PROCEDURES, WARNINGS, AND TIPS FOR END PROCESSOR
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DIGITAL IMAGING
"DRS" (digital repository service) is marked in pencil on folder labels by Mary Haegert and her staff when items are digitized.
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Anchor Photographic Photographic
PHOTOGRAPHS AND PHOTOGRAPHIC TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS
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Many early photographic techniques require special handling. Consult Conservation, who may suggest alerting the Photo Conservator at Weissman Preservation Center for assistance and advice. These are marked below, that will always need assistance, but also ask Conservation if there is any uncertainty about any particular photograph or technique.
PHOTOGRAPHS *Consult Houghton Conservation with any questions. Weissman Center photo conservator can assist or advise.
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PHOTOGRAPHS : upright storage
We put photographs into photosleeves only if the processing level is 2 or above, or if there is some special concern. They can be stored upright if in good condition, or flat according to the needs of the rest of the collection. If they are moderately curled, putting them in many folders in a flat box may help keep them from curling more. If badly curled and in need of flattening, consult Preservation staff. If badly curled, single or in a block, storing flat with no weight is best. If a photograph is a bit taller than the front of portion of an upright folder and doesn't fit in a photosleeve, we make an inner folder out of mylar, just slightly smaller than the outer folder. The inner folder can be the same height as the folder it is in. We try to make such folders uniform in size within a box, rather than have a lot of custom-sized inner folders of all different heights, even if it means that the photograph will sometimes be shorter than the inner folder.
PHOTOGRAPHIC TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS
AMBROTYPES *see: daguerreotypes
DAGUERREOTYPES *Consult Houghton Conservation (Weissman Center wants to examine all new material or problems)
Daguerreotypes can be stored upright only if: (a) the original box is in good condition, i.e. hinges in good working order, cover not loose and (b) it is in an enclosure that has been custom padded-out for protection. Otherwise, they can be stored flat, also in a padded-out box, and it does not matter whether they are stored with the image facing up or down, even though salts or degradation products from the glass from falling on top of the image can cause damage if they are facing up. In most cases, however, it is preferable to have the image face up, so the reader can see it without having to open it and then close, flip over, and open again.
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X-RAYS
X-rays are treated like negatives. It is best to store negatives in paper that does not have a watermark. Thus far, the only paper we have is phototex. If we need to use stiffer paper on a rare occasion, we use white acid-free folder stock. Since phototex is such a thin tissue, we often make a 3-flap folder which is the same length as the longest dimension of the enclosure.
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CLIPPINGS
For levels 2 and 3 processing clippings might need to be unfolded and interleaved, especially if they are already turning brown and offsetting onto adjacent material. Use the slightly trimmed (shorter) larger sheets of permalife (8.5x14") that the end processor can provide. Or if an inner folder is required, use the next size larger permalife (11x17"), folded in half, to separate clippings from other material. Note that Permadur paper is an older equivalent to permalife, and is ok to use/use up. Both these papers have a watermark, however, which is suspected of possibly offsetting onto early manuscripts. So for those the end processor may use a paper with no watermark, selected by the Weissman Center.
Anchor Realia Realia
REALIA
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DEATH/LIFE MASKS : originals or casts of face and other parts of body
Whether plaster or metal, these are all to be stored in the VAULT together, usually in a "hat" box, padded with volara or acid-free tissue, and with tissue as a "base" for the hollow area. Consult Conservation for difficult pieces. Metal should be stored in unbuffered boxes if possible. If not possible, surrounded with tissue. See also: plaster.
FLAG
(Housing Solution for a flag).
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MIRRORS
Can be housed in unbuffered tissue: the same kind used for textiles. WPC says that buffered tissue would have calcium in it that could be abrasive to mirror. The Harvard Theatre Collection has some mirrors with elaborate metal frames. If intricate or problematic, it would be best to consult Preservation for advice on what materials to use for housing.
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Many spiral notebooks will fit in the largest size of prefab. This will protect the materials that lay both underneath and on top of it from being dented by the metal or plastic. The largest pre-fabs are slightly shorter then the ms. boxes, but not too short to be used inside the box as if it were another ms. folder. However the width must be trimmed about 1/8 of an inch in order to be able to close the box. It might be best to use a metal ruler and olfa cutter to save wear on the paper cutter on the work table. Try to cut as close to the inner folder as you safely can. If you are using clam-shell boxes you won't have to trim the pre-fabs--but you will if you are using some of the older boxes, as most are slightly smaller inside.
The green paper cutter is not strong enough or large enough for cutting thick board like this. Always trim the pre-fab empty of contents, or you could end up cutting off the edge of a manuscript.
If stored upright, spine should be facing down, and be sure to accurately crease the bottom of the folder it is in. If this seems to present problems to rest of material, make a stiffer folder for it, or consider whether it could be stored with the spine up instead. If stored flat, you may have have it on top of the pile with a label "keep on top", unless it does not seem like it will damage other material or be damaged. One could pad out the area of the protruding spiral with board, but it is very time-consuming and materials are costly to do this routinely for large collections.
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Manuscript Media (metals, paint, powder-based, plaster, textiles, etc.)
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METALS : artifacts
Such as handcuffs, swords, etc. (see: bMS Am 2373) have been housed in unbuffered 6-pack microfilm boxes from metal edge. A cushion or ring base can be formed out of the UT30500R Acid-free unbuffered tissue from Gaylord's. Buffered boxes can also be used as long as it is lined with acid-free unbuffered tissue. Consult Preservation if any unusual concerns about condition, etc. Metal objects are best stored in unbuffered boxes, but we don't keep a stock of these, so alternately, they can be wrapped in unbuffered materials to make corrosion less active, like tissue. Sometimes a ziplock bag might be acceptable, though bags in general are less desirable than folders/boxes that don't require pulling the item in and out. For objects, it is sometimes alright to do so. Here is an informative website to browse.
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