An inter-inter cabinet shown in Fig. 33 suggests the variety of devices that can be accommodated in a single shell. This cabinet contains vertical file, card index, legal blank drawers, and document files.
The need has been felt for a small filing cabinet, or stack of sections, that would be complete and give the proper variety. The professional man, the department manager, and the executive have need for a small cabinet for personal correspondence, reports, statistics, records of matters requiring personal attention, blanks and forms, private papers, and all matters of a confidential nature. This need seems to have been met satisfactorily by the small sections known to the trade as sectionets.
Fig. 33. Inter-Inter Cabinet
The Macey Co.
These are complete sections, the largest size being that of the vertical file drawer, which can be stacked one on top of the other or side by side. Any of the standard filing devices can be made up into these sections. A small section for 4"×6" cards is shown in Fig. 34. A single section, with top and base, makes a complete cabinet, which can be added to as needed. Fig. 35 shows a small stack of sections consisting of vertical file, 5"×8" card index, and 3"×5" card-index drawers, and one document file, on a leg base.
Transfer Files. Files for the storage of transferred correspondence can be of cheaper construction than the regular filing cabinets, as they are less frequently referred to and not subject to the same hard usage. They should, however, be of reasonably substantial construction; it is usual to keep business correspondence at least two years, and it may be necessary to refer to it many times after it is transferred. Then, too, if substantial transfer files are provided, they can be used again and again; sufficient transfer files to hold two years' correspondence will last indefinitely.
Fig. 34. Card Sectionet
Shaw-Walker Co.]
At first, manufacturers of vertical filing equipment supplied nothing more substantial than boxes made of binder's board. Boxes the size of a vertical file drawer were used. These were usually stored on shelves, and to refer to the contents it was necessary to take down the box and remove the cover. To keep pace with improvements in filing cabinets, new styles of transfer files have been perfected. One of the most satisfactory of the more modern styles is the drawer transfer file, which is practically a single drawer section. It is made of light wood with a drawer as shown in Fig. 36. These files can be stacked, one on top of another, and locked together, making a solid filing cabinet. The drawers hold the contents of a vertical file drawer, but are not equipped with follower blocks, and are not recommended for current filing. These transfer files cost more than the old style, but when durability and accessibility are considered, they probably are more economical in the long run.