Guides
Part of Displaying keepsakes without wearing them out
Memory display ideas how to mount a copy
Memory display ideas how to mount a copy: use reversible supports for the original, keep glazing off the surface, and leave a stuck original in its frame.
What to take away
- A good copy on the wall and the original in a box is the correct answer for almost every family document.
- Any mounting you do must be undoable. If it cannot be reversed, it is damage with a frame around it.
- Paper moves with humidity, so a mount has to let it expand and contract without buckling.
- Getting a piece out of an old frame is where most accidents happen. Examine before you lift anything.
Making the copy
Photograph or scan the item flat and evenly lit. Keep the whole object in frame, including its border and any printer's or studio's imprint.
Two lights at forty-five degrees on either side remove reflections from a single overhead source. If photographing rather than scanning, use a tripod, square the camera to the item, and include a ruler in one frame to record scale.
Print the display copy at the size you intend to hang. A copy printed larger than the original tends to reveal the limits of the scan rather than the qualities of the piece.
Mounting rules that apply to copies and originals alike
Preparation starts before mounting. The Canadian Conservation Institute's Storing Works on Paper note lists migration of impurities from poor-quality materials in contact with paper, naming adhesives, tapes and cardboards, as one of the most common causes of damage.
Remove items that do not belong: plastic envelopes or sheeting, newspapers, acidic wrapping papers, cardboard mats or backings, and dried adhesive tapes. These and metal fasteners like paper clips cause degradation and disfigurement.
Separate works on poor-quality paper from works on good-quality paper when they share a folder, drawer or box. This stops acids and contaminants from transferring between them.
It also flags items needing more than a standard mat: oversized works, anything fragmentary or warped, and anything with delicate pastel, charcoal, chalk or flaking paint. These need containers or mats larger or deeper than usual to keep the surface clear and hold any fragments.
Those three ideas set the mounting rules. Nothing acidic in contact, nothing permanent applied, and the surface never touching the glazing.
Mounting the display copy
- Place the copy on a clean backing board and hold it with Mylar photo corners. Because the copy is expendable, ordinary tape on its reverse is also acceptable.
- Set the mat board over the copy and hinge the mat to the backing board with archival hinging tape; do not glue the image down.
- Add the mat opening or spacers so the glazing stays off the image. UV-filtering glass or acrylic is an option, but it does not remove the need to limit light exposure.
- Close the frame, label it as a copy, and keep the original in its storage enclosure.
Getting an original out of a frame
Reframing usually starts with unframing, and that is the risky part. The Canadian Conservation Institute note on removing paper artifacts from their frames sets handling rules before any tools come out.
Carry a frame with both hands and the glass facing you, never by one edge because weak joints can fall apart, never by the wire or cord. Check first that no part is loose, since picking it up can drop the glass. Use cardboard between frames moved together, and padded blocks when one is set on the floor.
Examine before removing. Is the item loose, or has it slipped in its mat? Has the image faded? Is there flaking pigment, or is it a pastel, chalk or charcoal drawing, where vibration alone moves media? Anything in that last group is a conservator's job.
The presentation itself
Hang at eye level, away from radiators, exterior walls and direct sun. Label the back of the frame with what is inside, whether it is an original or a copy, and the date it went up. That last note is what makes a rotation possible rather than theoretical.
Our guide to displaying keepsakes without wearing them out covers the light budget behind all of this, and the plan for a photograph collection covers copying priorities.
