I talking with a USGS about some photos taken on an 1896 expedition around Mt. Rainier, see inventory to date. I found an orignal copy of the report with the images as print plates, description and found where the original negatives are archived.

The USGS is slowly scanning them, see the information and scanning Web pages, but few of the ones I want, the 16 in the report and likely 2-3 times more unpublished, aren't ready and they're not progessing terribly fast (only 10% of 300,000 done). They offered to add my request to the 'to do" list and send a CD when ready.

Since they seem to simply scanning them for near original condition, I'm offering to (re)scan them to share the digital files, providing their original version (at higher resolution) and mine (cleaned up), so I'm curious what suggestions folks have if/when I get them (the USGS is not into "loaning" original material, but I'm using my former status as a retired USGS scientist and contacts to persuade them I'm not an image terrorist) with such old negatives.

I'm using an Epson V750 scanner with either the Epson or Silverfast software. Judging from the current ones on-line I'm not sure how much can be done to salvage the damage, but it seems worth the effort (ok, to me anyway). Also, I'm confused why you scan at 600 dpi but produce jpeg's to 1400 and 1600 dpi. Why?