Caring for Stamps and Postal History

by Krystyna Kościa ACR

From Ours for Keeps? A Resource for Raising Awareness of Conservation and Collection Care by the Museums and Galleries Commission, 1998, now Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. [1]

To most people a stamp means an adhesive postage stamp, a small printed, gummed label to prepay postage. Other stamps can indicate that a tax or fee has been paid.

A postal history item refers to a piece of mail with or without postage stamps, with postal markings or connected with postal services.

A stamp is built up of several layers. Its base paper is coated with adhesive (gum arabic, PVA, pressure sensitive adhesive or others) on one side and a medium (ink, pigments, dyes) on the other. On modern stamps there are also phosphorescent or fluorescent coatings.

Postal history items such as covers and envelopes are also normally made of paper, possibly with gummed areas or pressure sensitive adhesive strips (envelopes) with markings (franking, stamps etc) in ink, dye, pencil, crayon and/or with gummed paper labels or seals.

Avoiding damage

It's in your own interests to ensure your collection is safeguarded against easily avoidable damage. Damage can be caused most readily by the following:

The way items are handled
The storage and display materials used
Methods of display
The effect of the conditions to which they are subjected, e.g. relative humidity and temperature, light and dust levels.

Keep in mind that items other than mint stamps have already been subjected to adverse handling and conditions through the postal system. They need all the help they can get from you.

There are several measures you can take to protect and preserve your collection.

Careful handling

Before handling any paper items wash your hands
Handle items as little and as carefully as possible, preferably using flat-headed tweezers
Do not smoke near philatelic or postal history items
Keep all drinks well away

Storage and display materials

All materials that come into direct contact with your stamps and covers etc. should be made of archival quality materials. For album pages and mounts this means alkaline buffered paper, free of lignin and ground wood; and protectors (pockets, sleeves or envelopes for album pages etc.) of chemically inert polyester, e.g. Melinex®, Mylar™ without surface coatings or plasticizers.

Plasticizers, used to make certain plastics more flexible, can cause off-setting of colours; in particular, PVC should never be used. Albums should be stored upright, not too tight nor over-packed. Slip-cases for albums (preferably with dye-fast covers) or boxes, further protect against dust and other atmospheric pollutants. Avoid self-adhesive tapes.

Display

Guard against sunlight or bright direct light (storage in albums is a boon)
Avoid overlapping items as they will become unevenly discoloured either through light damage and/or by coming into contact with non-archival materials
Black or coloured card, often used as a background when displaying stamps, is also a risk as it is acidic and the colours can run when damp, discolouring your stamps

Environmental conditions

Atmospheric factors which affect your collection primarily involve relative humidity and temperature. Try to avoid any drastic fluctuations in either. A change in relative humidity and temperature can cause damage through the uneven expansion or contraction of an item's different layers. So aim for stability in environmental conditions. Excessive humidity can cause mould growth and gum to become sticky. Dryness can make gum become brittle. Monitor the conditions in which your collection is kept, ensuring they are stable with a good air-flow.

Location

Choose the location for your collection carefully. Avoid uninsulated attics, damp basements, over-drying central heating systems, outside walls and draughty windows.

A final word

If treatment is needed do not attempt to repair a damaged or deteriorating item yourself. If it is important enough, consult a professional paper conservator.

Krystyna Kościa ACR set up the Conservation Studio at the National Postal Museum in 1993 and has been running it since then; dealing with and advising on problems encountered both at the Museum and Archive and by collectors. Her previous experience in philatelic and postal history conservation was gained over five years, working in a London-based private paper conservation studio. She attained her MA in Paper Conservation in the Conservation Department of Warsaw’s Academy of Fine Arts in Poland. In June 1999 Krystyna moved the Conservation Studio to Freeling House, where she is Conservator & Preservation Manager to the collections of the BPMA.

Krystyna Kościa ACR
Conservator & Preservation Manager
The British Postal Museum & Archive
Freeling House
Phoenix Place
LONDON
WC1X 0DL

Conservation products suppliers

Conservation by Design
Timecare Works
5 Singer Way
Woburn Road Industrial Estate
Kempston
BEDFORD MK42 7AW
Tel: +44 (0)1234 853 555
Fax: +44 (0)1234 852 334
info@conservation-by-design.co.uk
http://www.conservation-by-design.co.uk

Conservation Resources UK Ltd
Unit 2, Ashville Way
Off Wallington Road,
Cowley,
Oxfordshire
OX4 6TU
Tel: +44 (0)1865 747 755
Fax: +44 (0)1865 747 035
Email: info@conservation-resources.co.uk

Preservation Equipment Ltd
Vinces Road
DISS
Norfolk IP22 4HQ
Tel: +44 (0)1379 647 400
Fax: +44 (0)1379 650 582
info@preservationequipment.com
http://www.preservationequipment.com

Secol Ltd
Howlett Way
Thetford
Norfolk
IP24 1HZ
Tel: +44 (0)1842 752 341
Fax: +44 (0)1842 762 159
http://www.secol.co.uk

NB: This article gives only very general advice on this topic; for your own special requirements, you may wish to seek further professional advice. The inclusion of a supplier on this page does not imply the approval or endorsement by the MLA (previously the MGC) or the BPMA of the product or service. You are therefore urged, in your own interests, to ensure that any product or service is appropriate to your needs.

[1] MLA "expertise to transfer to the Arts Council on 1 October 2011", but it appears the name, MLA, will remain - at least until the end of 2012.

[2] http://www.mla.gov.uk/about/who/staff