Let me second the idea of an old-fashioned album, a diary, or even better, a scrapbook. Digital photos and video are great for preserving images and events, but nothing can replace physical artifacts for the connection they can provide between those who create a work and those who read it--and treasure it--afterward. Scrapbooks can contain newspaper clippings, sketches, brochures, programs, notes, letters, certificates, miscellaneous artwork, buttons, and other small artifacts in addition to photographs. Craft stores carry scrapbooking supplies, though they are commercialized and devoted to photographs.

By way of suggestion, get a scrapbook whose pages are acid-free (also called archival quality). Don't use the '70s/'80s era scrapbook pages that have a sticky side and a plastic sheet that covers the sticky side. There are also acid-free adhesives available to affix items to the page without yellowing or eating through the items. There are also archival boxes available (also called Hollinger) boxes available to store albums and scrapbooks. Archival quality products can get pricey, but they are what museums, corporate and university archives, and even local history societies use to preserve their records and artifacts.

Thank you for pointing out the sensationalist content of the original poster.

As someone else mentioned the works themselves are beyond copyright, but the photographic reproductions carry the copyright of the archival institutions which hold the original works. Archives and libraries purposely protect these reproduction copyrights so (1) it becomes difficult for other people or organizations to claim to hold the original work, (2) the holding archive can charge "use fees" for publication of these photographs, and (3) the "use fees" will fund the conservation efforts of the archives. Believe me, funds for conservation will rarely come from elsewhere.

It comes down to an academic necessity of being certain where your reproduced work exists and that you receive permission to publish that work.

Note that you can quote and translate out-of-copyright original works 'til your heart's content. You can quote and translate currently copyrighted works to the amount protected by fair use; beyond that get permission from the copyright holder. For photographic reproductions of works, the holding archive or library holds the copyright and you will need to receive permission from them to publish or reproduce the image.

For more information regarding how records institutions work, consult the Society of American Archivists. International institutions include the International Council on Archives, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, and the International Records Management Trust.