I have some old negs from early 1900's that were taken in Finland. This is large film, something like a Kodak 616 type. This neg is very thin and when I viewed it in bright indoor light looked normal but when I view it in subdued light at just the right angle it looks like a B&W neg. I can actually see the positive of the image. Has anyone seen anything like this before, really kind of strange.

Richard

-- Richard Ullakko (Ully@nwlink.com), June 04, 2002

Answers

Well, if it is from the early 1900's it would almost have to be a black and white negative. I think your thought got tangled when you wrote that sentence. If you hold almost any neg over something black and angle it so the silver reflects light back at you, you can see a semblance of a positive image. I think that is what is happening.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edb@unblinkingeye.com), June 04, 2002.

I'm just guessing here, without actually seeing these, but yeah I have seen something similar to that with old nitrate negs that have partially silvered out, giving this tarnished type look like a mirror coming in from the edges first usually. The film base can also turn an amber/yellow color...gets brittle & sometimes sticky. The age of your negs puts them in the range for nitrate roll film--which is 1890-1950, more or less. If they're valuable to you, might want to check with an archive if you can find one with a conservator on staff or an archivist at the least...I'm not one, but work in such a place as a photographer....btw, nitrate negs need to be stored cool & dry away from other photo materials--don't store them in plastic sleeves or anything that seals them up. They need to breathe... They gas off nitric acid as they age, and will eventually decay to a brownish sludge/powder so take care if you have a bunch of 'em... don't get them wet either if they've started to deteriorate--the emulsion can become water soluable...I wouldn't worry a whole lot if you just have a few, but they can be a problem in large quantities....if they look like you can still print off them, you might want to get a decent print & copy it now, if you want these for the future...there are only a couple of options for storing these negs, and the easiest is to get a good copy while you can. hope this helps and:Opinions expressed in this message may not represent the policy of my agency

-- DK Thompson (kthompson@moh.dcr.state.nc.us), June 04, 2002.

One very important thing not mentioned above is that old nitrate negatives are FLAMMABLE. Be sure and keep them in a well ventialted area. The gases they produce as they age are explosive. Contact the George Eastman House for the world's best information on old negs, nitrate films, etc. Kodak may be able to help too, they have published material on identifying old processes in the recent past.

-- Mark Sampson (MSampson45@aol.com), June 06, 2002.

Contact the frolks at the Image Preservation Institute in Rochester, NY for help with these. They are the place for these type of issues. They have a site on the web.

-- James Megargee (jmegargee@nyc.rr.com), June 06, 2002.