Processing the Abele Collection

Photographs and Negatives

Some parts of the collection were a hodge-podge of materials.

staff member sorting through boxed items in the collection
Fred sorted and rehoused materials according to type: timetables, photographs, postcards, slides, etc.
staff member putting photos into special envelopes to protect them
Some items - photographs and negatives, for example - needed to be housed in special evelopes. Note the use of white gloves to ensure that body oils are not transferred to the photographs.
staff member removing photos from an old, torn envelope
Photographs were removed from unsafe housing, such as this torn and brittle envelope, and placed in lignin-free envelopes and folders.
staffmember labelling a folder with the information from an old storage envelope
After the photographs were put in a lignin-free folder, the information found on the original envelope was copied onto the folder.
photos from the collection, with a descriptive list
Fortunately, Mr. Abele frequently included lists containing information about the photographs in each of the envelopes.
staff member sorting through photos and negatives from the Abele collection
As Fred went through the collection, he determined what kind of and how many lignin-free folders were needed to house the photographs and negatives properly.
a large glass-plate negative
Glass-plate negatives and other negatives were matched to photographs.
Last Updated: August 6, 2018