RE: [Leica] London travel report and famous negatives

["Frank Filippone" <red735i@earthlink.net>]

While I'm on the topic, I've heard that an American University has Ansel
Adams negatives it makes available to students to print from.


I have forgotten specifically which colllege it is, but I remember it in
Phoenix, Flagstaff or Tucson, someone else may remember,,,
It is the same place he gifted his entire set of negs to.....University of
Arizona ????

But the story goes that you must have the right credentials, right
introduction letter, and you work from what I remember as "work
negatives"..... exact copies.  The originals are available but then one more
level above this,,,,,

I think it was that you had to be a graduate student from this or another
college, in photography, with a letter written by his/her department chair.
So the requirements are real tough.  It's not like Joe Smith can walk right
up and ask to be entrusted with the master neg.  I think you also work in
THEIR darkroom, so the neg does not walk off.... ( hey buddy, wanna buy a
pictuire by Ansel Adams?  50 bucks cash..........   Can you imagine the
turmoil? )

Having said this, I have never heard of anyone actually stating they had
printed from the maestro's negs and had a print from their session..... so I
am not so sure you get to actually keep the prints or that this is common.

ANother angle on this is the National Archives where the US Government
stores their prints.  Here you have access to the actual prints that Ansel
made, maybe the negs too, under the FOI act.  Now where this place is I
don;t know.

Frank