Preservation
Don't let your collection get lost to history
Historic photography is disappearing every year. This is your chance to protect your archive with collectors who care about preservation and providing public access to key moments in history.
what we offer archive owners
We protect fragile photographs and repair damage when possible. Captions and supporting materials stay with images so their stories are preserved.
Many archives have lost their original organizational structures over time. Our team sorts, catalogs, and documents every single image so nothing gets lost.
We scan every photo and provide detailed metadata, creating a digital database that's easily searchable and tied to the physical location of the photo in our live archives.
We help make these collections accessible to collectors, researchers, and the general public — giving your archive a new real-world purpose.
how it works
- Collection review - We review photo archives in person to understand their size, condition, and historical value.
- Agreement of Services - In many cases, we trade digitization services for the physical collection itself. When digitization is not a priority for you, we can also purchase collections outright.
- Transfer - We coordinate packing and transportation to our secure facilities to be processed.
- Processing - We sort, clean, catalog, and digitize the entire archive for easier use. Photos are stored until ready for their next destination.
- Long-term preservation - The collection's digital and physical assets are re-homed or returned according to the plan we develop with the archive owner — we always aim to provide some sort of public access to the collection.
Want to help provide access to historic photography?
Historic Images can help facilitate potential donations between archive
owners and public or charitable institutions. These donations have been used to
create exhibits, support historical research, and educate students. If you’re
interested in receiving a donation, you can contact us and tell us about
your institution.
Tell us about your collection
If you've got a photo archive you'd like to preserve, we want to hear from you.