Original Negative collectors. Show us your 1 of 1 negatives or transparencies.

[Scott Garner]

Ben & friends,
Super cool thread & congrats on all of your beautiful negative images!

I no longer own this original slide from Sandy Koufax's career high 18K game in April, 1962 @ Wrigley, but I do have the photo print displayed that I made from this slide.

BTW, I have a few original slides of Nolan Ryan, but so far have never taken the time to make prints of any of them...

I look forward to seeing what others have in their collections....

[milkit1]

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[ruth-gehrig]

Some real positive looking negatives out there

My sole contribution to this thread is my 1927 Yanks negative. I really need to get a print made off this to check the quality.

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by ruth-gehrig

Some real positive looking negatives out there

My sole contribution to this thread is my 1927 Yanks negative. I really need to get a print made off this to check the quality.

According to "The Acetate Negative Survey" by David G. Horvath of the University of Louisville Ekstrom Library Photographic Archives finished in February, 1987 this is a 3A notch reference negative. This is Kodak Commercial Pan negative film used 1929-1933, 1942 and 1947. It was either film #1108 or 5108 which were both discontinued. No. 5108 was discontinued in 1940. This is based on information provided by the Patent Office of Eastman Kodak and surveys of the large photographic archives in the U.S. The distance from the upper right hand corner to the first notch should be ¼" These notches were there so a person working in a darkroom would know which side was the emulsion side, the side that should face down. In the case of the image shown, I believe it is backwards and the notches would be in the upper left when printed.

Most of us would believe that all of the early negative were glass plate. Nitrate and safety film was also used this early and before. The Caulfield and Shook Collection at the University of Louisville has several hundred thousand negatives from 1925-1955. Most of them are 8x10 sheet film. The Charles L. Franck Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection contains sheet film negatives from 1915 t0 1955.

Both nitrate and acetate sheet film can degrade over time. When possible the archives will transfer the images to safety film and store the original negatives.

[mrreality68]

never collected them and never thought about it but these are pretty interesting

[SAllen2556]

Having grown up in a family with two newspaper photographers I have inherited thousands of negatives from as far back as the 1920's. Unfortunately, neither covered sports very often. I had a bunch of baseball, but I sold them in a Hunt auction. I have no clue what to do with the rest of them.

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I would add that it is possible to create a negative from a photo. There once was a thing called a "copy camera" that made 4 x 5 negatives from a photo, but as others have said, it's pretty easy to tell. The photo below is original, but the negative is not!

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Good old "Hooks Dauss" from the ones I sold.
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My dad also spent a day in 1976 with Mark Fidrych, covering him from morning 'til night. I have slides from that assignment.
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Last thing I'd add is that glass negatives can really degrade quickly - moisture is poisonous. I think this one is of a car crash - poor tree.
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