Preserving old black and white pictures

[Griff Murphey]

We left our wedding albums in a hundred degree plus garage for ten years and have had significant degradation of them... color “professional” stuff. Black and white photos seem ok. My father in law was with the 37th inf on Guadalcanal... processed film in his tent for himself and others. Some of those were fading 15/20 years ago....

[p246]

Exposure to sun light will cause photos to fade. Keep them in a dark place away from sunlight. If you want to frame and display them, replace the frame glass with one that’s resistant to UV light. Frame shops should be able to provide them.

The cameras that took those really small photos were old in the 1940s. Their sluggish shutters often overexposed the film.

Do you know what kind of camera it would have been. I think he must have hauled it around as some of the pics look like state side training and some look like they were taken in theater. I know his Division was on Saipan Okinawa and a third smaller island I can’t remember right now. He was also part of the occupation force until he mustered out in 1946.