Buffered Archival Tissue Instead Of Glassine Interleaving?

Greetings all,

I know there are a ton of threads on here about factors influencing the condition of albums and stamps over time. Been doing some searching and reading and it seems like environmental conditions - temp and humidity - play just as big a role, if not larger, in condition than acid content, etc. of album pages.

But I recently acquired a Big Blue Vol 1 from c.1950 in excellent shape - I wonder if the fact that it was in Southern California helps explain its better-than-average condition: nearly no toning (except where pages had come into contact with corrugated cardboard placed inside the covers to support the page block, which I've taken out). I've got a Scott International Junior from 1917 where the pages look like they were manufactured yesterday - so perhaps this is due to better production standards in the really old days, good storage conditions, or both.

I need to get some interleaving for the pages and am undecided: Scott makes glassine interleaving, but I don't know how acid-free it is (or isn't). Might I be better off with buffered archival tissue - would that counteract any acid present in the stamps, pages, and possibly hinges?

One last question - I'd like to find a way to reinforce the binder holes in the pages, but I'm wary of using those clear Avery reinforcements as I've seen adhesives and plastics age horribly. Should I steer clear of those? Have others found a useful substitute?

Thanks!

gvol21: good that you're reading up on humidity and environment. It seems that a sunny, semi-arid, climate, or desert, is best for stamps due to low humidity. One does need to avoid the summer heat, however. I live in metro Denver and would not store stamps in the attic due to heat. Lower elevation dry zones will have more bugs, like paper loving silverfish, than where I live at 6,000 feet.

(As an aside, a few of my neighbors have air conditioning. I don't as it cools down nicely at night, since I'm not in Denver itself, with all the concrete and asphalt paving that retains heat)

On the other hand, back in the 1980s, I bought a set of International albums from a now closed auction house in Portland, OR. Almost all of the pages had degrees of toning, especially on the outer edges, fortunately with little damage to the stamps. Portland is generally a high humidity area and I always suspected the owner had stored the albums in their basement.

I use old Harco cardboard filler strips made for 2 hole/post Scott International albums, which are my primary albums, and haven't experienced any toning in 30 years of usage. Don the moderator ("51 Studebaker") disagrees with any use of cardboard. I think he's right for areas with more humidity.

I've also done well with glassine interleaving and blank quadrille pages from either Scott, or Subway Stamp Shop and their GK brand. Don't know about archival tissue interleaving. I have used a few hole reinforcers, but don't quickly recall the brand. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Environmental conditions is what drives damage in paper including acidification, toning, rust, etc.

People can 'get away' with poor stewardship if the environmental conditions are very good. We often see issues after the collector passes; the collection(s) are moved into 'less than ideal' environmental condition by family members and the deterioration is not noticed over a period of time. This is why the best solution is for us to practice good stewardship as much as possible.

I recommend testing the materials you use no matter what manufacturers marketing fluff may claim. Here is simple and inexpensive testing marker
https://www.amazon.com/Lineco-Testi...17949&sr=8-3

Note: this pen leaves a mark on the paper, use only in a inconspicuous area.

Warning: testing will reveal many concerning things. Your pages and albums may well be turning acidic and not be showing any visible signs...yet. And if you test things like a binder slip cases you will find that they are all acidic and made with cheap crap cardboard. Archival practice is to NOT use cardboard boxes to store paper or documents. It makes little sense to have an archival quality page/album but then store it in a acidic cardboard box.

Paper 'breathes' 24/7/365. Paper constantly tries to normalize with the atmosphere around it, this is why a stable environment is key. Fluctuating atmospheric conditions drives paper to normalize itself quicker and more frequently. A cool, dry and stable storage environment is paramount; ideally temperatures should be held at a constant 70°F with a relative humidity held between 30% and 50%.
Don

gvol21, Southern California probably had nothing to do with it. Smog still exists there and is a contributing factor to promote acidification. That volume was just stored well, probably in a cool light-free closed-off place like a cabinet with a door.

Album pages turn brown on the edges first because of its exposure to light + heat + air (oxygen). Your stamps in the middle of the pages remain protected for a longer time since albums are closed most of the time. Remember that most of your stamps are paper, too, and have acidic elements in them. You've probably seen brown marks left on pages and interleaving from hinged stamps on pages – it's the stamps that have done this.

So, long term, you want to limit heat + light + air (oxygen) exposure for your stamps. If you're not going to use your albums for a long time, storing them in a cool place in a plastic bag will help, with a bag of dessicant like silica gel inside if it gets humid out.

