Well, it isn't like Snuffy Smith was going to do the filing. While I've always liked early physical filing systems, and something like a Globe-Wernicke cabinet

Well, it isn't like Snuffy Smith was going to do the filing. While I've always liked early physical filing systems, and something like a Globe-Wernicke cabinet can be quite beautiful (although they often only have one finished side), I'd really like to know about earlier systems. I mean, the British Admiralty or the Venetian Republic had some serious paperwork storage, usually bound volumes on shelves I imagine. Crazy stuff. A good subhistory of storage would be the invention of those room-sized shelves on wheels so that there's only one access path. I've seen some impressive ones.