How to preserve old letters and keep their envelopes
Unfold letters only if the paper bends easily, keep each flat in an acid-free folder with its envelope, and store them cool and dry. Read and scrapbook from copies, not originals.
Letters suffer most from how they are kept: folded tight in their envelopes, held with rubber bands or clips, and reread along the same creases.
Work through one bundle at a time on a clean, clear table. Keep the order you found them in until you have listed them, since the order can say something too.
Make a digital scrapbook
Add your photos and keepsakes in tbf scrapbook, then arrange them on the pages.
| You find | Do | Do not |
|---|---|---|
| Folds in flexible paper | Ease open, folds peaked up, smooth with a fingertip | Pop the fold or bend it backwards |
| Stiff or cracking folds | Leave folded and ask a conservator about humidifying | Force it open |
| Rubber band | Cut it and lift it away | Roll it off over the edges |
| Rusty staple or clip | Remove from the back, sheet supported, if it hides text or is damaging it | Pull it out from the front |
| Sticky tape | Leave it and note where it is | Peel, scrape or soften it |
| Letters stuck together | Leave them and ask a conservator | Prise them apart |
| Mould | Keep it apart from other papers and contact a conservator | Store it with clean letters |
| Torn sheet | Support it in a folder; consider a sleeve only if the media is stable | Slide loose fragments or powdery writing into plastic |
| Newspaper cutting inside | A separate folder, noting the letter's number | Leave it touching the letter |
Unfolding and flattening
US National Archives guidance is to open a folded letter only if the paper is strong and flexible. Ease it open on a flat surface; never pop a fold or bend it backwards.
Lay it with the peaks of the folds facing up and smooth them gently with a fingertip. It will not lie perfectly flat, but it will sit in a folder.
If the paper cracks, resists or feels stiff, leave it folded. A conservator can humidify and flatten it under controlled conditions.
Bands, clips and tape
Cut a rubber band rather than rolling it off. Take out a staple or clip only if it hides writing or is damaging the sheet, holding the letter still with one hand and working from the back.
Leave sticky tape where it is. The same guidance says unskilled removal is likely to tear the paper and leave sticky residue.
Photograph and list a tied bundle before changing it. Leave historic or official ribbons, seals and fasteners intact and ask a conservator before separating them.
Housing letters with their envelopes
Keep each envelope with its letter. The postmark, stamp and address date and place it, and some writers added lines on the envelope itself.
Put the unfolded letter and its flattened envelope side by side in one acid-free, lignin-free folder rather than folding the letter back inside. Number the folder in pencil.
A damaged single sheet may need a polyester L-sleeve. Keep powdery pencil, pastel, charcoal or flaking media out of plastic; several loose fragments need a conservator's advice.
Stand the folders in a document box that fits them, in a cool, dry room inside the house. The Library of Congress suggests about 35% relative humidity for paper.
Copies for reading and for a scrapbook
Scan or photograph each page and both sides of the envelope. Use those copies on scrapbook pages and for sharing, so the originals can stay in their folders.
Transcribe difficult handwriting in a text file under the same reference. Mark uncertain readings and omissions clearly, and keep the scan beside the transcription for checking.
Take out any newspaper cuttings tucked inside and give them their own folder, since newsprint is acidic. Note which letter each one came from.
Steps
List the bundle as found
Number each letter in its current order and note dates, writers and any ties or bands before changing anything.
Open what will open
Unfold flexible letters with the folds peaked up. Set aside any that resist for a conservator.
House in folders, not envelopes
Put each letter and envelope in its own folder, numbered in pencil, then into a box that fits.
Make working copies
Scan pages and envelopes, transcribe where needed, and use the copies for reading and scrapbook pages.
Questions
Should I wear gloves to handle old letters?
Not usually. The US National Archives says clean, lotion-free hands are fine for paper, and gloves make thin sheets harder to handle.
Can I laminate old letters?
Lamination seals paper in plastic with heat and adhesive and cannot safely be undone at home. A polyester sleeve holds the sheet without sticking to it.
How do I put old letters in a scrapbook?
Put a scan or printed copy on the page and link it to the original's folder number. Keep the original in its own supportive enclosure rather than passing it round in the book.