In November 2025, we announced our success in receiving an AIM Museum Fundamentals grant funded by Pilgrim Trust and The Julia Rausing Trust to address our collection of photographic prints (more information here). Read on to find out how the project is going, see some examples of photographs from the collection, and get some top tips for caring for your own photograph collection. 

Since the project started in December, the Archive team have been hard at work, repackaging photographs into conservation grade packaging to protect the photographs and promote their long-term preservation, and inventorying each photograph so that we have an accurate and searchable record of the photographs in our collection. It is a truly incredible collection featuring photographs from the 1870s to the 2000s, and it is a real joy to see the work and activities of St John Ambulance and the Order of St John brought to life visually.

Part of the project involves selecting photographs which demonstrate the work, activities, people, places, and events of St John Ambulance throughout its history for in-depth cataloguing and digitisation, ready to be shared on Collections Online later on this year in advance of the charity’s 150th anniversary next year. The vastness of the collection means that we are going to be bringing to light some photographs that have never been seen before (resulting in ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of excitement around the table when we find an exciting photograph!)

The St John Ambulance volunteers in the Archive team who are working on the project bring a range of experiences, interests, and knowledge, all of which are vital to this project. Having archive volunteers who have spent time as volunteers in the various different areas of St John Ambulance also means that additional context can be given to the photographs that we are inventorying; off-hand comments like “I remember that ambulance” or “I was in first aid competitions” turn into meaningful conversations, which in turn result in new insights and context that feed into our inventory process. I never stop feeling lucky to get to work with our charity’s volunteers and I thoroughly look forward to the volunteer days each week.

A part of the project, we held an internal Photography Conservation Workshop, led by Helen Lindsay, a collections care specialist and conservator. This was a great opportunity for us to refresh and up our knowledge on photographic handling, packaging, and care, with lots of skills for us to take away to implement when working on the photograph collection. Helen’s guidance was also relevant for us to take home and implement in our own photographic collections (as we all have, or know someone in the family who has, photographs or photograph albums at home). So, here are our top tips for caring for your own photograph collection at home!

Create the right environment

Photographs are made up of chemicals, with different types of photographs having different chemical structures, which means that all photographic prints will deteriorate over time. This deterioration is heavily influenced by environmental factors (heat, light, humidity, pollution, pests, etc.). There is no way of stopping it, but with the right environment, we can slow it down. Storing your photographs in a cool, dry, dark, environment will slow the rate of deterioration. Avoid warm or damp locations, keep an eye out for pests (flies, bugs, even your pets who might drool or nibble on a photograph of your nan!)

Group/store photographs together by format

Photographic material, where possible, should be grouped together by format (e.g. loose photographic prints, photograph albums and scrapbooks, film reels, negatives, glass plates etc.) Not only is this great for understanding what you have, but some formats can give off gases which negative affect others. Explore storage options that are free of acid and dyes; acid-free paper/card boxes are the gold standard, and avoid those plastic wallets you can use in ringbinders (you can gently wrap photographs in acid-free paper).

Handle with care

Photographs are fragile items, and over-handling, or poor handling can significantly increase their deterioration. In addition, our skin (the largest organ of the human body!) contains natural oils which can easily transfer onto photographs, and these oils can react with the photographs and attract pests. Writing on the back of photographs (especially with a pen!) can also contribute to damage, and so can using adhesives (post-it-notes, stickers, blu tack, sellotape etc).

• Don’t hold by the corners or touch the image side of a photograph
• Do handle photographs gently and preferably while wearing nitrile gloves (no, not the white cotton gloves!)
• Don’t write on photographs or put post-it notes or sticky labels on the front or back
• Do record the relevant information (who is in the photograph?, when was it taken?, who took the photograph?, what does it show?) so this information isn’t lost
• Don’t eat or drink around photographic material (take your snacky snacks elsewhere!)

Finally, I’d like to share a few more photographs from the collection to showcase some of the gems we have come across so far.

This is such an exciting project to be a part of, not only because we get the joy of seeing a wide range of photographs, but also because the end result will genuinely transform the preservation of the photographs and how we can access and share them with you all. Stay tuned for more project updates over the coming months. 

This is an AIM (Association of Independent Museums) Museum Fundamentals project. AIM Museum Fundamentals is funded by Pilgrim Trust and The Julia Rausing Trust.