Where to keep a collection
The right location matters more than any product:
- Dry. Humidity causes mold, foxing, curling and stuck pages. A closet in the living area of a home is far better than a basement.
- Stable temperature. Attics and garages swing between hot and cold, which stresses paper and photographs.
- Dark. Sunlight fades inks and photographs and makes paper brittle. Keep albums and boxes away from windows.
- Away from outside walls, pipes and floors that can be damp or flood.
If a collection has been stored in a basement or garage, simply moving it into a dry interior closet is the single most helpful thing you can do.
Storing loose cards
Upright in boxes. Stand cards on their long edge in acid-free boxes sized for postcards, filled snugly so cards do not slump, but not so tight they crush. Long boxes with dividers, like those dealers use, work well for large collections.
Sleeves. Clear archival sleeves made of polypropylene or polyester (such as Mylar) protect individual cards from handling and dust. Avoid PVC sleeves, which can release chemicals over time; archival sleeves are usually labeled acid-free and PVC-free.
Never use rubber bands, which perish and stain, paper clips, which dent and rust, or sticky notes, which leave residue.
Storing albums
Old albums are best left as they are, with the cards in place. Store albums flat or upright on a shelf like books, not stacked under heavy objects, which cracks spines and flattens embossed cards. If an album is falling apart, keep its pages and cards together in order inside a box rather than trying to repair it with tape or glue.
If you want to rehouse cards from a damaged album for your own collection, do it carefully, and only with cards that come free easily. Never pull glued cards. If you are planning to sell, leave the album exactly as it is; a buyer can value it in place.
Handling
Handle cards by their edges with clean, dry hands. Avoid touching the surface of real photo postcards, which can be marked by skin oils. Do not eat or drink near a collection.
Dealing with problems
Mold. Fuzzy or spotted growth, often with a musty smell. Separate affected cards into a paper envelope away from the rest, keep them dry, and do not try to clean them yourself. Mention mold to anyone evaluating the collection.
Curling. Usually from humidity changes. Do not try to flatten cards with heat or weight, which can crack the surface. Storing them upright in a stable environment often helps.
Stuck cards. Cards stuck together or to album pages from damp. Leave them; forcing them apart tears the surfaces.
Pests. Silverfish and other insects eat paper and glue. Keep collections clean, dry and off the floor.
What not to do
- Do not clean cards with erasers, water or cleaning products.
- Do not trim cards to fit albums or frames.
- Do not laminate cards.
- Do not repair tears with tape.
- Do not soak off stamps.
- Do not write on cards, even in pencil.
Each of these permanently lowers a card's value.
Framing and display
If you want to display a favorite card, use a frame with UV-filtering glass and acid-free mats, hang it away from direct sunlight, and do not glue or tape the card to the backing. Use photo corners instead. Rotate displayed cards occasionally so no single card fades.
Choosing boxes and sleeves
If you are buying storage supplies, look for products described as archival, acid-free and lignin-free for boxes and dividers, and PVC-free for plastic sleeves. Postcard-size sleeves come in a few sizes; standard postcards fit the most common size, while continental-size chromes and some oversized cards need larger sleeves. For a large collection, long boxes with removable dividers let you file cards by state, town or topic, the way dealers do, and keep them upright and supported.
Labeling and organizing
Write labels on dividers, sleeves or box ends, never on the cards themselves. If you know who collected the cards, where they came from, or how they were organized, write that on a note inside the box. That information is part of a collection's story and is easily lost when it changes hands.
Insurance and records
For a valuable collection, keep photographs and a simple inventory, even just a rough count by type, somewhere separate from the collection itself. If anything ever happens to it, those records help with insurance and with remembering what you had. A formal appraisal may be appropriate for a high-value collection; see postcard appraisals.
Questions people ask
What is the best way to store old postcards?
Upright in acid-free boxes or in archival sleeves, in a dry, dark, stable place indoors.
Are plastic sleeves safe for postcards?
Archival polypropylene and polyester sleeves are. Avoid PVC.
Can I store postcards in a photo album?
Yes, if it is archival quality, with no sticky magnetic pages, which damage cards over time.
Should I take old postcards out of their original album?
Not if you plan to sell. If keeping them, only remove cards that come free easily.
Before you sell
If you are planning to sell, the storage advice is even simpler: stop any further damage by moving the collection somewhere dry, and otherwise leave everything exactly as it is. Buyers value collections as found. The selling guide explains the next steps.
Should I use cotton gloves to handle postcards? Clean, dry hands are generally fine for printed cards if you hold them by the edges. Gloves can reduce dexterity and make dropping cards more likely; for real photographs, avoid touching the image surface either way.
Sources and further reading
- Library of Congress: care, handling and storage of photographs
- Library of Congress: care, handling and storage of works on paper
Ready to sell? Compare where to sell old postcards, or see how to sell old postcards step by step.