ian_g

hey hon. about the photo - what could help is refixing the image. when photo paper is developed it goes through four steps:

- developer, which activates the silver halide in the paper

- stop, which stops the action of the developer

- fix, which "fixes" the action of the developer

and a water wash which removes all the chemicals.

the image probably wasn't fixed long enough back in the day. if you go to any custom professional lab they *may* be about do it for you, but very few labs do that sort of hand printing these days. your best bet is to go to a photo supply store and ask them to sell you some fix. get the liquid kind, as it's the easiest to mix, and follow the directions about the right dilusion for paper.

throw the print in there for at least 5 minutes, but keeping it in there for 10 isn't a bad idea - just follow the directions on the bottle and add a couple minutes for good measure. then rinse the photo off for a good 10 minutes, 15 if you can. make sure the water is clean and constantly running, don't just sit it in a container of standing water, you know?

hang to dry if possible to avoid any water marks.

that *should* help. you might also want to scan the image just so you have a digital copy as it is now in case the silver continues to rub off. there are people out there (like me!) who can restore the digital image for you as well.