My grandma's old map became the best wall fix I never planned

I found a 1962 road map of Cleveland in a thrift store for 3 bucks and taped it up in my hallway just to cover a stained patch. Turns out the faded colors and fold lines actually look like art, way better than the cheap poster I had there before. Now I'm hunting for old gas station maps at estate sales, but is there a trick to flattening them without wrecking the creases?

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brookepark15d ago

Honestly, "the faded colors and fold lines actually look like art" hits so hard because I did the exact same thing with my dad's old state fair map from the 80s. I found it in a box of his junk and just pinned it up to hide a cable hole, and now people ask me where I bought it. For flattening, tbh don't fight the creases, they're the whole vibe. I put mine between two heavy books for a week with a damp towel over the top, but not touching the paper, and that softened the curling without killing the folds. If you steam it too much, the ink can bleed or the paper gets wavy like a potato chip, so go slow. Also check the thrift stores near colleges, the geography departments toss old maps all the time, that's how I scored a 1957 Ohio one for free.