Back to:- archive_material
Ron Bliss Bequest:
Slide collection
The collection of
Ron Bliss’s 2”x2” slides consists of over 6000 images taken over a period ranging
from the mid 1950s to the recent 2000s. The collection includes a wide range of
subjects: caves & cavers; scenic views of the Lakes & Dales; various
holidays at home and abroad (especially
Cataloguing and
sorting the collection proved to be a difficult task. Most of the slides were
generally kept in a variety of slide-storage boxes, however over the years they
had become shuffled and generally mixed-up. Odd boxes of loose slides were
especially difficult to sort out. About half the slides were dated (mainly the
Kodak & Fuji) but unfortunately only a few were labelled with the
‘subject’. Sometimes it was possible to clearly identify the subject, however
many of the slides have had to labelled in a generic fashion as ‘caver’, ‘snow
scene’, ‘cave passage’ etc. Doubtless others will be able to clearly recognise
these slides and so the catalogue can be updated as time goes by.
There was no
ideal way to sort and classify the slides. As far as possible they have been
kept in Ron’s original slide-boxes, but compressed and matched into various
groups depending on date, subject etc. Many of the ‘below ground’ caving slides
are grouped together, but not exclusively; some are mixed in with the ‘above
ground’ shots. Inevitability there are a number of boxes which are described as
just ‘mixed’ – i.e. mixed above & below ground; mixed dates & mixed
film type! Its not ideal, but the idea is to facilitate the location of an individual
slide so it can be easily retrieved from the collection if required.
The database catalogue
Every slide has
been viewed, stored and entered on an Excel database. Slides_Database There are over 6000 entries,
and if printed out, would run to 314 pages! For each slide the data includes:
the number of the slide-storage box; the sequential slide number within that
box; the total number of slides in the box; the type of film mount (Kodak,
Agfa,
Using the database
The catalogued
can be browsed up & down without problem. The best way to search for a
slide or topic is to use the ‘Ctrl. F(ind)’
and type an entry such as ‘Ease Gill’, ‘caver’, ‘Ron’ etc. A list of matching
slides will appear to be searched. Make a note of the slide-box number and the
slide number to locate it in the storage boxes. The slides themselves have not
been numbered (the task was just too daunting), so it is good idea to keep a
note of the box number etc. (or even mark the numbers on the slide) to ensure
its return to its proper location. Try to avoid mixing the slides up!
The database
should be ‘read-only’. Please do not try to alter it. If you can identify a
person or location on the slides, then let the librarian know and she will
update the database.
The slide storage
system
The collection is
kept in the RRCPC library. The slides are stored in a variety of slide-boxes:
28 oblong boxes with 1 or 2 magazines holding 30 to 100 slides each; there
are the small ’36 slide’ type, 4 large
boxes holding 5 or 6 magazines and 118 of the small ’36-slide’ plastic boxes
from Kodak, Agfa, Fuji etc.
These, in turn,
are housed in 5 polythene containers, numbered I – V. Their contents are listed
below with a rough guide to their content:
Back to:- archive_material
Poly container I
Box 1 Few
AG scenes
Box 4
Poly container II
Box12
Poly container
III
Box 16
Scenery c.1980s
Magazine box 18 Mixed subjects
Magazine
Magazine
Poly container IV
Wood
Wood
Large black plastic
Poly container V
Small black slide
Small blue slide
Small green slide
Small orange slide
Small white slide
Small yellow slide
Back to:- archive_material
Ó RRCPC 2007