Best Way of Storing Old Negatives

[robert_parker]

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Hi Everyone

 

I've just obtained a collection of 14 B+W 10x8 negatives, attributed Norman Parkinson in a shoot for a 1944 magazine.

 

From the competition from other bidders and an apparent attempt by one collector to buy all of the negatives on offer, I suspect that the provenance may be genuine () but I now have the problem of safely storing the 14 10x8 negatives.

 

Currently they are in a thin translucent paper cover typical of the time and held inside a plastic filing wallet, where they've probably been for some years.

 

The last time I found any negatives they were in my Dad's shed , so I have no realistic idea of how to store them safely.

 

(I've also posted this in the Collectors and Historica section, in case there is a different perspective there).

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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[erl]

Congratulations Robert on your acquisition. My experience, spanning nearly the same period of your films, is that moisture is a prime enemy. Chose a containing material and environment that excludes moisture from ingress into the film sleeve combo. I have had a number of traumatic experiences of re-washing film to remove paper sleeving that stuck to the film from some of my old negatives. Keep them cool and dark. Store them flat and make good quality contact prints of them as backup.

 

I am no expert, but some will shortly chime in with better advice than mine. Hede them.

[robert_parker]

Congratulations Robert on your acquisition. My experience, spanning nearly the same period of your films, is that moisture is a prime enemy. Chose a containing material and environment that excludes moisture from ingress into the film sleeve combo. I have had a number of traumatic experiences of re-washing film to remove paper sleeving that stuck to the film from some of my old negatives. Keep them cool and dark. Store them flat and make good quality contact prints of them as backup.

 

I am no expert, but some will shortly chime in with better advice than mine. Hede them.

 

John

 

That sounds like very valuable and helpful advice to me !

[pico]

Preservation Equipment

 

...but I shoot large format and just store the negatives between the sheets of paper in which they are packaged.

[Michael Hiles]

Hi Robert,

 

There is a company called Printfile at Print File | Archival Supplies | Photo Storage Products. They make archival plastic filing systems. I use their 35mm pages, but they also have pages for 8x10.

[CalArts 99]

I used to work both here: North America's Largest Collection of Fine Art Photographs | Center for Creative Photography and also here: Photo Collection Overview | Los Angeles Public Library

 

I can pass on what we did as a suggestion. First considerations were accessibility. If you plan to access the negatives often, then it's easiest to place the negatives between interleaving paper and in a lignin-free box (with a pH of 8-10) made without adhesives. For storing them away, you're best off with seamless envelopes (no adhesives and seams that can leave a mark on the negative when pressure is applied from stacking.) These are usually four flaps and keep the negatives safe; here's an example: Gaylord Archival 4-Flap Negative Envelopes

 

I wouldn't use plastics (e.g., polyester) with negatives since unlike prints they don't need to be viewed. Paper is really the better choice.

 

Interleaving paper (Archival Interleaving Paper | Gaylord) and proper storage boxes (Gaylord DuraCoat Archival Oversize Print Boxes) will be fine. Or use the seamless four flap envelopes. The current wisdom is that B+W photographs are okay in either buffered or unbuffered enclosures although buffered does help with migrant acidity. However, certain materials (e.g., dye transfer and cyanotypes) should be in unbuffered enclosures. Polyester is of course inert in that respect.

 

One big issue to be aware of with negatives from that period is the 'vinegar syndrome.' Cellulose triacetate was introduced in the1940s (aka "safety film.") As the acetate base starts to degrade with any heat and humidity, it releases acetic acid. The smell is vinegar-like hence the name. It's really a huge problem as it migrates to other acetate films and slowly destroys them, too. It's a truly insidious process. Over time the negative will start to develop a bubble, then more bubbles, then deep channels, and then becomes brittle and buckles. It basically devours itself.

 

There are acid degradation strips that institutions use to monitor this problem and also molecular sieves used as a deterrent that can help mitigate the issue (https://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/resources/newsletter-archive/v12/vinegar-syndrome) (KODAK: Molecular Sieves and the Prevention of the "Vinegar Syndrome")

 

But sometimes it's discovered too late especially in large collections stored in various rooms, etc.. We had to toss boxes of valuable negatives that developed this issue. That's also part of why many institutions are digitizing negatives and/or copy them over onto modern film stock (since the cost of temperature controlled environments can be very costly.)

 

The only way to keep it from happening is to store the negatives properly (with the materials I mentioned) and to keep them in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. Some of the negatives we lost (in the LAPL archives) were early Ansel Adams negatives of Los Angeles.

 

Acetate based films will normally say "safety film" on the edge (for the Kodak mfg film.) Here's a general overview that might be helpful: Preserving Your Collection of Film-Based Photographic Negatives

[pgk]

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Since you are in the UK you could contact Secol (Secol Polyester Based Archival and Conservation Systems for Museums, Collectors and Photographers) who specialise in producing inert, archival polyester sleeving and supply it to museums and the like for long term storage systems. They are based in Norfolk and easy to deal with. You will still need to store the sleeved negatives in a dry, cool, dark place which sounds easy enough but can be awkward in practice if you are talking of long term storage.

