Archival preservation kit

Abstract

A kit for facilitating home preservation of archival articles is provided. It comprises a box constructed of material suitable for preserving archival material such as twin-walled corrugated plastic and a flexible, opaque cover sized to removably enclose the box which protects the contents from light and dust and provides an attractive archival storage container. A liner may be provided for textile articles, or various enclosures for other types of archival materials.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A kit for preserving one or more archival articles, comprising: 
 i) a box having a bottom and a lid whereby said box has open and closed configurations, said box being constructed of material suitable for preserving archival material; and    ii) a flexible, opaque cover sized and configured to removably enclose said box.    
     
     
         2 . The kit of  claim 1  wherein said flexible, opaque cover is made from a fabric.  
     
     
         3 . The kit of  claim 2  wherein said flexible, opaque cover is made from cotton.  
     
     
         4 . The kit of  claim 1  wherein said box is constructed of twin-walled corrugated plastic.  
     
     
         5 . The kit of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 iii) flexible tissues suitable for wrapping archival articles.  
 
     
     
         6 . The kit of  claim 5  wherein said flexible tissues are buffered.  
     
     
         7 . The kit of  claim 5  wherein said flexible tissues are unbuffered.  
     
     
         8 . The kit of  claim 5  further comprising: 
 iv) gloves for handling archival articles.  
 
     
     
         9 . The kit of  claim 8  further comprising: 
 v) moisture-absorbing lining material.  
 
     
     
         10 . The kit of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 v) a fabric liner sized to cover the bottom of the box and to be folded over said archival material when said archival material is placed on said fabric liner in the bottom of the box.  
 
     
     
         11 . The kit of  claim 9  further comprising: 
 vi) a desiccant.  
 
     
     
         12 . The kit of  claim 11  further comprising: 
 viii) written instructions.  
 
     
     
         13 . The kit of  claim 1  wherein said cover is provided with a releasably-securable flap.  
     
     
         14 . The kit of  claim 1  wherein said cover is removably fastened in a closed configuration by flexible ties.  
     
     
         15 . The kit of  claim 1  wherein said box is a flip-top box.  
     
     
         16 . The kit of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of enclosures adapted to separately enclose archival materials.  
     
     
         17 . The kit of  claim 16  wherein said plurality of enclosures comprise plastic envelopes.  
     
     
         18 . The kit of  claim 16  wherein said plurality of enclosures comprise buffered acid-free envelopes.  
     
     
         19 . The kit of  claim 16  wherein said plurality of enclosures comprise plastic bags.  
     
     
         20 . The kit of  claim 16  wherein said plurality of enclosures comprise buffered acid-free file folders.  
     
     
         21 . The kit of  claim 16  wherein said plurality of enclosures comprise polyethylene newspaper preservation bags.  
     
     
         22 . The kit of  claim 16  further comprising interleaving papers.  
     
     
         23 . The kit of  claim 1  wherein said box is constructed of archival fibreboard.  
     
     
         24 . The kit of  claim 1  wherein said bottom of said box has a drop front.