What Would You Do With This Scrapbook?

I would take pictures of it to make sure it stays preserved longer.

 

I would take photos/scan the pages to make sure you have a record of it. I'd probably leave the album itself as is - after all it is Mum's work. If the content is interesting/meaningful then I might make a new digital version as well but I wouldn't pull apart the original.

 

I agree with the others... do not be tempted to pull it apart.
I personally would photograph or carefully scan the pages and just keep them backed up in a few different places.... send to different family members.

 

I agree as well. I would photograph it and then leave it as is What a precious thing to have!

 

I ran across some stuff of my mom's from her school years (late 40's/early 50's). They were falling apart. I mean, pick it up and pages falling out type of falling apart. I scanned them so I at least have that. Then I recycled them.

She also did scrapbooks of her wedding and my growing up years. About 18-20 years ago I moved the wedding stuff into a CM album as I was doing traditional scrapping them. Within the last 7 years I transferred my childhood albums into CM albums as well. All 3 of these albums were also falling apart. I did try to get things she had handwritten in the albums into the CM albums if I could. If I couldn't I at least copied what she wrote so it is still her words.

 

Another vote for scan or photograph it to preserve - u could also use the whole page as the basis for a big photo digi page that keeps it authentic & as one, y'know - you could note that this is your mother's handwriting etc as you've told us, maybe on a wooden background with other notebook or desk stationery items around, maybe a coffee cup & a generic ' looking back ' WA title or 'one for the scrapbooks' etc. But I wouldn't be cutting it up or anything

 

What an amazing find! I have to admit, I would be tempted to take it apart and mix it in with modern elements (just because it would be so much fun to work with), but I'm pretty sure that preserving it 'as is' is the better option -- it's a way of preserving and honouring the work that your mother did.

 

How absolutely lovely you found such a treasure! It deserves the honor of being preserved exactly as-is, which means either photographing it are scanning it. The benefits are two-fold: one, you have a digital copy and two, you can take the photographs and journaling from your digital copy and reuse them in digital pages. So you have both an exact replica as well as the individual pieces to recreate with as you wish.

 

Ditto, except I would go one step further- I would take the digital copies and have them printed in a book( Blurb, Shutterfly, etc.)

 

I think there are two other steps you should take. I would get archival page protectors and slide them on sideways. Trim them if necessary. They will help stabilize the pages and make them safer to handle. I would also contact the curator at a local museum or archives and ask them what steps to take to preserve the paper. There are things you can use that will de-acidify the old paper and ink and they can tell you how to light-protect it so it doesn't fade further. It would be well worth the investment to do both! I'm green with envy, Susan!

 

great thinking!

 

What a super cool find!!! I think I would definitely scan the pages first, then you can decide what you want to do from there. You could even take each page and slip it into a sleeve type scrapbook so you could flip pages easier and not have to worry about them ripping out of the wire binding they are in now.

 

I agree with everyone who has said photograph/scan each page but leave the originals. I think of photos my late mil had with her handwriting on the back describing who each person was in the family photo, going back to the early 1900s. I think you could also do a book with the photo of her page on one side and your story/memories on the other side. It's ideal for an 8.5x11 portrait book!

 

I agree Susan with what everyone said.. Preserve it as is.. take photos of the pages. What a treasure!

 

I would probably do all three things. Scan the pages so I can create a duplicate book as well as use in my daily digital scrapping. Then I would remove the pages and slide each one including cover into archival page protectors and store them appropriately. What a wonderful treasure! I'm just happy to have recipe cards with my Mother and MIL's handwriting on them. Maybe I should think about doing something with them.

 

I did the same thing ... moved my childhood photos from two old disintegrating scrapbooks into a CM album. I was lucky that my mom wrote on the white borders of my photos rather than on the pages ... probably b/c the pages were black. I then added my recollections using a white pen b/c I used black pages and the lick 'em stick 'em photo corners just like my original albums.

 

This might work:
https://www.pfile.com/product/k-rb-15/12x15-Scrapbook-Refills