Open Forum

Hello,

We received a donation of approximately 1,400 film negatives and we are rehousing them in archival negative sleeves. 

The negatives were given to us in metal and wood boxes, which belonged to the artist. One of the boxes looks like a metal ammunition box and has rust on it. The wood box has a label that reads "NegaFile." There is a cardboard "Kodak PhotoFile" box in poor condition.

I'm wondering if we need to keep these storage boxes once the negatives are rehoused. Do you think that the artist's original storage containers have significant value? 

Thanks,

Kristen

------------------------------
Kristen Evangelista
Gallery Director
University Galleries, William Paterson University
Wayne NJ
------------------------------

Hello Kristen,

NegaFile boxes are fairly common and sell these days for about $30. They were specifically produced for archival storage, I'm not sure if the standards of the day were up to today's archival standards. The Kodak Photo File box is also not rare nor valuable (if it's the faux woodgrain one I'm thinking of). The ammunition box may be valuable however, particularly if the photographer did any combat photography. In that case the container might be part of the story! Of course I'm such a hoarder I would never have the heart to get rid of any of them.

Also, on a side note, do you know the approximate age of the photographs. Some early film negatives were made of nitrocellulose. Nitrocellulose film not only requires specialized storage to preserve it, but it is also extremely flammable! Flexible films from the late 1800's to early 1900's were sometime made from nitrocellulose and should be handled carefully. As the film decomposes it releases nitric acid and if the film catches fire it cannot be extinguished with water.

I'm not an archivist, but unquenchable fire seems bad.

Hope this helps!

-Steven

------------------------------
Steven Prokopchak
Associate Producer
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Williamsburg VA
------------------------------

Good morning, Kristen.  I am retired from the US Army Museum system, where I was a curator and the Chief of he Collections Branch, and I continue to serve on the boards of museums here in Virginia.  I would say that if one of the purposes of your accepting the donation from the artist is to document and preserve his or her work as a photographer, then I definitely would keep the boxes.  They are as much a part of his equipment and the history of his work as the cameras and lenses, even though they may not now be the best place for preserving the negatives.  In the same manner, we collect the items that a soldier will carry, now matter how mundane.  They are all a part of his service.  If you can send me a photo of the metal box, I can let you know if it is an ammo can.  m4ski@comcast.net.

Dennis Mroczkowski

------------------------------
Dennis Mroczkowski
Board Member, Casemate Museum Foundation
Williamsburg VA
------------------------------