Preserve Your Past LLC is the leading photo restoration, document restoration, preservation and archiving company, serving both private and corporate clients.

Two smiling aviators stand in front of their airplane made of canvas and wood, posing for a handshake with a local mayor.

The Apollo spaceship surges into the sky, amid fire and smoke.

A few lines of faded handwriting on a worn-out Civil War Era document declaring a man has been honorably discharged from the Union Army for which he volunteered in 1862 at the age of 15.

These faded photographs and torn documents were all carefully repaired by the experts of Preserve Your Past™ restoration service, located in our neighborhood in a historic building at Broadway and 25th Street.

Some of those photos and documents were brought in to be restored by local residents and some of them were sent in from as far away as Hawaii. Many were lovingly kept in family albums, passed from one generation to the next. Others were found in dusty attics and dirty basements. However, all of them contain great personal value as well as a visual history of people, their families and the country as a whole.

PHOTO RESTORATION

Preserve Your Past™ provides the full range of photo restoration services based on highest quality traditional and digital technologies and techniques.

• Restoration of historical and vintage photographs
• Ultra high resolution scanning of photographs and art work
• Archival, large format printing and enlargements
• Digital archiving of photographs, images and documents
• Colorization and tinting of black and white photographs
• Transfer of photo images to DVD

Photo restoration is a very subjective art form when it comes to extremely damaged photos with important facial features missing. Our experience working with historical photographs and our artistic expertise allows us to successfully undertake the most difficult restoration projects.

All restored photographs and documents are printed using specially formulated inks and high quality photographic archival paper. Upon client's request, photographs can be printed on a variety of special print media including canvas or watercolor papers. Fine art giclee prints are also available on a variety of gallery quality papers.

The final print is then inspected and, if needed the image is adjusted and printed again to match the look and feel of the original undamaged photograph as close as possible.

In addition to consumer photo restoration services PreserveYour Past offers companies, museums, galleries and individual collectors an opportunity to obtain restoration, fine art reproduction and archiving services of the highest quality available in the industry.

Our technical expertise, knowledge and understanding of vintage printing and photographic processes combined with our familiarity with historical periods make each of our projects both technically and historically accurate. Our long time association with many of the historians and researchers allows us to verify, match and recreate any details of historical significance. Over the years Preserve Your Past™ has successfully restored thousands of photographs and documents of personal and historical significance. All photo restoration work is done in our studio located in the historic Flatiron district of Manhattan, using only the highest quality materials and equipment. Our clients feel safe to entrust us with their most precious photographs and family relicts.

We start with the highest quality scan of virtually any type of photo in any format including color transparencies and b&w negatives. We use a Kodak IQSMART3 scanner with an optical resolution of 5,500 dpi. For large photos or artwork, we employ a Phase One digital scan back on a Linhof Technica large format camera. The same equipment is used by museums around the world to archive their art collections.

The images are then imported into digital photo editing software for the repair work to begin. Starting with the removal of spots and scratches we work toward more difficult restoration tasks such as replication of missing sections of the photos and repair of water and mildew damaged areas. Color corrections and brightness adjustments are added in a non-destructive fashion. After all signs of damage have been eliminated the image is resized and cropped according to customer's specification and additional treatments such as colorization and text are applied.

RESTORATION and COLORIZING OF OLD B/W PHOTOGRAPH

Portrait of WWI hero, Milan Rastislav Stefanik who co-founded Checokslovakia in 1918 was restored from damaged 5x7 glass plate negative taken during the sitting for the official portrait. After the photograph was restored it was colorized, replicating the accurate colors of the historic uniform as determined by extensive research. Final image was printed on Moab Summerset Enhanced paper.

RESTORATION OF SIGNED HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPH OF GENERAL MCARTHUR AND GENERAL EISENHOWER

Particular care was given in making a presentation copy of this exceptionally rare autographed photo of World War II heroes, General McArthur and General Eisenhower.. After removing all signs of staining and filling in the missing areas, special attention was given to the reproduction of detail and color of the signatures. The bottom border's texture and color were extended around the photo to recreate the original size of the print. The final print was made on high quality fine art ink jet paper and a number of test prints were made to match the color of the duplicate to that of the original photograph. Fine art inkjet photo paper was used for the final presentation.

RESTORATION OF VINTAGE PHOTO OF NY LANDMARK

This 19th century vintage photo of the landmark Dakota building on Central Park West and 72nd street in New York City predated the arrival of automobiles and shows the Upper West Side of Manhattan at a time when most of it was occupied by small farms and plots of waste land. Restoration of this photograph started with the making of a high resolution 1200 dpi (dots per inch) scan. The detail revealed a man washing windows on the 2nd floor. Fading was reduced and chemical stains were eliminated. Finally, after the photograph was restored to new condition, a 16x20 print was made on gallery quality archival satin paper.

Click here for more samples of photo restoration

DOCUMENT RESTORATION

Restoration of books, including albums and scrapbooks, can range from minimal stabilization to more complex cover, spine and text block treatments. Using as much of the original materials as possible, combined only with use of accepted archival materials of highest quality we can apply cosmetic treatments or perform a complete rehousing of the book using custom designed covers, folders or boxes.