[sabears]

Hello Robert,

see here:

 

http://eap.bl.uk/downloads/guidelines_film.pdf

http://www.cdncouncilarchives.ca/RBch6_en.pdf

http://motion.kodak.com/motion/uploadedFiles/US_plugins_acrobat_en_motion_newsletters_filmEss_12_Storage_and_Handling.pdf

http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/14-08.pdf

http://vitaleartconservation.com/PDF/history_preservation_storage_of_cellulose_nitrate_film_v26.pdf

 

Compliment for your purchase and...Enjoy the reading!

[250swb]

If mine I would buy new 8x10 negative envelopes and also a new folder, just to make sure you reduce the risk of any fungus that is just waiting for a new environment to start growing in. Then just keep them in a dark and dry place. You can scan them yourself if you have an Epson V700, although you may have to battle with newton rings. Or you could contact print them using printing out paper and a contact printing frame, you'd only need sunlight for the exposure.

 

Steve

[joeswe]

First, identify the film base material properly. If its nitrate film (nitrocellulose), which is quite likely when the material is from the 1940s (I have seen nitrate film in German manufactured still film from as late as the 1950s), make sure you understand how to handle and store these materials properly as they can present a fire hazard through self-ignition. Even with the fire problem put aside, when stored in wrong conditions (and wrong can mean "perfectly normal temperatures and humidity"), these materials can and will decompose and the resulting gasses may damage other negatives nearby.

I personally would not like to have any of this stuff in my archive (or in my house for that matter). Now you can call me a pussy.

[gyoung]

Since you are in the UK you could contact Secol (Secol Polyester Based Archival and Conservation Systems for Museums, Collectors and Photographers) who specialise in producing inert, archival polyester sleeving and supply it to museums and the like for long term storage systems. They are based in Norfolk and easy to deal with. You will still need to store the sleeved negatives in a dry, cool, dark place which sounds easy enough but can be awkward in practice if you are talking of long term storage.

 

I use Secol stuff for a Local History Society collection, 6,000 plus photos and several hundred negs. They are good to deal with.

 

Gerry

[pgk]

If its nitrate film (nitrocellulose), ..... make sure you understand how to handle and store these materials properly as they can present a fire hazard through self-ignition.

If it is (though hopefully it isn't) then try reading through the following:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrocellulose

 

And for advice I'd think about the expertise here and perhaps contact them:

 

Care of the collections | British Film Institute

 

I've personally seen nitrate film base ignited - its pretty impressive:eek:.

[robert_parker]

A wealth of experience and information, in just a couple of days.

 

A classic example of what the forum is all about

 

Thanks to everyone for their help and sharing their knowledge and experience so generously.

 

Ps.. If they are nitrate negatives I'll keep you informed of the consequences...

[wda]

Robert, sorry I am a bit late, but another recommendation for SECOL Secol Polyester Based Archival and Conservation Systems for Museums, Collectors and Photographers I used their products for many years. You will not find better quality for your archival purpose.

[robert_parker]

Thanks David - I'm very tempted by paper / envelope archiving but I like the idea of being able to see the negative without taking it out of it's storage - I may well give them a call, even if I go over to paper later.

 

Interestingly when I got the negatives, they were all stored together in what was probably an original single translucent paper envelope, in what might be an archival plastic folder...

[erl]

Robert, considering how long the negs have been stored in there present manner and considering how long you may reasonably be keeping them, I would opt for personal convenience coupled with 'proper' care. PrintFile neg sleeves and bags, IMO, serve that function well and do give total transparent viewing. In fact I contact print all my negs while still in those sleeves. I believe their protection to be pretty good coupled with practicality.

[robert_parker]

Robert, considering how long the negs have been stored in there present manner and considering how long you may reasonably be keeping them, I would opt for personal convenience coupled with 'proper' care. PrintFile neg sleeves and bags, IMO, serve that function well and do give total transparent viewing. In fact I contact print all my negs while still in those sleeves. I believe their protection to be pretty good coupled with practicality.

 

Thanks John

[roydonian]

First, identify the film base material properly. If its nitrate film (nitrocellulose), which is quite likely when the material is from the 1940s ...

So how in practice does the layman "identify the film base material properly"? I have my late father's 35mm negative file of pics taken from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. Given the level of immediate post-war austerity in the UK, some of the film could have been war-surplus stock.

 

Best regards,

 

Doug

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[sabears]

So how in practice does the layman "identify the film base material properly"? I have my late father's 35mm negative file of pics taken from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. Given the level of immediate post-war austerity in the UK, some of the film could have been war-surplus stock.

 

Best regards,

 

Doug

 

Smell it ! They emit a noxious odor ( a mix of nitric acid ester, difficult to describe...).

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