How to preserve
old letters and documents.
To preserve old letters and documents, store them flat and unfolded in acid- and lignin-free folders and boxes somewhere cool, dark and steady, take off clips, staples and rubber bands, and never laminate or tape them. Then scan each page at 300 dpi, so the originals can stay boxed while the family reads the copies.
Paper rarely fails all at once. The New York State Archives names acidity, light and widely fluctuating temperature and humidity as the greatest threats to family papers.
Where should you store old letters?
Somewhere cool, dark and steady, in a room you live in. The Library of Congress recommends a cool, relatively dry (about 35% relative humidity), clean and stable place for works on paper. Icon, the UK’s Institute of Conservation, suggests 45 to 60%, and the US National Archives says to keep family papers below 75°F (about 24°C) and below 65% relative humidity to prevent mould, but not below 15%, which can make them brittle.
The figures differ; the advice doesn’t. Avoid damp, heat and big swings, which rules out the loft, the cellar and the garage, and spots beside radiators or damp outside walls (Icon). Photos tucked inside letters need slightly different care: see our guide to storing old photos.
Acid- and lignin-free folders and boxes. The Library of Congress and the US National Archives both recommend them, and the New York State Archives warns that “archival” does not mean the same thing as acid-free. Icon says ordinary brown envelopes and polythene bags are not suitable.
The right size. Boxes should be big enough for papers to lie flat without folding or bending, and not overstuffed (US National Archives).
Darkness. Store papers in darkness and ration their time in the light (New York State Archives).
A yearly look. Icon suggests checking stored boxes regularly, for example once a year, for mould or pests.
Should you unfold old letters?
Yes, once, if the paper allows it. The New York State Archives says to avoid folding and unfolding papers, because it weakens them, and to store loose papers unfolded. Icon says folded items suffer from repeated folding and should be kept flat if possible. So open each letter gently, one time, and let it stay flat in its folder from then on.
If the paper is brittle, cracks along a fold or resists, stop. Keep it as it is, in a folder of its own, and ask a conservator. Keep each envelope with its letter: the postmark and address are part of the story.
What about clips, staples and old tape?
The Library of Congress says not to use paper clips, other fasteners, rubber bands, self-adhesive tape or glue on paper, and the New York State Archives says never to use staples, rubber bands, tape or glue on important papers. Icon says to carefully remove metal fastenings such as staples and paper clips if they are corroding and staining the document. If one won’t come out without tearing the paper, leave it for a conservator.
Old sticky tape is a job for a professional. Icon says self-adhesive tapes leave yellow staining and sticky residue and are extremely difficult to remove, and that documents should only be cleaned or repaired by trained conservators. The Berkshire Record Office describes how a conservator does it: gentle heat to reactivate the adhesive, the tape lifted away, then a special crepe eraser for what is left behind.
Store it flat, keep it dark, and let the scan do the travelling.
Should you laminate old documents?
No. The New York State Archives says not to laminate special papers, because the process can be harmful and cannot be easily undone. It gives the same caution about commercial deacidification products: consult a conservator before using them.
For protection you can see through, use a clear polyester sleeve, which you can always take the letter out of. Icon says single sheets can be stored and handled in archival polyester sleeves, and the US National Archives lists unknown plastics and PVC among materials to avoid. Polyester has a catch: the Library of Congress notes it builds up static that can lift powdery media, so keep pencil and charcoal in a paper folder instead.
Want it on the wall? Icon suggests displaying old documents only for limited periods, away from sunlight, in low light (preferably 50 lux at most), and considering a photographic copy instead. A print of your scan lets the original stay in its box.
How do you keep newspaper cuttings?
Apart from everything else. The New York State Archives says highly acidic materials like newspaper clippings often become yellow and brittle quickly, Icon adds that they discolour any papers they touch, and the Library of Congress recommends storing acidic papers separately so the acid can’t migrate. Scan the cuttings, or photocopy them onto acid-free paper as the New York State Archives suggests, and file the copy with the letters it belongs to.
How do you scan old letters?
At 300 dpi, which the Library of Congress gives as the general setting for documents in its handout on scanning personal collections.
300 dpi, 600 at most. The handout suggests 400 or 600 dpi for photos you plan to enlarge and says anything above 600 may be unnecessary.
Colour or greyscale. Colour captures the natural look of paper and ink. Greyscale may show handwriting better than black-and-white (bitonal) scans, the Library of Congress says.
PDF for long letters. A PDF can combine several pages in one file, and may let you create searchable text.
Every side, and the envelope. Backs of pages, notes in the margins and postmarks all carry information.
Date-first file names. The handout suggests starting each file name with the date as yyyymmdd, such as 19440612-letter-from-dad.jpg.
No scanner? In the iPhone Notes app, Scan Documents captures a page automatically when it detects the edges and saves the result as a PDF, and the Google Drive app on Android can save a scan as a PDF or a JPG. Our guide to scanning with your phone covers glare and settings. Then keep at least two copies in different places, as the Library of Congress advises, and put the originals back in their box.
How do you keep the story behind it?
A scan saves the page. It won’t tell anyone who “Bill” was, why the letter was kept or what happened next.
Write down what you know. Who wrote it, to whom, when and where from, and how it reached the family.
Keep a simple list. The Library of Congress suggests printing a brief summary of what you have and keeping it with your copies as a quick-reference inventory.
Transcribe the hard ones. Old handwriting defeats many readers. A typed transcription means anyone can read it, and you can search it later.
Ask while you can. Show the letters to the oldest relatives and record what they say about the writer and the people named.
Our guide to creating a family archive shows how letters fit with photos, recordings and certificates. And if reading old letters makes you want to leave one, see how to write a legacy letter.
How it helps.
Ancestorii keeps the copies and the context together, privately. Upload a photo or scan of each page to a private family album, give it a name and a date in plain words such as “Spring 1944”, and the relatives you invite can add their written memories and voice notes. A recording of someone reading the letter aloud, or explaining who wrote it, sits right beside the page. You can also add it to a moment on your family timeline. Only the family members you invite can see it.
Ancestorii takes images rather than PDFs, so upload each page as a JPEG or phone photo. Story Assistance, the optional writing help that is on by default and can be switched off, can suggest a caption for you to edit. The Free plan needs no card and includes 1 GB of storage shared by the family; Premium is £3.99 a month per family, with 100 GB. Keep the originals boxed and your own backups too.
Questions people ask.
Should I laminate old letters?
How should I store old letters?
Are plastic wallets safe for old documents?
How do I preserve old newspaper cuttings?
What dpi should I scan old letters at?
Should I wear gloves to handle old letters?
Sources
- New York State Archives · Paper (Family History preservation) (accessed October 2026)
- Icon, the Institute of Conservation · Documents and archives (accessed October 2026)
- Library of Congress · Care, Handling and Storage of Works on Paper (accessed October 2026)
- US National Archives · How to Preserve Family Archives (papers and photographs) (last reviewed September 2025)
- Berkshire Record Office · Sellotape! (Emily Forster) (1 March 2026)
- Library of Congress · Scanning Your Personal Collections (Personal Digital Archiving Series) (accessed October 2026)
- Apple Support · Scan text and documents in Notes using the iPhone camera (accessed October 2026)
- Google Drive Help · Scan documents with Google Drive (Android phone and tablet) (accessed October 2026)