Original photographs and negatives should not be on permanent display, but with some planning it is possible to protect them. Colour photographs and slide transparencies are particularly susceptible to fading.

• Be selective; do not display too many photographs, especially unique prints which no longer have negatives.  Display copies where possible.

• Remember handling, transportation, and changes in environment are all hard on photographs, modern and antique.

• Have clean hands, preferably wearing clean cotton gloves to handle them, and hold photographs by the edges with both hands.

• Use suitable mounts and enclosures, e.g.’ Melinex’, and ‘Silversafe’. When you frame a photograph, you create a microclimate that may effect the delicate surface.   See the page on ‘Preserving and Storing Photographs’.

• Keep light levels as low as possible; light fades photographs even over a short time. In the exhibition hall, close curtains and use electric light; natural light is much stronger.    Ideally lights should be U.V. filtered and cool tungsten lamps.

• Photograph albums should be displayed on a book pillow to support the structure of the book and a sheet of ‘Melinex’ covering the prints.

• It is better to display unusual prints or negatives. Panoramic or other rolled photographs need professional attention to flatten and mount them.

• Do not allow food, drinks or smoke near photographs, accidents happen and photographs are susceptible to airborne pollution.

• Enjoy your photographs, but appreciate they are more fragile than they appear.

To return to the Stopping the Rot