I am currently re-doing my Big Blues. I am fixing the order they were in, adding blank pages where needed for overflow, adding glassine interleaving and hole reinforcers. And spacers where needed, too. The album ends in 1975 and I suspect the original pages are older than that - portions are probably 50-60 years old. BTW, Climber Steve, I got this set at a 'now closed auction house in Portland, OR', also - seemed a good place to get used sets of Big Blues. Anyway, I have found that glassine interleaves (Scott or G&K) can be found on ebay for about $100 per 1000, and you will likely need a few 1000. While doing this project, I found a small section in one album that already had glassine interleaving, and it looked significantly different than the stuff I bought. It looked quite aged - different color, different 'feel', etc, which I attribute to it being 50 years old. I suspect it started out close to what I bought. I ASSUME (and that's where I might lose a very sensitive portion of my backside) glassine interleaving by the album manufacturers is the best material to use for the purpose. But, even it will change a bit over the years.

I bought hole reinforcers at an office supply place. They are now made of plastic. The old ones that I've seen (again, in a small section of one of the albums) are paper-ish, with some kind of fiber-ish reinforcing to prevent them from tearing out as easily as the album pages. The new ones are maybe 1/4 the thickness of the old ones, and they are quite strong. I expect the paper around them would tear (leaving a giant hole in the album page) before they tear. BEWARE, they come in different sizes!!! The 1/4" inside diameter ones (I think these are the 'standard' size) BARELY fit over the round International posts, and there is ZERO wiggle room. I bought these and I have to work them down over the posts. If you like that, then great. I don't.

Interesting, thanks all. Seems like the consensus is that glassine won't necessarily be age-proof, but if I have to wait fifty years to replace it and it won't cause damage in the meantime, I'll consider that a win!

On a separate note, I wonder if there are devices kind of like a wine fridge that one could store super high-value stamps and albums in? Certainly nothing I'd need with my little ol' Big Blue Vol 1, but given the importance (and difficulty) of keeping a constant temp/humidity, I wonder if it's not such a bad idea. I live in New England where the summers are hot and humid and the winters cold and dry, and I had no idea the climate would be so taxing on stamps and album pages.

I use a small container, with holes in the lid, with a dessicant in the container, for my safe-deposit box. I change it out about once a year. I also have a desk at home with some dessicant in it. dessicant will soak up moisture out of the air, but at some point it becomes so moist that it is the source of the problem. Also, I would make doubly sure that it won't have contact with stamps - it should have it's own container and that container should be assumed to hold liquid.

I suppose you could go the 'mechanical route' and buy some kind of dehumidifying 'box'. I would not want it to change the temperature - too hot or too cold may be a problem when you take the stamps out to work on them. Water may condense on something that just came out of a cold box into moist air. I have occasionally seen de-humidifiers hooked up to a safe. It all depends on how much you want/need to spend on your stamps.

mootermutt987, thanks also for the heads up about the reinforcement labels - good to know that the standard 0.25" labels will be a tight squeeze on the International posts. I haven't come across anything with a larger diameter myself, but will likely hold out until I do, as having to force the pages up/down on the posts sounds annoying (and, as I'm working with older pages, potentially damaging if I'm not careful enough).

I doubt anyone can give you the definitive answer on aging of paper, but if you keep your album in a temperature and humidity controlled environment, it should last many decades. Also be careful about paper-eating insects. Keeping the album off the floor is esential in that regard and you can use some sticky insect traps just to be sure. I fumigate (with an airborne pesticide spray) my album room a couple times a year because I've found insects going after paper in that room a few times. Those bugs also hate citrus smells like lemon so you might add an air freshener. And there may be other ways of dealing with them, as well.

As for interleaving, my International albums (all 36 volumes of them!) got clear plastic interleaving added a few years ago. It took a long time, but every time I open one up, I'm really glad I did it. Clear interleaving made of, I think, something like acetate should last a very long time without noticeable aging. Glassine interleaving is cheaper, but it has three qualities I don't like. (1) It's not clear so whenever I turn the page I can't see both pages as I can with thy crystal clear interleaving. (2) It rustles and I find that noise tiresome. Must be my age. The clear interleaving has a slight static cling so it turns when I turn a page. So no need to even turn the interleaving page as you have to do with glassine. Plus it crinkles. Did I mention that? And (3) glassine ages badly, at least in my experience. I've come across a whole lot of aged, browned glassine interleaving over the years. So there must be some acid in it. I don't want that touching my stamps. But I've never come across any aged or faded or damaged acetate interleaving. So that's why I use it.

