r/ArtConservation • u/OkAd7789 • 8h ago
Advice needed for long-term storage of framed original movie posters
Lincoln, England, to give you an idea of climate.
The frames are archival-safe and taped up. The room will have a dehumidifier but temperature is beyond my control. It's a spare bedroom so when not in use I imagine it'll be heated only to mold-prevention levels. I wish I could have some input, but it is what it is.
There are 12 wooden frames, about 30"x 44", plastic glazing on all but 5 (and the glass ones have UV film inside so broken glass damaging the posters isn't a massive concern).
My first thought would be to wrap them (in 3s or 4s) tightly in bubble wrap, or some kind of plastic, but then I'm thinking is that going to trap in moisture and create a greenhouse or something? Would bedsheets/towels be better? Is a combo okay? They'll need to remain wrapped together in some fashion so if they ever need to be moved while I'm not there they'll be protected.
They've got 3 hours in a car to travel so significant temperature fluctuations. They'll be wrapped in duvets but should I transport flat with the glass ones on the top of the stack?
I won't have a choice about storing them upright against a wall or flat under a bed, unless flat is a big no-no.
I also have about 40 stored flat in archival sleeves with archival board. They're so tight they might as well be sealed, but is it a problem to wrap them up so the stack becomes a block, and easier to carry safely? Will acids from, say, cling film transfer through the mouth of the sleeve to the boards and to the paper, or am I worrying too much?
I'm about to leave them elsewhere for a year or five with someone who'll consider them not much more than an inconvenient space-hog and I want to give them a fighting chance...