Prior to beginning of every restoration project, each artifact is examined and a written description of proposed treatments along with an estimated cost based on time and materials are submitted to the client. No restoration process is started until the client authorizes the proposal. Photo documentation is taken of before and after treatment and is given to the client with the final restoration report.

Full range of restoration treatments is available for all documents and paper objects including surface cleaning; non-aqueous deacidification if necessary to insure no further deterioration; mending tears and infilling areas of paper loss. Various options are available to insure the treated books, restored documents or works of art remain stable, including polyester film encapsulation as well as various folders and archival storage boxes.

• Restoration of documents printed on paper, parchment and velum
• Ronservation of books, albums and prints
• Restoration of vintage maps and charts

RESTORATION OF MAP OF LONDON

This extremely rare and valuable 17th century map of London printed for and dedicated to Sir Robert Vyner (Viner), Lord Mayor of London (1674), had suffered cuts and scratches from broken glass when the frame was damaged during shipping. After removing the map from the frame and detaching it from the mounting board the map was carefully cleaned from any traces of broken glass and deacidified to prevent further deterioration that occurs from exposure to chemicals. The tears were carefully repaired and filled in with a pH neutral compound and all signs of damage were eliminated with outmost care. After the restoration of map was completed, only those who knew the original location of the damaged spots could identify the repair. To complete the presentation, the map was placed on museum quality mounting board and covered with custom cut mat. Careful examination of this rare map of old London helped to settle one of the longest standing historical debates. It does appear that indeed no public loo existed on either side of Thames at that time. Some say that there are still too few of them today.

RESTORATION OF DOCUMENT SIGHNED BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Rescue valuable documents, photo albums and books from distress by employing our superior conservation services.The original 1887 NYPD patrolman nomination document signed by future President Theodore Roosevelt was brought to our studio in the state of high deterioration. Glued to a cardboard, it was wrinkled and yellowed with the signature of Theodore Roosevelt barely legible. Because any attempt to separate the document from the mounting board could lead to destruction and any application of cleaning solutions may react negatively with the mounting glue, digital replication and document restoration was the only option available. The document was scanned at extremely high resolution to protect the intricate detailed of the engraving and handwriting. The discoloration was removed by careful adjustment of the color balance and all details in the document were carefully retouched. The signature of Teddy Roosevelt was enhanced to make it legible once again. The final image was printed on archival mat paper to be framed and displayed.

RESTORATION OF CIVIL WAR MILLITARY DISCARGE CERTIFICATE DOCUMENT

Since it was first presented to the veteran, this Civil War anniversary military discharge certificate listing all the engagements, regiments and commanding officers under which the person served, suffered tremendous amount of damage. It contained missing parts, damage from soot, creases, tears and chemical stains from an attempt to piece the document together with masking and clear adhesive tapes. It was clear that digital restoration of document was the only option to save this challenging piece of historical significance. The document was photographed using a large format camera equipped with high resolution digital scan back and a super sharp German made Schneider flat field lens. The most intricate details were scanned using our ultra high resolution flatbed scanner. Careful retouching removed all signs of damage to the document and missing parts were replicated and filled in. The final image was printed on archival mat paper to duplicate the size, appearance and the feeling of the undamaged original document.

RESTORATION OF CIVIL WAR DOCUMENT SIGNED BY PRESIDENT LINCOLN

A Civil War US Navy Captains Commission signed by President Lincoln was sent to our studio in dire need of restoration. The document was mounted in a cheap frame with broken glass and over the years the velum on which document was printed and written became warped and infested by mold and mildew. After careful removal from the frame, the document was deacidified and cleaned to prevent any further chemical deterioration and infestation. The appearance of stains was reduced as much as possible with particular attention given to preservation of President Lincolns' signature. Following careful flattening of the restored document it was mounted on archival board with mylar corners, covered with a custom cut mat and framed in an elegant black gallery molding.

RESTORATION OF SPACE MEMORABILIA

One of the few official NASA documents that were flown to the Moon on board of Apollo 12 mission and signed by Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean. Over the years this document printed on extremely thin velum which was treated and sterilized by NASA prior to the mission launch, began to display slight warping of the surface, exhibited minor tears and showed signs of discoloration. The document was carefully cleaned and deacidfied to prevent further chemical deterioration. The tears were patched with an archival pH neutral compound and was flattened to reduce the appearance of warping.

Click here for more samples of restoration of old documents

PRESERVE YOUR PAST LLC
1123 Broadway
(corner of West 25th Street)
Studio #704
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212-255-0872
Studio hours: Weekdays: 10am-7pm
Saturdays: by appointment

FROM Brooklyn, Bronx, Qeens or New Jersey take subway or Path trains to:
   N,R - 23rd Street & Broadway station
   F,V - 23rd Street & 6th Avenue Station
   6 - 23rd Street and Park Avenue Station