Preserving/Restoring Old Newspaper Photo

My wife found a newspaper story today about one of her relatives
that dates from 1949. In it is a picture that unfortunately has
been torn. What is the best way to preserve this picture, and or
restore it. She wants to tape it, but I suspect that this is not
the best thing to do.

"John Nichols"

singhals...

Personally, I'd hunt down microfilm of that newspaper and make a new
print.

THEN I'd scan the original, put the original in an archival plastic
sleeve, and use my scan and the print-off.

Under NO conditions put tape on it -- the newsprint will absorb the
adhesive and discolor badly.

Cheryl

singhals

GrannieAnnie...

You could scan it, that would give you a copy. I laminated mine to
keep the original.

Gerry...

She could tape it to hold it together, then scan it (if you don't
have one find a friend or copy center that has one) now you will
have copy on your computer and you could print a nice fresh copy to
acid-free paper. Now throw the clipping away, as newsprint is so
acidic that it will eat itself and most other things it comes in
contact with.

Gerry

myths...

In the mid 1950s I cut out from the Washington Post a couple of
articles about parthenogenesis in turkeys. I pasted the articles
onto blank white paper - using the inexpensive paper and washable
glue that my parents provided for their children's school work etc.

Every now and then I come across them. Each time I am amazed by the
fact that the newspaper does not appear to have aged, presumably
because of the glue paste (whatever it was).

myths@ic24.net (cecilia)

Christopher Jahn...

Do NOT tape it - the glue eats away at the paper and can stain it.

You can get archival photo sleeves - it's a stable plastic that will
protect the piece while allowing you to view it. You can even plop
it in a scanner.

turtlelover...

I haven't seen anyone mention the method I heard about a while ago:

Apparently, Milk of Magnesia, dissolved in club soda, does the
trick; preserving, anyway. It neutralizes the acid in the paper. I
haven't tried this myself, so YMMV.

turtlelover

John Nichols...

Actually someone made an oblique reference to it in an email to me
on the subject. Sounds messy, and easy to screw up.

Dennis Lee Bieber...

Especially when one considers that the club soda is slightly acidic
to start with...

"""
For a CO2 pressure typical of the one in soda drinks bottles
(\scriptstyle p_{CO_2} ~ 2.5 atm), we get a relatively acid medium (pH =
3.7) with a high concentration of dissolved CO2. These features are
responsible for the sour and sparkling taste of these drinks.
"""

turtlelover...

Thanks, Dennis. I haven't tried it myself, but since I buy neither
MoM *nor* club soda, I guess I won't try it in the near future. My
apologies to John (the OP).

In 200 years, I hope you'll all join me when I ask those who posted
this method on web pages if their preserved newspapers are still ...
preserved. (No, I *won't* soak myself in MoM and club soda.) ;^D

[ Note, all, that Milk of Magnesia is alkaline. Depending upon the
proportions of the mixture, a club soda/MoM mixture may be acidic,
neutral, or alkaline ... The mixture may act as a pH buffer. I
am not, of course, commenting on whether club soda/MoM makes a
competent deacidifying treatment. - Mod ]

Cheers,
Turtlelover

turtlelover

Christopher Jahn...

I don't know about using it to preserve paper, but it absolutely
will not repair the tear.

singhals...

Yeah, it's real messy.

TIPS to remember IF you try it --

Test an unnecessary corner of it first -- water often washes ink
off, which sort of defeats the whole purpose.

for 8x10 or smaller items, use a baking sheet with sides to hold the
milk of magnesia, and layer the newspaper between two sheets of
plastic canvas before you dip it. The plastic canvas supports the
wet paper but lets it drain.

Easier to buy buffered acid-free interleafing.

Cheryl

singhals