Preserving Certificates

Rockford · Post by **Rockford** » Mon May 05, 2008 8:08 pm

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a wee bit of advice regarding certificates.

This morning I was given a bunch of rolled up paper by my grandmother, which she knew contained some old certificates. I took them home and have spent the afternoon gently unwrapping them. It turns out they are birth certificates for:

My great grandfather, born 1890
My great grandmother, born 1893
One of her sisters, born 1892, who died in infancy
Two of her brothers, born 1888 and 1895 respectively

The 1895 certificate is OK, apart from a few nicks. The 1888 one has the name missing - I only know who it is by the place and date of birth, but otherwise it's OK. However, those of my great grandparents are in a terrible state - both are hanging in bits, and some portions are missing, although someone has tried to repair my great grandfather's using postage stamps stuck to the back!

I've unravelled them as best I can and put them into a 'clip' photo frame to hold them flat.

I was thinking of having them framed - is this likely to be possible given the state they're in, or should I just accept that they'll crumble to dust? If anyone has any experience of having certificates saved, I'd appreciate any advice!

Best wishes

Brian

Post by **HeatherH** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:27 am

Hi Rockford,
The postage stamps may have caused some big troubles depending on how old they are. Most glues were not acid free or photo/ paper friendly and cause a lot of damage . Have you ever looked at old photos in a rellies album and seen the yellow/ brownish discolouration. Thats due to the acid in the tape they used to secure the pics in the album. As far as I know once the damage is done its done however there may be ways to halt the damage and safely store your treasures. Maybe consult an archive photo restorer ( I know there are paper certs but they come across the same problems when dealing with old piccies) With scrapbooking becoming so popular now there is a large range of acid free albums in all sizes so your local craft shop may also have some advice.
All the best,
HeatherH

Post by **paddyscar** » Tue May 06, 2008 3:46 am

Your local museum or library archivist may be of some assistance in preserving what you have.

In terms of the stamps, there may be some good money holding those documents together. Some of the old stamps could more than pay for having a professional restore the documents, so you'd be well advised not to just chuck the stamps before having them valued.

Frances

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Tue May 06, 2008 4:09 am

Hello Brian,

That’s a very nice bunch of rolled up paper.

This page spells out the basics but a google for “preserving old documents” will bring up many more.
http://www.uwm.edu/~baugrud/helpfiles/preserving.html

One thing you can be certain of is that any attempt to repair such documents will be described in 50 or 100 years as “crude and doing more harm than good”. (You hear that a lot with art restoration etc.) The truth is probably that the use of the postage stamps did some damage but ultimately saved the document. It’s when documents come apart and stay apart that bits get lost in your case the name.

The ultimate aim might be that they are placed in an environment where all the pieces are kept together and protected from further deterioration and that any repairs and subsequent handling is done to good colour copies thereof.

Alan

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Tue May 06, 2008 8:06 am

Hi Brian
I'd also maybe invest in some acid-free paper in which to store them whilst you decide what is the best course of action.

Best wishes
Lesley

Rockford · Post by **Rockford** » Tue May 06, 2008 1:21 pm

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your comments. It is indeed, as Alan put it, a very nice bunch of rolled up paper! The bonus is that my grandmother has also twice let me borrow a huge quantity of family photos - my scanner is working overtime and I'm in danger of wasting away myself! There doesn't seem to be any danger of Heather's comment about the photos being wasted by tape - they are all loose in envelopes and while a few of them are a bit battered, most are OK.

I maybe should have made it clearer about the stamps - I'm not sitting on the goldmine that Frances has suggested! What's holding the certificate together is not actually the stamps themselves, but seems to be the wee extra gummed bits you used to get around sheets of stamps. The family were obviously too short of pennies to use the full stamps!! There doesn't seem to have been much discolouration, but then again, there isn't much paper....

The certificates are interesting, but is not for their own sake they are remarkable - after all I've seen the copies on SP and I'm familiar with the content. What is priceless to me is that I have in my current possession pieces of paper, the oldest being 118 years old, which generations of my family have held.

What is also of note is that the informants don't seem to have signed any of the five certificates- the names of the informants are there, but match the handwriting of the Registrar. 4 are from one parish/district and the fifth is from one about twenty miles away. I know both of my 3xG grandfathers were literate, so it's intriguing. Every other certificate I've ever seen has a signature or an 'X'.

In terms of preserving the certificates, as a first step I'll do as suggested and ask at the local history library in Airdrie, or at the Heritage Centre in Motherwell. Ultimately the certificates belong to and will be returned to my grandmother, but if there is anything that can be done to help keep them safe for the future, I'd be happy to do what I can! It does also make me think about how my own birth and marriage certificates are stored.

Best wishes

Brian

Post by **AndrewP** » Tue May 06, 2008 2:39 pm

Rockford wrote:What is also of note is that the informants don't seem to have signed any of the five certificates- the names of the informants are there, but match the handwriting of the Registrar. 4 are from one parish/district and the fifth is from one about twenty miles away. I know both of my 3xG grandfathers were literate, so it's intriguing. Every other certificate I've ever seen has a signature or an 'X'.

Hi Brian,

These are quite probably extracts from the register, copied by the registrar. In that sense, do they look any different from the images of the originals on SP? I am guessing only the one in the register and possibly the one in the duplicate register have an original signature from the informant.

The copy (extract) that I have of my own birth certificate is a typewritten copy of the original, which was handwritten. I think the extract is from the date of the registration (1960s) rather than something obtained later.

All the best,

AndrewP

Post by **paddyscar** » Tue May 06, 2008 3:52 pm

Rockford wrote:... It does also make me think about how my own birth and marriage certificates are stored.

Best wishes

Brian

I know what you mean, Brian. I had occassion to look at my 1969 wedding certificate, and was very surprised to see that the ball-point ink(Biro) was leaching into the surrounding paper! Not all 'new' things are 'new and improved'.

Sorry to hear it's not a penny black holding the certificate together

Frances