I have some family photos from the 1900's.

The trick, I think, is to blend the era of the photo with your decorating style.

My style is modern/transitional; my photos are matted in sepia (to enhance the photo) and framed in plain black metal frames (for my decor). What kind of decor do you have?

Well, I would take photocopies of them and display the copies, not the originals - keep the originals in an acid free photo album. I would try to find period frames for a few of the pictures and just have a few of them scattered throughout your house - on an end table next to a vase of flowers or on a book shelf or one or two smaller ones on a mantle. If the pictures are really large, you can make reduced sized copies.

Unless you have a period interior, I would not display more than a couple of the photos in each room...You could always put an album of the pictures on your coffee table.

First, cattknap is right, make copies and display those. Put your originals someplace safe.

Old-fashioned-looking frames are expensive, so I put my old photos in a group in new wood frames. I didn't think they looked odd at all in new frames. I think they were a mix of clear finish, burgandy, and black. The photos were all black and white, no sepias. Unfortunately I haven't put them back up in in my new house yet so I don't have a photo to show. In the old house they were in a study hanging over a piano, but no study and no piano in this house, so someday they will go back up on the stairway wall.

I will look for a photo from the old house if you would like to see it.

I collect period group photos, and I have them all in acid free mounts, dark wood narrow frames, and hang them all on one large wall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Caring for antique photos

Authentic old frames are readily available on eBay, often for not much a'tall. I've bought several - I have a thing for quartersawn oak and Eastlake frames - and I don't think I have ever paid more than $25. I'm cheap! :-) Sometimes I buy horribly ugly pictures for the frames. Those are usually cheap because people get distracted by the contents and don't notice the nice frame! Often they're kinda-weirdish sizes but that can be managed easily with custom mats, which are also less expensive than one might think.

If a color laser photocopy doesn't look right (sometimes it doesn't, BTDT!) a camera shop can reproduce the photo exactly. It usually costs around $10-15 for up to an 8x10, the bigger portraits cost more but it's still a very reasonable cost. With irreplaceable old photos it's often nice to have an exact copy stored with another family member in case of fire or other disaster, or at the very least have them scanned with a very fine-quality scanner and loaded onto CD so they can be reproduced. Damaged old photos can be restored to perfect condition, too.

I absolutely love stairways and hallways as galleries for this sort of thing.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

rucnmom, a cousin who has that responsibility in our family has bought a fireproof safe for pictures. She does, however, display those that she has copied in her home. I have a photocopy of some of the signers, constitution and a president, that I have incorporated, copies that I use with my relatives, since they go back that far. However, we do not display any pictures of the relatives who were cow poachers, quick draws or bank robbers. :)

Patricia - you are a hoot, woman!

Period photos will deteriorate in the light - any light...direct light is death to old photos but be aware that even indirect light will degrade your photos over time....and yes, period frames are readily available on eBay, thought nice ones can be very pricey. I love black and white photos in simple black or wood frames if you can't get the real thing.

I have some copies of family photos taken in the early 1900's framed in some very thin rosewood frames with ivory matting. The photos are only 4"x6" but I used 8" x 10" frames so there's a large amount of matting. Looks great even in a modern setting!