Old photo albums contain two distinct things worth preserving: the photographs themselves and the sequence and arrangement chosen by the person who assembled the album. Removing photographs from an album in order to rehouse them individually can preserve the prints but destroys the evidence of how the family organised and presented their own history. The goal is to preserve both where possible, and to record the arrangement before any dismantling.
Sorting albums before storage decisions
Before deciding how to store a photo album, assess its construction. Albums fall into several types: Victorian-era albums with card-mounted photographs slotted into die-cut windows; early twentieth-century albums with black paper pages and corner-mounted prints; post-war albums with slip-in acetate pockets; and modern magnetic-page albums with a self-adhesive layer under a plastic film.
Each type poses different risks. Magnetic-page albums from the 1970s to 1990s are the most actively damaging — the adhesive continues to bond the photographs to the page and releases chemicals that attack the image dyes. If photographs in a magnetic album are not yet stuck, remove them now. If they are already stuck, do not force them; consult a conservator or photograph each page in place to capture the images before adhesion becomes complete.
Environmental threats to photo albums
Photo albums combine multiple materials: paper, adhesives, acetate, fabric covers, and photographic prints with their own layer structure. High humidity causes acetate pages to expand faster than the paper backing, wrinkling and eventually delaminating. Low humidity makes adhesives brittle, causing photographs to detach. Light fades the photographic dyes in colour prints significantly faster than it fades the album structure itself — a colour album left in sunlight for a decade loses its colour balance entirely.
Albums stacked horizontally on a shelf are under constant pressure, particularly at the spine, which leads to deformation over time. Store albums upright, like books, with adequate lateral support to prevent leaning. Do not store albums in plastic bags or sealed containers — trapped humidity accelerates mold growth.
Storage supplies for photo albums
For albums that are being stored as complete volumes, a clamshell or drop-spine archival box sized to the album provides the best protection. Interleave each page with acid-free tissue to prevent images from contacting facing pages. This is particularly important for albums with prints mounted on black paper, where the acidic black paper migrates rapidly to the photograph surface.
For loose photographs removed from albums, use acid-free polyester sleeves or polypropylene pocket pages. Group them in order of their original album sequence and note the sequence in a folder or index. Store in a flat archival box by album, labelled with the album title or date range and the photographer’s or compiler’s name if known.
Handling albums without adding damage
Support the spine when opening an album — do not let it drop open fully under its own weight. Use a foam wedge to hold the album open at a comfortable angle for viewing or scanning. Turn pages from the centre rather than the edge, using a thin acid-free card as a page turner if the pages are fragile.
Do not attempt to clean photograph surfaces with dry cloths or tissue — they may scratch the emulsion. Dust can be removed with a soft, clean brush using gentle strokes from the centre of the image outward. For prints with adhesive residue on the front surface from a detached magnetic page, consult a conservator before attempting to clean.
Digitising photo albums
The most practical approach for a bound album is to photograph each page with a camera rather than scanning individual prints. Use a copy stand and consistent lighting. Photograph each page twice: once from directly above for a flat image, and once at a slight angle if the page has any three-dimensional elements — corner mounts, fabric, or pressed materials.
After photographing the album as a whole, scan individual prints that are particularly significant or poor in quality in the page photograph. Scan prints removed from an album at 600 dpi for standard colour prints and 1200 dpi for small-format prints. Name files with the album name or date range and the page number to maintain the association with the album sequence.
Labelling albums and maintaining order
Many old photo albums have no labels at all — a handwritten title on the cover at most, and often nothing inside to identify the subjects. Before putting an album into storage, attach a card inside the front cover with a brief description: date range, compiler, primary subjects, and any notable events documented. This takes five minutes and makes the album useful for the next person who finds it.
When storing multiple albums from the same family, keep them in chronological order within the archival box if possible, and note the order in a box list on the outside. Family members consulting the archive can then work through the albums chronologically without opening and re-boxing each one.
Donation and family distribution
Photo albums documenting a specific community, school, workplace, or public event may be of interest to a local archive. Contact the archive with a brief description before assuming the collection has no institutional value. Many local history collections actively seek private photographic albums from the early and mid-twentieth century.
For albums that stay in the family, decide in advance who will inherit custodianship. A single designated custodian, with agreement that other family members have access to the digital scans, is more sustainable than multiple copies of fragile originals distributed to different households. Document the decision alongside other estate instructions.
Worth remembering: Assess the album type before deciding how to store it — magnetic-page albums need immediate attention. Store complete albums in clamshell boxes with acid-free tissue between pages, photograph every page, and label the inside cover with dates, subjects, and compiler before shelving.
Common questions
What format or settings should I use?
Photograph album pages with a camera on a copy stand at a resolution equivalent to 300 dpi for the page size. For individual prints removed from an album, scan at 600 dpi for standard colour prints and 1200 dpi for small-format or significant images. Save master files as TIFF.
How should I label the files or items?
Name digital files with the album name or date range and page number — for example ‘Smith_Album_1955-1960_p14.tif’. Write a description card for the inside cover of each album with dates, subjects, and compiler name. Label the outside of archival boxes with the same information.
How many backup copies should I keep?
Three copies: one on an external drive, one at a separate location, and one in cloud storage. Share the digital files with other family members who appear in the photographs — this distributes the backup and gives immediate access to the images without risking the originals.