Otis R. "Dock" Marston Papers - Calisphere

Visual and Oral Material
Coded Negatives and Transparencies
Inventory of the Otis R. "Dock"
Marston Papers
Coded Negatives and Transparencies
Scope and Content Note
This section includes both black and white and color negatives, as well as transparencies
and some coded prints. They are in steel card file drawers, arranged by the code
numbers assigned to them by Otis Marston. (There are other coded negatives, slides, and
prints in other locations, where they are filed by date, location, subject, or photographer
rather than by code.)
Marston code
The Marston code consists of three general elements: numbers representing the date of
the photo; letters serving as an abbreviation for the subject; numbers representing any of
a number of distinguishing characteristics. For example, 515 MECN 39.2 means a
negative taken in May 19 51 in Marbl e Canyo n at milepost 39, the second exposure
taken that day at that spot. Coded negatives are filed in strict chronological order by
year, then month, and finally day. When these are identical, they are filed by letter
subject code in strict alphabetical order. When these are identical, too, they are filed by
the third element in the code (see below).
In the first element of the code, the first two digits represent the year. For example, 70
indicates either 1870 or 1970, while 09, could mean either 1809 or 1909. The same years
from different centuries (eg., 1870 and 1970) have been interfiled indiscriminately.
Multiple years are filed after the last envelope of the first year. For example, 46-50 would
follow 4612, or December 1946. As in this last example, the first two digits may be
followed by others expressing the month and day. In this way, 586 would mean June
1958 (or 1858), 70-9-30 is September 30, 1970, and 09121 is either December 1 or
January 21, 1909. The filing sequence is: 70, 70-1, 70-1-1, 70-1-2, 70-2, 70-2-1, 70-2-28,
70-3..., 70-12-31, 70-71, 71.
The second element of the code consists of four letters, usually representing the first and
last letters of the name of the subject or place. For example, Grand Canyon is GDCN and
Norman Nevills is NNNS. Where there are more than one person as the subject, the
letters may be split between the initials of the various persons. Thus, a photo of Masland
and Marston might be MDMN, while one of Masland, Marston, Atherton, and Desloge
might be MMAD. Occasionally there is a lack of consistency in the abbreviations: John
Wesley Powell is both JNPL and JWPL; the steamer Cochan is both SRCN and CNSR.
The third element, comprising a varying number of digits, can represent any one of
several things, or, more often, a combination. In river scenes, the first of these numbers
may stand for the milepost along the river depicted. For example, 566 MECN 48 is a
photo taken June 1956 in Marble Canyon at mile 48. Alternatively, the number may be
that of a negative or slide in a series of pictures of the same subject. Thus, 486 DKMN 3 is
the third in a series of photos taken of Dock Marston in June 1948. Such series numbers
are also commonly added after a milepost number when several photos were taken at
the same spot; 566 MECN 48-3 indicates the third exposure taken there that day at mile
48. In this case, a dash or decimal point is used to separate the two numbers. Both
should be read, and filed, as dashes (even though on occasion Marston himself filed the
decimal points as decimals). Thus, the sequence would be 46.1, 46.2, 46.9, 46.10, 46.11,
46.99, 46.100 whether a dash or a decimal point were used. There may be a third
number, representing perhaps a file number of a photo by a famous photographer or the
frame number on a roll of 35mm film. Occasionally, a final number will indicate the
existence of more than one frame on a strip of 35 mm film. For example, 615 CORR
16-1-4 might mean roll 16, frames 1 through 4. More often, when there are more than
one frame in an envelope, as is commonly the case with 35mm negatives, each frame
will be assigned its own slightly variant number, with all three or four code numbers listed
on the same envelope (eg., 615 CORR 15-9 and 615 CORR 16-10). Since there are seldom
cross references, this means one must look around a bit. I have filed these by the lowest
number on the envelope, so one need only look up to the desired number. The 615
CORRs in the above example would be filed as 615 CORR 15-9.
Negatives
225