Re: Glass Negative Help Needed - a bit OT

[gumprint@gmail.com]

Hi Clair,

I worked on the W.Bell glass plate collection for the Library of
Congress; tens of thousands of plates that had been living with pigeons
for decades. LC has proper storage down to an art.
The Library has a division devoted to conservation and preservation.  I
would suggest you contact that entity @ http://www.loc.gov/preserv/  
Also, the Prints and Photographs Division @ http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/

One more suggestion would be to contact Debbie Hess Norris, Photographic Conservator and Assistant
        Director, Art Conservation Program, University of Delaware

Good Luck!

Carole

On Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 2:48 PM, cadunn <cadunn@vt2000.com> wrote:

Hi--
I'm one of two initial members of the fledgling Fletcher Historical Society in Vermont. (town pop. c. 1000).

Residents have donated enough money to buy some 350 glass negatives all taken of our town and its people between 1899 and 1910. This is the impetus for the society. (They were just found in a barn a few months ago.)

I just came from looking at some of them, and we need to do something fairly quickly. They are each individually wrapped in paper much like newsprint -- some of it actually is newspaper.

I need help figuring out what to get to store these safely as we organize them. They are all 4 x 5. At some point I will be scanning or photographing them all for reference, but townspeople will want prints of some as the years go by.

We want to archivally preserve each in an individual manner, and then put them in archivally safe boxes according to 3 or 4 categories that seem to cover most of the images. (We haven't looked at them all as yet.)

The negative storage should be able to have an index label affixed to each so that we can key them with the writing that is currently on their wrapper, and with the index prints that will eventually be produced.

Any and all help will be very much appreciated.

I know of no other group, besides this list, where I can draw upon such a deep well of experience.

Thanks so much.

Clair