Preserving Your Family Photographs: How to Organize, Present, and Restore Your Precious Family Images [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Maureen A. Taylor (Author) "A woman at one of my lectures stood up and announced that she had a solution for organizing all the photographs she had collected..." (more)
Key Phrases: Little Falls, United States, Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Genealogists and non-genealogists alike love old photographs and many people have photo collections of their ancestors. Preserving Your Family Photographs shows them how to organize and store these photos so that future generations can also enjoy them.

Readers will learn how to care for family photos, identify different types of damage, learn basic conservation techniques, buy the proper storage materials, then organize the family photo archive and safely display it for all to see.

* Photo preservation and display techniques appeal to both genealogist and non-genealogist alike
* The book provides instruction through the use of beautiful sample photos

About the Author
Maureen Taylor is the author of Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs. She is a regular contributor to Family Tree Magazine and is a former picture research coordinator and photo curator. She is a frequent lecturer at genealogical conferences and workshops across the country on the subject of photograph identification, organization and preservation. She lives in Westwood, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Betterway Books (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558705791
• ISBN-13: 978-1558705791
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #524,775 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for do-it-yourself photo preservation, July 22, 2002

By	Michael K. Smith (Gonzales, Louisiana) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

For me, studying old photos is one of the more fascinating aspects of family research, even when I'm not related to any of the people whose faces appear. The military uniforms, hats, parlor furniture, automobiles, urban scenes, and especially the faces and their expressions, are like a kind of time travel, allowing you to peer back into someone's past. Taylor's previous book, _Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs,_ investigated that process. But how to protect the photos you already have tucked away in albums have so future family members will get the same pleasure (and information) from them? And how to rehabilitate those you discover to whom the years and the elements have not been kind? This time, the author outlines the steps you can take to see that your photographs have the best chance of survival and describes the methods conservators and restoration experts follow when the task becomes too much for you. She also guides you through the process of creating a meaningful scrapbook of archival quality, discusses the use of computer enhancement and electronic archives, and points out the legal aspects of posting photographs on a web site. Most of the chapters end with checklists and answers to frequently-asked questions, and there are many sidebars and brief marginal comments regarding further reading and useful Internet resources on the subject. Keeping in mind that the technical aspects of photographic restoration and preservation continue to evolve rapidly, this is an excellent beginner's guide and reference handbook.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Information Vague and Contradictory, May 1, 2004

By	cursedtongue (Chandler, AZ) - See all my reviews

Taylor may give readers a good place to start in their efforts to preserve family photographs, but offers information that is both contradictory and vague.

She gives a basic explanation of the "enemies" your photographs are facing, even breaking down information on particular types of photographs, tintypes, Polaroids, etc. But does not bother defining some basic terms in the glossary such as lignin. Nor are many of her suggestions for which supplies are appropriate specific enough. Eg., what kind of brush should I use to clean photos? I know that Nylon brushes are probably not soft enough for treasured photos. Even worse she says polyethylene is a bad material to store your photos in, but a few pages later suggests using polyethylene freezer bags for freezer storage of items.

Taylor includes lengthy lists of resources for, and more information on preservation. But some of the web addresses she lists no longer exist.

While she has some good suggestions for long-term storage of photo collections, I would not recommend this book to anyone trying to learn about photographic preservation.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The lyrics of the song are wrong., July 7, 2001

By	Mark Howells (Puyallup, Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mama won't take your Kodachrome away, it is time and the elements which are attacking your treasured family photographs. Your Polaroid snapshots are fading as you read this. Those "magnetic" photo albums with the adhesive pages are gassing your family pictures to crumbs. Your digital images may not be viewable by your great grandchildren. But don't give up hope - take action. Maureen Taylor's "Preserving Your Family Photographs" tells you how to take charge and protect your family's photographic history. "Preserving Your Family Photographs" shows you how taking some simple steps now will slow down the aging process of your photographs. And its doesn't require a chemistry set. The book further discusses how and when to choose a professional conservator, concerns about digital photography, how to organize your collection, and even how to safely place your treasures in a scrapbook. This book takes up where "Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs" leaves off. After you've identified your family photographs, "Preserving Your Family Photographs" tells you how to keep them for generations to come.