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Topic: preserving certificates? (Read 679 times)
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stephen7
RootsChat Senior
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Posts: 487
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hi all,
just been pouring over my certificate collection and noticed a few starting to get tatty.
how do you people preserve them? been contemplating laminating them but noticed a few are even to large for a4 lanimating sheets.
ideas and suggetions most welcome
steve
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watson,smith,(cambridge)cadle,(gloucester)hutton,utton, phenix,(norfolk)tarleton,paterson,sommerville,stephenson ( lanarkshire) ,walker, lewis, mordecai,sparks,(glamorgan),bolitho. (cornwall)
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exessexgirl
RootsChat Aristocrat
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Posts: 1194
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Hi Stephen.
I place mine individually inside plastic sheet protectors, and store them in file holders. That way you can see the details of each one without having to handle them. The plastic sheet holders are just the right size for the certificates. You can buy them in 100/200 sheets per box, and they arn't expensive to buy.  Lyn
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exessexgirl White, Curtis, Lockyer, Drew - St. Pancras Collins & Catlin of Benington / Ardeley Herts, Collins, Dunkley, Poole, of Hackney, Edmonton,Shoreditch Allens, Clapham, of Islington. DeAth.... of Shoreditch. Gladden & Laker of Shoreditch / Bethnal Green Bibbys, Smith, Webb, Buckley of Essex Blessed and Wade Spalding Lincolnshire Pullen, Weedon & Skipps of Hackney and Essex. Danahar of Bethnal Green Caddy - Stafford Census information is Crown Copyright |
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Gadget
RootsChat Marquessate
Offline
Posts: 17465
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I scan all mine and keep the originals in archive boxes by family - with copies of marriage/death of females in with their husband's kin.
The images are then filed in the appropriate folder on my PC.
Also have a back up on CD or USB flash drive.
I do the same for wills and other documents.
Gadget
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CarolBurns
RootsChat Aristocrat
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Posts: 1923
I'm still looking !
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Laminating sounds like a good idea though as you say there are some that are larger than A4 but you can get A3 pouches and cut them down - keeps them safe from spills etc as well.
Might try one of mine with that and see what it is like
Carol
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Thomas, Williams,Owen (s),Griffith (s), Jones - Anglesey
Burns, Wallace - Northumberland, Ireland, Scotland
Horsburgh, Sandilands, Blackhall, Rankine, Rankin, Hilson, Nielson - Scotland
Turnbull, Mills, Burgoyne, Burgon - Northumberland,
Davidson - Scotland, India, Burma
Lopez - India, Burma
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JDGen
RootsChat Aristocrat
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Posts: 1807
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You should use acid free plastic wallets to preserve certificates. Over a period of time both laminating and other wallets will start to react and lift the ink. If you search under genealogy supplies you will see that some suppliers have special binders for your certificates.
I always scan mine as well so if I lost the certificates I would still have the image (and I also make backups regularly after losing my hard drive earlier this year - fortunately I did have a backup!)
Jean
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Census information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.ukCHS: Barber(Tabley) Barlow(Antrobus) Blackshaw(Lymm, Mobberley) Blease/Done/Moore(G Bud) Owen(Netherton, Tabley) Spragg/Witter(Goostrey) Youd(Frodsham) Pennell Bankes Birchall Beckett DBY: Higginbottom(Mellor) HRT: Gurney HRT/BED/ESS: Verney (Markyate St) LAN: Davenport(Bolton) Schofield/Gurney(Oldham) Lord(Heap) Quinn(Manchester) Sutcliffe(Rossendale) NTH: Tubb/Johnson(Hellidon)Brown(Kettering) YKS: Scott(Clapham) |
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kerryb
RootsChat Marquessate
 Online
Posts: 9607
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Excuse me if I ask a dumb question but are we talking original certificates here or GRO copies or both??
Kerry
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Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.ukSearching for my family - Baldwin - Sussex, Middlesex, Cork, Pilbeam - Sussex, Harmer - Sussex, Terry - Surrey, Kent, Rhoades - Lincs, Roffey - Surrey, Traies - Devon & Middlesex & many many more to be found on my website .... www.kerrysfamilyhistory.co.uk |
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PrueM
RootsChat Moderator
RootsChat Marquessate
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Posts: 6067
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If you want to keep any certificates or papers safe and useable, I agree that plastic (polypropylene or polyethylene only) is the way to go. Not sure if you have them where you are, or what they are called, but here in Oz we have "view books" which are cheap display books with plastic covers and lots of pockets inside. They can be bought from the newsagents and are perfectly fine for archival storage. You can add more pages as needed. Never buy anything with PVC. It's the devil's work 
Alternatively, look for "photo safe" pockets, or ones from archival or conservation products suppliers.
NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER laminate anything that you don't want to ruin! Laminating basically melts crappy plastic into the matrix of paper fibres and when the plastic eventually starts to lift at the edges (as it always does), if you try to peel it off, it takes the paper with it. I have seen so many examples of irreplaceable documents completely destroyed by laminating. Please don't do it!
Cheers
Prue
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Paper and Photograph Conservator
I live in NSW, and am researching:
BALFOUR (Derry) – BIGG (Kent) – BONSALL (DBY, NTT, CHS) – BRISBANE (Fife) – DANKS (STS) – DOBSON (BRK) – FRANCIS (ESS) – GOODE (HAM) – HAYNES (Cork) – INGRAM (MDX, SOM) – LANGWORTHY (Jersey, DEV) – MCKAY (Fife, Aberdeen, Banff, Moray, Inverness) – MORRISH (LND) – NANCARROW (CON) – OGILVIE (Moray, LND) – STRATHDEE (Banff) – SWAN (Fife) – WOOD (LND)
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kerryb
RootsChat Marquessate
Online
Posts: 9607
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I hadn't thought about doing anything with the many certificates I have bought. Perhaps I should scan them onto the computer in the first instance and then look at how I store them. At the moment they are all in envelopes.
Hmmmm
Kerry
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Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.ukSearching for my family - Baldwin - Sussex, Middlesex, Cork, Pilbeam - Sussex, Harmer - Sussex, Terry - Surrey, Kent, Rhoades - Lincs, Roffey - Surrey, Traies - Devon & Middlesex & many many more to be found on my website .... www.kerrysfamilyhistory.co.uk |
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stephen7
RootsChat Senior
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Posts: 487
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hi all, thanks for all your views,i think i will get the plastic wallets and keep the originals there, also print out copies and lamiante them, coupled with keeping copies on disc.
think that should cover all basis.
thanks again
steve
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watson,smith,(cambridge)cadle,(gloucester)hutton,utton, phenix,(norfolk)tarleton,paterson,sommerville,stephenson ( lanarkshire) ,walker, lewis, mordecai,sparks,(glamorgan),bolitho. (cornwall)
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Lemontree
RootsChat Member
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Posts: 232
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Hi
Keep old certificates :
In the dark
At the most constant temperature as possible (which is difficult with central heating or air con)
Never store in the attic or cellar
Keep the certificate flat - not folded (if it has been folded unfold and flaten)
Store in an acid free envelope
Try not to look at the certificate or handle the certificate, when you do though be very gentle
hope this helps
lemon
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kitchener
RootsChat Extra
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Posts: 32
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My wife is a conservator (not practicing it right now though) but she would strongly advise NOT to laminate. If these are originals, you should not do this. Store them in acid free envelopes or paper sleeves, and leave them alone. Have copies made and use those are your working copies. Store them flat. When handling the originals, where gloves. They have probably been handled hundreds of times, but every time you touch them, oils and acids from your skin are left on the paper and hasten its demise. There are archival cotton gloves for this or even latex gloves. And if they have been folded and are separating along the seams, please do not use tape to fix them!
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CarolBurns
RootsChat Aristocrat
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Posts: 1923
I'm still looking !
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Thanks Kitchener
laminator will not be used now. Mine are mainly copies from the Records Office so fairly new and the old ones are copies from originals. I might do copies of them all and laminate the copies which will make them last longer with all the handling then my "original copies" can go into safe keeping
Carol
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Thomas, Williams,Owen (s),Griffith (s), Jones - Anglesey
Burns, Wallace - Northumberland, Ireland, Scotland
Horsburgh, Sandilands, Blackhall, Rankine, Rankin, Hilson, Nielson - Scotland
Turnbull, Mills, Burgoyne, Burgon - Northumberland,
Davidson - Scotland, India, Burma
Lopez - India, Burma
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kitchener
RootsChat Extra
Offline
Posts: 32
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This may be a good time to mention that we try to keep copies of all our stuff, whether documents or photos, to help preserve the originals, and to have back ups if something should happen. We like photo negatives of the pictures, but lately have also copied them with digital images. And, my brother has copies of everything so there are back ups if our house either flooded or burned down. Must be our museum training coming into play here......
About 3 years ago our neighbours house burned down, and while furniture was replaced, she said the saddest thing was losing all her family pictures etc. of her grandparents, and even her children growing up.
Copying is never a wasted effort.
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