Displaying Old Postcards Without Causing Long-Term Damage

Why Old Postcards Are More Fragile Than They Look

A postcard that has survived a century in a shoebox is tougher than it appears, but it is still far more delicate than most collectors realise. The card stock was made from inexpensive wood pulp in many cases, which carries its own acids and turns brittle and yellow over time. The printed image sits on the surface, often in chromolithographic inks that fade the moment ultraviolet light reaches them. Add a stamp, a postmark, or a handwritten message in fountain pen ink, and you have several different materials all ageing at different speeds on a single piece of card.

None of this means you should hide your collection away in a drawer. Postcards were made to be looked at, and the pleasure of a well-displayed album or frame is a large part of why we collect. It simply means that display needs a little thought. Get it right and your postcards will still look much as they do today in another thirty years.

Start with Acid-Free Sleeves and Mounts

The single most useful purchase you will make is a supply of acid-free, archival-quality sleeves. Ordinary polypropylene wallets from a stationer will do no harm in the short term, but the cheap cardboard and paper mounts sold for scrapbooking are a different matter. They leach acid into the card and cause the familiar brown "foxing" spots that ruin value.

• Look for sleeves described as acid-free and lignin-free, ideally with a pH between 7 and 8.5.
• Polyester (often sold as Melinex or Mylar) and polyethylene are the safest clear plastics. Avoid anything with a strong plastic smell, which usually signals PVC and will eventually damage the card.
• Use acid-free card mounts or corner pockets rather than tape, glue, or pressure-sensitive stickers of any kind.
• If a postcard is already in an old album with black or highly coloured pages, consider removing it carefully and rehousing it. Those albums were often actively harmful.

Ink from a postmark or message can transfer to a sleeve over decades, so check stored cards every year or two and replace any sleeve that has become cloudy or dirty.

Keep Direct Sunlight Away from Your Display

Fading is cumulative and irreversible. A postcard does not need to sit in blazing sunshine for months to suffer; an hour of direct sun each morning for a few years is enough to bleach a blue sky or a red pillar box into a pale ghost. Ultraviolet light is the main culprit, but visible light and heat both contribute.

• Hang framed postcards on north-facing walls or in hallways where sunlight never falls directly on the glass.
• Ask for UV-filtering glass or acrylic when framing. It does not stop fading entirely, but it slows it considerably.
• Keep display cases and open shelves away from radiators, windowsills, and strong halogen or spot lighting.
• LED bulbs emit very little ultraviolet compared with older incandescent or halogen fittings, so they are a sensible upgrade for a display room.

If you must use a bright spot, position it so the beam falls across the surface at an angle rather than directly onto it. This also reduces the glare that makes an image hard to see.

Rotate What You Have on Show

Even in perfect conditions, light exposure takes its toll. The practical answer is to treat your display as a changing exhibition rather than a permanent installation. Choose a handful of favourites, enjoy them for a season, then swap them for others from the collection.

Three to six months is a reasonable rotation for anything under glass in a lit room. Keep a simple note of what went up and when, so nothing spends years on the wall by accident. Cards that are particularly valuable, or that show hand-colouring, metallic inks, or delicate embossing, are best displayed only briefly and stored in the dark the rest of the time. Rotating also has a pleasant side effect: you notice details in your collection that you had long since stopped seeing.

Handle with Care and Store the Rest Properly

The damage that happens in the hand is often worse than the damage that happens on the wall. Oils from fingers dull the surface and attract dirt, and a torn corner from an over-eager thumb is permanent.

• Hold postcards by the edges only, and wash and dry your hands before a session with the collection.
• Cotton gloves are useful for very glossy or metallic surfaces, though bare, clean hands give better feel for ordinary cards. Avoid hand cream entirely.
• Store the bulk of the collection upright in acid-free boxes, interleaved with acid-free paper, in a cool, dark, dry room. Aim for stable humidity rather than a particular figure; swings cause more harm than a steady 45 to 55 per cent.
• Keep boxes off concrete floors and away from lofts and cellars, where damp and temperature extremes do their worst.

Framing Without Regret

If you are framing a postcard, insist on archival materials throughout. The card should sit in an acid-free mount with a window slightly smaller than the card so it is held by its edges, never glued or taped down. A deep frame with a spacer keeps the glass off the surface and prevents condensation from touching the ink. On the back, seal the frame with acid-free backing board rather than ordinary hardboard, which gives off harmful vapours.

Write a small note of what the card is, where it came from, and when you acquired it, and keep it with the frame rather than on the card itself. Future owners will thank you, and your display will stay as safe as it is lovely.