Newspapers from Tuesday's historic election are becoming collector's items, and proper care will help keep them intact for posterity.
"The main thing to remember is that light is the enemy," said Augusta Museum of History Director Nancy Glaser.
She recommends the use of inert materials, such as commercially available Melinex or Mylar sleeves.
Preserving the newspapers chronicling Barack Obama's victory is on the minds of millions of Americans who grabbed up Wednesday's editions.
In Augusta, copies of The Augusta Chronicle sold out quickly Wednesday, prompting extra press runs to make more copies available Thursday and today.
It was the same story across the nation. The Atlanta Journal Constitution, for example, reported Thursday that it prints 267,000 copies on a typical Wednesday, but printed 417,000 copies of the election issue.
Profiteers quickly began hawking newspapers on auction sites, where copies of The New York Times were being offered for $400.
An audit of completed auctions indicated more than 1,300 election newspapers had been sold on eBay by Thursday afternoon at prices ranging from $400 to $4.95 for the same edition of the same newspaper. Most copies sold were in the $10 to $20 range.
Reach Rob Pavey at (706) 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.
HANDLE WITH CARE
Tips on storing, preserving and displaying newspapers:
- Keep newspapers in an inert sleeve of Melinex or Mylar.
- Store sleeved newspapers in an acid-free box or acid-free folder.
- Display a copy rather than the original, if possible.
- Do not hang near a heat or air-conditioning vent, radiator, fireplace or open window.
- When getting a newspaper matted, first put it in an inert sleeve then ask the framer to use Japanese tissue and water-soluble paste when mounting paper to a hinged matboard configuration.
- Use buffered, acid-free mats and ultraviolet light-resistant plexi or glass for covers.
- Direct other questions to amh@augustamuseum.org
Source: Augusta Museum of History
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