Found a stack of WW2 era folded front pages at an estate sale. They were on a table when I found them, not sure how they were stored over the years. The ink has fared well, but the paper itself is pretty brittle.
I'd like to unfold the pages, preserve, and frame some of them. I considered putting them in a small area with a humidifier to help make them a bit more pliable. Is that a good idea? Any suggestions and getting some life back into the pages so I could safely unfold them?
Secondly, would like to do what I can to preserve them and protect against sunlight prior to framing. Any tips?
So first off you actually want to maintain a dry environment (35%) humidity or less for the paper. Paper in a Humid environment may actually disintegrate faster.
It's important that you try not to touch the paper with your bare hands the oil on your fingers can actually cause further break down.
Here are some great resources for saving and preserving documents.
1-http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/newspap.html
3- (On storing documents) http://www.icon.org.uk/images/stories/documentsarchives.pdf
4- (On mounting and framing) http://www.icon.org.uk/images/stories/guidelines_for_conservation_mounting.pdf
5- More on preserving and mounting http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservation/reports/nytimes_preserving.pdf
6- https://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/caringfor-prendresoindes/articles/418-eng.aspx
Hope this info helps you!!
paging /u/caffarelli