I got mine from Subway Stamp Shop since other sellers don't seem to carry it. By the time I was done, I realized I'd used over a package for every volume of my International album, so maybe 50 packages! At over $10 a package, you can see what a commitment I made to keeping my stamps protected and looking good. I kind of blew the stamp budget that month.

To repair torn holes in pages, I use Scott hole reinforcements. They're also made of the same clear acetate as my interleaving, so another vote for that product. I suppose ordinary round page reinforcements might work but I'm not sure about their glue. The Scott reinforcements are said to be perfectly safe for stamp albums, and I've used them for years without any problem. A problem you may find with ordinary hole reinforcements is that they're actually pretty thick. After you've done a hundred pages or so, you'll find that the hole-sides of the pages get so thick that side kind of overwhelms the other side of the pages. It's kind of odd to deal with an album like that. Clear reinforcements seem a lot thinner, but they also seem very strong. I can't even tear them.

Good luck with whatever you do.

All of the prognosticating and hand-wringing over atmospheric conditions is a bit overdone. Stamp collectors have been stamp collecting in albums since stamps first appeared. Air conditioning did not go mainstream in America until the 1950's. Just use common sense. Store things properly according to what they are but there is zero need to lock an album in a wine cooler. Nor is it a good idea to store paper in a closed plastic bag, desiccant pack or not. Moisture that does get in, and it will, will be locked in with your paper.

Note: It is a bit ironic that collectors seem to be engaging in more and more self-publishing of album pages and sourcing their own paper. As Don points out there are endless claims from manufacturers about "archival" quality but little empirical data to back those claims up. On the other hand I have handled countless very old albums that have fared just fine over the course of 50, 70 and 100 years.

I disagree with Roger.
I think that good stewardship is important and is something that should be discussed more; especially with more and more people developing their own albums. In my opinion the number of albums/pages/stamps/covers that I have seen impacted by environmental issues is exponentially larger than those that have 'faired well'.

Consider just how few articles, books, and discussions there are about the proper conservation of covers and postal history. Exactly what do you do when you get one of the countless covers that is showing signs of acidification/toning?

And here in this community we see a number of stamps/pages each week that have been environmentally damaged.

This seems to me to be more than enough reason to support and encourage threads like this one. Thanks to gvol21 for starting it.
Don

Insects, temperature, humidity, light - the list goes on! Thanks to DrewM for mentioning acetate interleaving; I'm generally not big into plastics in general and more so when it comes to potential contact with my stamp material, but perhaps these are indeed safer. As for the look of glassine vs clear interleaving, I actually do like the opacity, but to each their own! Ultimately I'm interested in what's safest for the stamps, and if buffered tissue can actually absorb acid over time, that might be reason to switch to it.

...Or not, which is where I agree with both Roger and Don. At the end of the day, for the vast majority of us this is a hobby that we spend varying degrees of time and money on. Assuming we're not in possession of a certain grill or a certain inverted plate block, the 99th percentile-level of conservation will likely not apply to us.

But to Don's point, there doesn't seem to be a good book on conservation aimed at the hobbyist/layperson who wants to understand the latest and greatest thinking on these factors without necessarily needing to go the whole nine yards. There are lots of helpful threads on this and other forums and posts written by very knowledgeable, experienced collectors. But much of it is in the realm of anecdotal evidence.

When I'm not collecting, I work at a technical university; I'm not a scientist myself, but there are lots of folks running around who might know a thing or two about some of the finer technical aspects of conservation/materials science/etc. So something I'm toying around with is perhaps starting an 'open-source' Google doc or similar where people can contribute to turn into a proto-book with footnotes, etc. Just a thought!

Lots of interesting thoughts here. Regarding glassine interleaving, I'll "gently irritate" Drew in that I like the rustling sound. Glassine interleaving that I put into my Big Blues back in the 1980s is still fine. I do agree that if not properly cared for, glassine interleaving will turn brown and brittle. That set of Big Blues bought from "the now closed auction house in Portland" had real problems with its interleaving, likely as a result of improper storage. Another problem with the set is that the owner taped in extra half pages onto full pages and even taped pages together. Needless to say, there was a good amount of staining from the tape adhesive.

For MooterMutt, the auction house was McBrides. I did a good amount of buying and selling with them into the mid-1990s. The last manager was Gary Hoecker. He's still around as an individual dealer.