Fred do an archiving.

["T. S. White" <tswrace@pacbell.net>]

Fred paper products deteriorate as you probably know.  I think you might 
contact your local librarian and get a referral to an archivist who can 
preserve the paper.  He can probably make the copies you need for 
scanning too.  I would not handle the originals with bare hands either.
-- 
        Best Regards,
        Tom