How can I keep a newspaper from aging?
Asked by
Seek (
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November 11th, 2016
My husband grew up in Illinois, and in this house, we are Cubs fans.
Their World Series win is a bright light in an otherwise incredibly shitty year.
For Hubby’s holiday gift this year, I’ve tracked down a copy of the Chicago Tribune from the day after the win, and I want to have the three headlines about the team framed for hanging.
Will just matting and framing the pages keep the paper from deteriorating over time, or is there more I can do? I would like it to last.
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10 Answers
Keep it in a place where it won’t be exposed to direct light, because it will bleach the text. .
[1] [2] [3].
The last link recommends soaking the paper in certain chemical to keep the acid out and stop it from yellowing, but I’d go with making a photocopy, just to make sure. You do as you find the best.
I hope this helps.
You live in one of the absolute worst places in the US to keep old books and newspapers. They must be kept in a cool, de-humidified environment.
Professional picture framers have a way to treat and seal newspapers in a frame behind glass. Get a referral from one of your local museums. I did this with the front page of the NYT for Nov. 23, 1963 after watching it deteriorate for thirty years. It is now frozen in time. I also did it for my wife’s master’s degree diploma and it hasn’t aged a bit. It is well worth the money.
If you go to one of those crafty stores that have scrapbooking materials they have special containers, pages, and other products for preserving photos that should work similarly for newspapers. The paper and plastics are acid free or something? I’m not sure. Keeping the document airtight would help also I think. The scrapbooking people probably know a lot of info.
Newsprint is highly acidic. Your best bet is to make a photocopy. I used to work in an archives and even they don’t keep newsprint in their climate controlled vaults. They’d photocopy it or scan it and save it.
What you can do is photocopy that article onto a cream colored paper or parchment paper so it looks like the original newspaper when you put it in the frame.
By design, newsprint is low-costing, non-archival paper, strong enough for high-speed printing presses, but not meant for lasting documents.
If you want to keep original newspapers, other Jellies have given you great advice about protecting them from air, sunlight, and humidity. I saved some stories about the 2004 World Series in airtight boxes, away from the light, and the newspapers remain fine after 12 years. (You do know that the Cubs are the Red Sox of the N.L., don’t you?)
Photocopies are another choice, but not nearly as much fun.
BLASPHEMY.
The Red Sox WISH they were the Cubs of the American League.
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