Good advice, John.  Whenever I get in a situation where I'm working on
irreplaceable items, I call in the experts.

However, if put on the spot, my advice would be to slightly moisten the
emulsion side by spraying distilled water out of a trigger spray bottle,
letting them sit for a few minutes for the emulsion to soften (if it's
old, it has gotten brittle) and them reshape them in a dry mount press.
You may be able to gain access to a dry mount press at a local college
or such (they tend to be real pricey).

Just pressure doesn't really do the job.

Karl Wolz

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
Behalf Of
> John Rodgers
> Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 5:34 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: ?Flattening Glossy Photos? - Absolutely NO Van Content.
>
> George Goff wrote:
>
> >I would like to beg the indulgence of all and the help of any
resident
> >photographers on the List.
> >
> >My Sweetheart has been sorting through the wartime (WW II) photos of
her
> >father.  The ones which were in an album are amazingly fresh looking,
but the
> >dozens of glossy, black and white snapshots which were stored in
boxes have
> curled
> >severely.  Is there a good and proper way to flatten them?  I've
weighted
> >some of them with volumes of the Britannica, but after a couple of
weeks they
> >have not flattened very much.
> >
> >Also, is glassine of mylar the better envelope material for long tern
photo
> >storage?
> >
> >Thanks one and all,
> >George
> >
> >
> >
> >
> George,
>
> Check with a GOOD photo shop or a professional photographer. Also
check
> with your local or otherwise museum. Most museums have either on their
> staff or are connected to professional restorers. They will have
> information you can use.
>
> Regards,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver