How to preserve civil war letters

I have the letters my 3rd great grandfather wrote home during the civil war and was wondering what is the best way to preserve them for future generations.

If you want to display them, I wonder how well putting them on a nice backing and sealing them inside clear epoxy would work?

Preserve them best by not "treating" the letters at all.

Obtain (or make) hard covers, larger than the unfolded letters, to provide "book covers" for the letters. Cover the insides of the covers with high quality felt. The letters should then be placed in individual protectors composed of a hard separator page, a felt liner, a fine silk resting place for the letter, the letter itself, another fine silk cover, and another felt cover. Separately protect each page of every letter and stack them inside the hard book cover.

The idea is to place as little stress upon the paper and ink as is reasonably possible, while at the same time make the letters accessible.

Additionally, the letters should be stored in temperature controlled, low humidity, low light conditions. An airtight plastic box with desiccants in the corners (remember to replace them occasionally), stored inside an air conditioned home, should be good enough.

You can also check with libraries or colleges that have historical papers for more ideas on document preservation.

I would think placing in a hard back binder and vacuum sealing while you search out someone knowledgeable about restoration/ preservation might be worth considering.

...And keep away from sunlight.

If you haven't already, photograph and transcribe each page. This will let you share them easily with others without damage to the originals. Should the originals become damaged later the substance will remain.

Thanks guys, I keep them in a Ziploc bag in my gun safe for now. I have heard about transferring them to acid free paper but have no idea how to do it. You can read most of them but some you can't. I would love to be able to share them with other people.

there are phone apps to create pdf files out there that you could use; cam scanner for android, and turbo scan for apple.

Be intriguing to read these old letters.

I haven't read all of them but I did read where a barrel of flour was 200.00 and he was telling my grandmother to sell some hogs to have enough money to buy it. He was in the 17th Ga Co. K. He was killed May 6 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness

if you want to display, a frame behind museum glass (UV protectant) would be pretty cool. Otherwise keep them dry, cool, and protected from light. And in contact with non-reactive materials whatever those may be. And I agree the first thing to do is make some copies.
Good luck and keep us posted.
JT

You can take pictures of them with your phone. Spread them out flat, a piece of glass on top will help. Glare resistant glass from a frame shop would be even better but just play with lighting until you can get good legible pictures. Save the pictures to a computer in one folder named Civil War Letters from xxxx.

I would love to have a copy of that folder when you are done. The local library of the county where those letters were sent would like a copy. The UGA Library would also probably be interested as would anyone who has done any writing about the 17th Ga Volunteer Infantry.

I have about 200 letters on Union stationary from my GGG Grandfather to his wife. I've kept them sealed in an old plastic bank envelope for the last 35 years. They look as good as they did the day my Grandmother gave them to me. I should add that I spent the better part of 6 months transcribing them so I could read and research them without handling them.

Mauser said:

I haven't read all of them but I did read where a barrel of flour was 200.00 and he was telling my grandmother to sell some hogs to have enough money to buy it. He was in the 17th Ga Co. K. He was killed May 6 1864 at the Battle of the Wilderness

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My GGG Grandfather fought there (battle of the Wilderness) for the 110th Ohio Vol's. My GGG Grandfather on my mothers side fought with a GA regiment there as well. I've walked the battlefield as well on one of my research trips.

The shame of it is that when they built I 75 in Georgia no one cared that what was battle fields are now , WALMARTS AND STRIP MALLS AT THE EXITS --- no one cares THATS OLD STUFF we will reap what we sow

The best WBTS book I ever read is a compilation of letters sent home. A guy who is a member of our SCV camp edited the book. The title is “Dear Sallie”.

You guys may want to consider something like that.

Milkman said:

The best WBTS book I ever read is a compilation of letters sent home. A guy who is a member of our SCV camp edited the book. The title is “Dear Sallie”.

You guys may want to consider something like that.

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I've already started that project. I forgot to add that I also have his diary that covers his entire service. I'm working with a professor from Wright State in Ohio to pull the book together.