Storage of cameras

I am looking for some advice on the storage of camera collections.
One of my client museums has a number of older cameras with leather
bellows that fold up into hard cases. My question is whether it is
better in the long-term to leave them up or down. Obviously, some
have damaged slides and can't close and others are too stiff to
manipulate, but in the case of ones that are free-moving and intact,
does anyone have a general protocol for their safe storage?

When the cameras are closed, they take up much less space. The
closed case helps to protect the camera workings from dust, light
and humidity fluctuations, but is it putting excessive strain on the
leather bellows to be compressed long term?  Is the risk to the
moving parts too high if they are stored closed, but may be opened
and manipulated from time to time for inspection or display?

If anyone has practical experience with these types of items, I
would appreciate their insights.

Valery Monahan
Conservator
Heritage Branch
Dept. of Tourism
Government of Yukon
867-667-3431
Fax: 867-667-5377


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:58
                Distributed: Tuesday, February 19, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-58-008
                                  ***