www.thephotovault.com thephotovault.com
Donate Your Old Photos
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words.
Your Donation Does Make a Difference.
Donate Today!
Help Us Preserve History
Photographs provide essential clues to the past. Through them we have been able to study and understand much about the history of particular families, communities, businesses, and organizations, the history of specific events and broader societal trends, and history in general. When you donate your personal or family photos to us, your family history becomes a part of our greater human family's collective memory. Most of our donations come from found photos from estate sales, garage sales, attics in old houses, and not just personal collections.
Our only request is that you do not throw these treasures away.
We will preserve them and gladly add them to the vault.
About the Cause
Our ultimate mission is to preserve photographic history around the world for future generations. There is no doubt about it, the human story is essential and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words..
It is our mission to digitize and record lost, forgotten and otherwise discarded photographs for years to come. Our efforts are focused on preserving old negatives, developing old film, digitizing photos, postcards, journals and old letters, preserving and conserving them, and creating a record of the people, places, events and activities of our human race. After all, it's our story!
Facts at a Glance
Interested in learning some quick facts about old photographs?
Check out these facts and a few eye-openers.
78%
12%
10%
78% of people today feel that it is okay to throw away old photos, journals, letters, postcards and other historically significant items.
12% of people believe it is worthwhile to save some old photos, journals, letters, postcards and other historically significant items.
10% of people hold onto their old photos and ephemera but they have admitted that they will more than likely never do anything with them.
You Can Help
First and foremost, we encourage you to think about the Three P's: Preserve, Package & Pass On. Keeping the three P's in mind drastically reduces the amount of photographic memory that goes to waste each day. A variety of materials in your family records are often valuable to researchers—including family photos, journals, old travel postcards, memorabilia, and even marriage and other certificates. We work primarily with photographs, but we pass on things we cannot use or have already recorded to community archives, libraries, repositories and museums to ensure that history is preserved.
Want to Know More?
Before sending materials, please read our Legal Disclaimer below.
Please include your name and a return address with every photo or document donation you send in. If you have any information about the items, please try to include that as well. This includes names, places, dates - anything that can help us identify and categorize the items. We will send you an acknowledgment once we receive your donation. There are plans for an archive website in the future as well as a book series. You will be listed as a donor if you wish - just make sure to specify your wish and current contact information if you wish it to be included.
Note that items you send in will NOT be returned.
“With your help, we're fulfilling our historical and preservation efforts. Every photographic, paper, or financial donation makes a vast difference. With your help, we’re working every single day to preserve our collective history and share the incredible human story.”
Kytka Jezek, Historic & Photographic Preservation Chair
Assistants; Zanna Jezek and Zynnia Jezek.
Don't Throw it Away
Make a Donation Today!
Do You Want to Make a Difference?
Make a donation today by sending your images and other items to the address below. Anyone can make a difference bysending their old photos, journals, postcards, certificates, and other historically significant items to The Photo Vault. Additionally, if you like what we do and you wish to help support the project, you can also make a financial donation.
Please read the Legal Disclaimer below.
Items We Accept for Archiving
We began by accepting only photographs. Due to hundreds of requests, we now also accept and archive advertisements, automobile manuals, bank checks, baseball cards, birthday cards, book marks, brochures, calendars, cameras, cinema lobby cards, diaries, 8 & 16mm film reels, greeting cards, handwritten recipes, invitations, journals, leaflets, letters, luggage labels, magazines, manuscripts, maps, menus, movie scripts, negatives, newspapers, pamphlets, paper dolls, paper money, passports, photographs, political leaflets, postcards, posters, programs, sheet music, 35 mm slides, stock bonds, tarot cards, theater programs, tickets, timetables, trade cards, travel brochures, travel documents, valentine cards, and much more and we accept these materials in any language!
The Photo Vault
414 86th Avenue
St. Pete Beach, FL 33706
Legal Disclaimer: Please be advised that all photographic materials submitted to The Photo Vault will be deemed the property of The Photo Vault upon submission. By providing such materials to The Photo Vault, you hereby represent and warrant that you are the lawful owner of said materials and that you unconditionally transfer all rights, title, and interests in and to the materials to The Photo Vault. This transfer encompasses, without limitation, all copyrights, trade or service marks, trade names, rights of privacy, publicity, biography, moral rights, and other proprietary rights, regardless of their documented status, as currently owned by you. The Photo Vault's intended usage of these photographic materials is solely for scientific, research, and archival purposes. The Photo Vault shall possess unrestricted rights to utilize these materials in all forms of media, whether presently known or developed in the future. This includes but is not limited to, the ability to display, reproduce, lend, distribute, sell, destroy, or otherwise dispose of the materials. Please note that nothing stated herein shall obligate The Photo Vault to use or maintain the photographic materials or to return them to you. Unless expressly requested by you, The Photo Vault may acknowledge your contribution of photographic materials by publicly acknowledging you as a contributor. Furthermore, it is important to understand that the materials are anticipated to hold minimal monetary value. Consequently, The Photo Vault will not provide any documentation for tax deductions. We are not classified as a non-profit organization; however, we continue to seek your valuable assistance and deeply appreciate your support. Please be aware that, on occasion, photographs and other materials submitted may be sold to cover the operational costs associated with maintaining the website, archiving, and recording the activities of The Photo Vault.