Prints from (very) old negatives

[Tony C]

Hi all,
As I live in Blairland, I guess that this will be aimed more at the UK but any advice will be gratefully received!

Just over a year ago, I was given a lot of my Grandfathers personal effects which included a lot of photographs and negatives, some taken during the '20's and 30's but also include some that were taken during WW1.

I have tried locally, to get prints from these but the businesses that I spoken with, are unable to help!

The negatives are approximately 3 x 2 inches, I assume from a roll of film and in a fair(ish) condition, considering that they have been left to rattle around a tin box unprotected for between 60-90 years and don't seem to be brittle or too fragile.

I am wondering if anybody in WIXland can offer any suggestions or is it too late to be able to get fresh prints from them?

If it is possible to get fresh prints, am I able to increase the size of the image, or am I limited to the size of the negative?

TIA, Tony

[mrhenniger]

Hi Tony!

My flat bed scanner comes with a slide/negative adapter. Of course the equipment is intended to be used with 35 mm film, but it may also work with the larger negative you describe. I have a similar neg to what you describe. The shot was taken by my Grandmother during WWII. It is a Harvard flying in the distance over farm land in Southern Ontario. I'll give it a try this weekend and let you know.

Of course the whole purpose of this would be to get an electronic copy of the neg which can then be cropped and cleaned on a PC, put on a disk, and taken into the photo lab. Really it would be no different than a scan of a recently produced neg.

BTW... I am sorry to hear about your Grandfather. I assume he passed away a year ago?

Regards,

Mike

[Tony C]

Hi Tony!

My flat bed scanner comes with a slide/negative adapter. Of course the equipment is intended to be used with 35 mm film, but it may also work with the larger negative you describe. I have a similar neg to what you describe. The shot was taken by my Grandmother during WWII. It is a Harvard flying in the distance over farm land in Southern Ontario. I'll give it a try this weekend and let you know.

Of course the whole purpose of this would be to get an electronic copy of the neg which can then be cropped and cleaned on a PC, put on a disk, and taken into the photo lab. Really it would be no different than a scan of a recently produced neg.

BTW... I am sorry to hear about your Grandfather. I assume he passed away a year ago?

Regards,

Mike

Watcha Mike,
Thanks for the imput, and for your thoughts about my Grandfather. It wasn't a recent passing, he died in 1986 at the age of 97 but my Uncle was unaware of my interest in our family history until last year and fortunately did not throw the items away and I now have his campaign medals plus many other items that he used during WW1.

My Grandfather lived in Nottingham and the day before he died, he took himself into the city, by bus, as he did every Wednesday, to buy his weekly shopping and to meet his 'young' friends (all over 80!!!) for a drink!

There is one story where he had had one too many and was found, having got off the bus, in a hedge by some kids, who knew who he was, where he lived and saw him home.

His age at this time...a youthful 95.

Drink wasn't his only vice and before he retired, he smoked 100 cigarettes a day and when he retired, this was cut down to 20 a day. If he was offered a freebie, he would only take it, if it was low tar, claiming that any other strength, would kill him off early!

One of my greatest regrets, is that I never really got to speak with him him in any depth and when you consider that people of his age went from 'Horse and Cart' to 'Man on the Moon', the leap of technology they endured, must have been mind numbing at times!

Tony

[Jeffrey]

Hi Tony, I too had very similar negatives found when going through my parent's estate recently ( couple of years ago ).
thankfully though I have access to a darkroom and can print my own contact prints and enlargements. by making a cardboard frame to support the negative I was able to use an enlarger for black and white ( I am assuming they are these ) medium format negatives to make normal sized prints. it is fiddly and frustrating but immensely rewarding and now I know how to do it i have done a number for various branches of the family and friends and now charge for it because demand is becoming high enough to make it a big drain on my income earning and studying time.
btw, if you can't get them scanned using a flatbed another thing to consider if a contact print of them and then scan that at high resolution and enlarge and print. worked for me on a couple that were too brittle to put in the frame.
hope it helps and let me know if I can help any further, bear in mind though being in australia tends to limit it a bit.

[mrhenniger]

One of my greatest regrets, is that I never really got to speak with him him in any depth and when you consider that people of his age went from 'Horse and Cart' to 'Man on the Moon', the leap of technology they endured, must have been mind numbing at times!

I know exactly what you mean! I found that I didn't think of interesting and probing questions until I had matured and my grandfathers had passed away.

The Christmas break before my grandfather on my mother's side passed away I walked into the room wearing a sweatshirt with a nice RCAF P-51 across the front. My grandfather was a Navy man serving on an RCN corvette doing convoy escorts in the North Atlantic. He took one look at me wearing my airforce praising shirt and said "J___ C____!!! What are you wearing a junior services shirt for!?!?" Not having gotten along particularly well with him in my youth I replied sharply, and looking right into his eyes... "No-one ever told me what it was like to be in the Navy!" I could tell my comment hit my Grandfather like a brick. I sat down at the same table with other aunts and uncles around and joined in on the conversations while he reflected on what I said for a few minutes. Then he started talking and everyone listened. The stories he told were both interesting and chilling. Even his my aunts and uncles said he had never told them before, and I developed a whole new respect for him, as it put him as a person in a whole new light.

Grandpa liked to drink, smoke and eat (and I don't mean salads). The family wondered quietly how he had made it to 72. After the Christmas break I went back to school in Thunder Bay. Two months later while I was in mid-terms he passed away without much warning, excect that it was no surprise. I am completely thankful I had the opportunity to get a "dump" (computer programming term) of his experiences, otherwise those experiences would have been lost forever.

I guess we should always try to seek out the oppotunity to learn from generations that have already traveled the path before us.

Regards,

Mike

[Tony C]

Also remember tony if these negs, are from the turn of the century they are Silver Negs. so make sure you were cloths gloves so the oil from your skin does'nt get onto the neg. face if you don't have gloves then get a peice of clear wrap and use it on your hands when you are handling the neg.

Hope this helps you out if you have any other question please feel free to contack me off line.

Thanks for the imput Rob, I am thinking of taking a Photography course to try and improve my skills, so will ask when I find a suitable facility!

As for wearing gloves, I think that this is a little too late as most are covered in finger prints already

Thanks for your help, Tony

[Sparrow]

there are a few things you should find out. i am assuming they arent glass negs?

are they acetate or cellulose? are they silver negs?

a good photography shop should be able to process them or send them away for you (keep away from the likes of rabbit photo and those retail types)....

if you want to do it at home - get a flatbed scanner. place the neg on and leave the top OPEN. get a lamp and stand it right next to the scanner so its shines on the neg. start scanning.
this will turn the scanned picture straight into a positive. then start playing with it in photoshop

i got some old acetate and glass ones done here (in australia). cost me about $8AUD each but they are the best looking things out. I gave copies to my granddad - he loves the memories!

have fun