Read more about this in this article on Paper Restoration from Scrapbook.com.  If this is the case a professional conservators services may be needed.

I suggested to Robert that in fact binding his letters may not be a good idea. Professional Conservators talk about any treatment to materials should be done so that it can also be undone.
He should digitise his collection and transcribe the letters. Perhaps there is information that would help him understand any heritage photographs that his Uncle may have also left behind.
Each page should be stored in a protective sleeve. These sleeves can then be placed in order in an archive folder with slip case. Use the digital copies as access copies and these can also be freely shared with other family members.

Recommended reading :
National Archives of USA Preservation of Family Archives

Family Curator: How to preserve and archive old family documents

National Archives of Australia: Looking after your family archive

Finally I suggested that Robert attend one of our upcoming events upcoming events at YPRL next month as part of our Family History Month Program.
Preserving your Family  History

How to Archive Family Keepsakes

Letters of a Nation project

To celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2009, Australia Post embarked on a project inviting everyday Australians to uncover and submit letters to their Letters of a Nation online archive and timeline. 200 of the hundreds submitted were chosen as significant representing different events, regions and history of Australia. The Royal Historical Society of Victoria were a partner in the project.

All the letters can be searched including my family name and place.

The Letters of a Nation project looks to be another fabulous online resource for local and family historians and anyone interested in our nations history.

Letters of a nation

Australia Post celebrates 200 years in 2009. Since 1788, the letters of our nation have carried the thoughts, feelings and aspirations of Australia and Australians. The Letters of a Nation project is extracting these letters from desks, cupboards and files all over the country and bringing them together in an interactive timeline and archive. So, if you have an interesting, moving or historically significant letter, submit it and share it with the nation.