Arrangement
The Bancroft Library holdings of the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin photograph archive are arranged in four parts, as received by the library. Parts 1-3 consist of photographic negatives, and Part 4 consists of a relatively small number of photographic prints. (The vast majority of photographic prints from the archive are held by the San Francisco Public Library.)
Parts 1-3 each represent a different organizational approach employed by the newspaper when these were the current, working photographic negative files. They are roughly chronological in nature; Part 1 contains the earliest images, and Part 3 the latest. However, there is some date overlap between the parts, and the internal arrangement of each part is not necessarily chronological. The division between the parts was created by a shift in organizational scheme, and therefore different systems of codes and numbering exist for each part. A given image can only be uniquely identified and retrieved if its correct part number is recorded, in addition to applicable box, sleeve and item numbers within that part.
Part 1 and Part 1a (1915-1939)
Glass and film negatives, ca. 1915-ca. 1939, numbered individually from 1 to 50,568, as received, plus an addendum (called Part 1a) numbered in a new sequence from 1 to 4,469. Part 1 numbers were assigned by newspaper staff, presumably at the time the negatives were submitted to the office (or photograph "morgue") by staff photographers. Part 1a numbers were assigned by Bancroft Library staff in 1998 to negatives which fell, chronologically, at the end of Part 1 but which had no numbering or other organizational scheme when received by the library. This formerly un-numbered group of negatives was numbered independently of Part 1, starting again with item number 1.
In both Part 1 and Part 1a, the arrangement is loosely chronological, but most images are undated. Some dated images demonstrate that images from several years can be present in close numeric proximity or inverted order, thus indicating that the chronology is approximate, at best.
Part 1 numbers are generally item numbers, but occasionally a single number was assigned to more than one negative. In such cases, an alphabetic letter was added to the number to differentiate between the images. An image might be labeled in the format "10142" or as "10951b".
Part 1 is housed in 3,703 boxes, and Part 1a is contained in 120 boxes.
Part 2 (1938-1951)
Film negatives, ca. 1938-December 1951, arranged by subject or in chronological General Files, with each established subject area or date range having been allotted numeric codes by newspaper staff. These numeric codes range from one to six digits, and are typed on each original negative sleeve. Subject codes range from 1 to 138532, and General File chronological codes from 140000 to 141713. There can be any number of negatives within a single code number, and there are many code numbers within the range which were never used. Sleeves are filed numerically by code.
Within each subject code, negative sleeves are arranged chronologically. Subjects which were assigned filing code ranges by newspaper staff are:
| Accidents | 000001-005234 |
| Animals | 010000-013065 |
| Art, Artists, etc. | 015000-015031 |
| Aviation | 017000-017059 |
| Call Bulletin | 024000-027087 |
| Crime | 030000-030211 |
| Education | 034000-034123 |
| Fairs (Golden Gate International Exposition and others) | 039000-039025 |
| Fires | 039100-039212 |
| Holidays, Celebrations, etc. | 042000-042128 |
| Juvenile Delinquents and Child Welfare | 047000-047075 |
| Labor | 050000-050082 |
| Veterans | 055900-055905 |
| Military, War, Wartime, etc. | 056000-077940 |
| San Francisco | 080000-084560 |
| Society, Clubs, Fashions | 090000-090504 |
| Sports | 100000-137006 |
| Weather | 138000-138532 |
Many of these subjects were further subdivided. Details will be found within the container listing of this finding aid.
After the subject-based codes there are a series of code numbers (140000-141713) assigned to a "General File", which is a chronological grouping of negatives which were not assigned any established subject code.
The General File begins with several small sections of undated negatives prior to 1943, plus a small number of dated 1938 and 1939 images. Starting with January 1940, arrangement is by month, with a small range of numeric codes assigned to each month. The logic or system behind the assignment of code numbers is not evident. A single month may be covered by a range of five numbers or twenty-five numbers. Months with more negatives tend to encompass a larger range of code numbers, but the reason that one number is ceased and the next assigned is not clear.
Within each chronological General File code, an unstated subject grouping may be present which interrupts the chronological arrangement. (For example, images of a related ongoing event that were taken on various dates may all be grouped together immediately following the earliest image of that event. This related group of images might end on a date some months later than the date of the next unrelated sleeve that follows them, when the chronological filing system resumes.)
Numbering of sleeves and individual negatives in Part 2 was achieved by numeric additions to the code numbers found on the original sleeves. A single code number is usually assigned to several original sleeves, and each sleeve can contain several negatives. Library staff labeled each sleeve that was selected for detailed description with these additional numeric divisions (See Project Information: Selection). The order followed is: Code Number [decimal point] Original Sleeve Number [colon] Item Number. An example is: 138000.2:3 (identifying the third negative in the second original sleeve of code 138000.) Original sleeves in subject areas that were not selected for re-sleeving and detailed description simply have their original code numbers, with no sleeve or item numbers appended.
Part 2 is housed in 209 boxes.
Part 3 (1951-1965)
Film negatives arranged chronologically, December 1951-September 1965. No code number system was used by the newspaper, and no subject groupings are present. In order to create some consistency with Part 2 and facilitate electronic sorting within this finding aid, Bancroft Library staff have used the dates present on sleeves as code number equivalents, and they are displayed in a month-day-year (MM-DD-YY) format in accordance with the way in which dates are most frequently found on sleeves. Within the sleeves for a given day of the year, there is some evidence of chronological filing by hour, but this is not consistent, and hours often are not stated at all. Undated sleeves found filed between months were presumed to go with the following month, and were labeled MM-00-YY, to precede MM-01-YY.
Numbering of sleeves and individual negatives in Part 3 was achieved by numeric additions to the dates found on the original sleeves. Several original sleeves are usually filed for any given date, and each sleeve can contain several negatives. Library staff labeled each sleeve that was selected for detailed description (See Project Information: Selection) with these additional numeric divisions appended to the day in MM-DD-YY format. The order followed is: Date Code [decimal point] Original Sleeve Number [colon] Item Number. An example is: 05-17-56.2:3 (identifying the third negative in the second original sleeve of May 17, 1956.) Library staff wrote the date and sleeve number in pencil at the top of each original sleeve, and annotated each new sleeve with the same date and sleeve number, plus a negative number, at the upper right corner of each new archival sleeve. Items have been numbered in no particular order, as they were removed from the original sleeves. Original sleeves that were not selected for re-sleeving and detailed description are simply filed by date, with no sleeve or item numbers appended.
Part 3 is housed in 220 boxes.
Part 4 (Photographic Prints)
Photographic prints, ca. 1900-1965, grouped by format and arranged alphabetically by personal name or subject. Prints are largely boxed without folders, and are in some disarray. Strings of subject words assigned by newspaper staff are often stamped on versos, indicating intended filing order. 11x14 inch prints are arranged in 12 boxes. Prints 8x10 inches (and smaller) are arranged alphabetically in 44 cartons, and smaller photographic prints (generally from the earliest decades of the twentieth century) are arranged in eight additional cartons.
Part 4 is housed in 12 boxes and 52 cartons.
To learn more about these issues, please see the