An Ounce of Preservation: A Guide to the Care of Papers and Photographs

This is one terrific book. Just what I needed to get started with my old photos and papers before it was too late to salvage them. Obviously, Mr. Tuttle (the author) knows his stuff. "My stuff" has been saved by his sage advice. Thanks, Mr. Tuttle.

With no background in caring for old photos and papers, I was in a quandry over what to do with the box full of items left to me by my deceased uncle. I didn't have the money for a professional to refresh and repair the photos, many of which suffered from long years of neglect. So I went online in search of a publication that would tell me where to start. An Ounce of Preservation provided me, a true archival dummie, with the groundwork I needed to begin the restoration project. As I sent off for information from companies listed in the appendix of the book, I learned more and more, unti I now feel like a blooming expert! I have a great scrapbook of my uncle's photos that I can pass on to my grandchildren, and it's a scrapbook that takes care of the items instead of aiding in their destruction. Without all the easy-to-follow techniques and many, many leads for more information provided in the book, I doubt if I would have ever had the courage to tackle the job myself. And since I didn't have the money for professional help, all those precious items of family history would still be deteriorating away in my closet. I contacted the publisher (to find out how to contact the author) only to learn that a greatly expanded second edition of this book is in the works. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the basics -- it was all news to me!

To learn more about old photographs and their care, I ordered three books; An Ounce of Preservation by Craig Tuttle, Collector's Guide to Early Photographs by O. Henry Mace, and Care and Identification of 19th Century Photographic Prints by James Reilly. An Ounce of Preservation, A Guide to the Care of Papers and Photographs, is a small, almost pocket size book that can be read quickly. It has a good description of all the major types / categories of photographs (Daguerreotypes, Tintypes, Albumen, etc.) that have been produced since the birth of photography. It helps identify the specific type of damage likely to be found, and then provides advice to both reduce further deterioration and to treat the damage. Unlike the other books, An Ounce of Preservation provides a background on the paper manufacturing process, which is helpful for understanding the base structure of an old photograph. Also unlike the other books, it also addresses the care of various other types of paper documents (manuscripts, postage stamps, trading cards, postcards, comic books, magazines, etc.)This is a great book for gaining a basic understanding of the types / categories of old photographs in existence and easy-to-implement procedures for reducing their deterioration. Anyone who cares about maintaining old family records or local historical records would find this book very useful. If a detailed knowledge is desired regarding either the types of old photographs or the proper care for old paper based photographs, then one of the other two books I purchased would be better. However, the other two books are not as concise, and you would need to purchase both of them to learn about both the types of photographs and their care.