Re: later looks - neg storage

["Gary Todoroff" <datamaster@humboldt1.com>]

> 
> If amassed piles of archival sleeve pages full of B&W negs, and
bazillions
> of those little white plastic boxes full of slides. Slides are easy to
> store, but what about the neg pages? Do share your experiences on this.

I posted the following paragraphs re neg storage awhile back when
discussing the advantages of European 24x30cm size paper. The technique has
really helped me with an easy to store and fairly quick to find system. I
also have been fortunate to still have most of my negs and slides from
Germany and Sweden in the 60's when I studied at the University of
Tuebingen and worked in Stockholm. They are an amazing history of my youth,
and I am constantly encouraging my three grown sons to take photos now of
wherever they live, being careful not to consider it mundane just because
they are used to it. So much of what I thought was "common" and not worth
printing back then has taken on new significance with the years. Back in
Germany three years ago, I could no longer find horse-drawn carts in the
streets and teams of oxen in the fields. But I do still have those photos
from another time.

What follows addressed neg/contact storage, however it does not address a
major issue in this thread, namely how to protect from fire, damage, etc.
Original posting follows:

Contact sheets w/ 8x10 and even 8 1/2x11 always look so *cramped*. Also,
they give you a landscape format on 6 frame negative strips, when portrait
format is ideal for filing in a three ring binder.

My solution to the size problem is to use 11x14 paper and cut 4 /12 inches
off the 14 inch length. The resulting 9 1/2 by 11 inch paper is wide enough
for 6 frame negs (portrait format) and long enough for the occasional 7th
strip when you get 37 shots on a roll. I three-hole punch the contact sheet
on the 11 inch right-hand side. Then when I open my binder, the contact
sheet is on the left and the neg sheet (7 strips of 6 frames per strip) is
aligned on the right exactly like the contacts. Once filed like this,
contacts and negs are always in order and very simple to review.

I have used this system since working in Europe with that wonderful 24x30cm
size. It has been a very simple and efficient way of filing, and I hope all
this info will benefit some LUGer out there with a pile of unsorted negs
and contacts.

Gary Todoroff