Old Photo Restoration
Walcott Photography Studio specializes in "Preserving Family Memories"
Each of us has a family ancestry that is deeper than we might imagine. For most families, this includes many genealogy photos and memorabilia. Recently a client found an old portrait of his great, great grandfather who served in the Civil War. Wanting to preserve this valuable keepsake, he chose to bring it to the old photo restoration specialists at Walcott Studio.
Walcott Studio is a second-generation photography business that has been involved in preserving family heirloom photos for 60 years. We utilize old skills to copy genealogy photos, documents and certificates. Images are then imported into the computer. Finally, we apply restoration techniques that Mert and Frances Walcott pioneered, along with new ones to complete the restoration. Both John and Suzanne Walcott, current owners of Walcott Studio, have been recognized regionally and internationally for their genealogy photo restoration work.
What do our awards mean to you? That all restoration work is done in-house at Walcott Studio, with the latest tools, using time-honored retouching techniques, decades of experience and careful attention to detail, to assure quality workmanship and loving care to retouch and preserve the treasured old photos that are part of your family tree.
What type of genealogy photos do people want copied and/or restored?
Family photos, grandparents' wedding photos, snapshots of family vacations, and old military photos are the most common photos we restore. When it comes to photo restoration, there are endless numbers of old photos in need of retouching or copying to preserve and share with your family and the next generations. Many people are interested in their family tree and spend a lot of time tracing their ancestry, which often turns up additional old photos in need of repair.
What are the benefits of restoring old photos?
The primary reason to restore old photos is sentimentality. Restored photos make unique gifts for family. A great Christmas gift for your sibling(s) would be a restored childhood photo. It is a also good idea to have your entire photo collection copied in order to preserve your family's visual history for the next generations and to stop the deterioration that is taking place.
Once your photos are restored, we recommend:
- They be written to archival CD or DVD for long-term storage.
- Archival, fiber-based prints made for safekeeping.
- Have negatives made of the retouched photos and important family documents.
Make Walcott Studio your Heirloom Photo Restoration specialists. We frequently work with old documents and photographic images of the media types described in our booklet Heirloom Photo Restoration, "Preserving the Priceless".
Are some of your most cherished portraits torn, discolored and fading away? Do not let your family history disappear! Your family photos are too valuable to wait any longer.
Call 920-623-3460 for a consultation. Free estimates available.
What is archival quality?
It is now possible for the average person to have prints made using archival quality photo papers and inks. The main difference between these types of prints and the standard print is longevity. Archival quality prints are rated to last from 50 to well over 100 years without showing signs of fading or color shift, while economy photos can show these defects in as little as a few weeks. According to research, the same is true of over-the-counter CD's and DVD's, vs. archival quality disks.
For those wishing to do further reading on the topic of print fading and permanence visit Wilhelm Research.
NOTE: Many people have shared horror stories about losing all their pictures. So may we suggest:
- Do not count on your hard drive for long term storage.
- Ask an electrician to install surge suppression on the service entrance to your home and business.
- Purchase a good "UPS Backup System" from Power Backup Safety or Staples. Plug ALL wires running to your computer into it.
- Back-up your photos to archival discs.
- Sign up for an economical off-site back-up service like Carbonite.
