Yes, the Bel Geddes finding aid *is* confusing, which is why I picked it as
bad example (remember now, I said no finger pointing!).  A point of
clarification:  despite the fact that the materials are listed under
headings of "Cabinet" and "Folder," each of the designations below
"Cabinet" is in fact a different physical location.  Ff is a map case (flat
file); framed items are actually hung on racks (so while, as Stephen Miller
mentions, it is a physical characteristic, it is primarily a location for
this purpose); EW:12:1 is East Wall, section 12, shelf 1 (oh, yeah, that's
on the 7th floor); DBox 10 is a document case of fire-damaged materials;
and so on.  So there are several physical logics happening simultaneously
in addition to the intellectual logic.  It would be impossible to code this
the way Steven M-G indicated in his initial message on this ARUP question,
and keep all the balls in the air at once.

As I mentioned in an earlier message, EAD is intended to mark up the
intellectual content of the finding aid.  Display and presentation are, for
the most part, secondary.  While some archivists may consider the physical
organization of a collection to be a component of its intellectual
organization, that's not what was intended in EAD, even though the DTD will
allow it.  There is no way we can enforce how the component elements are
used.  Remember, EAD is a data structure, not a content standard.  Just
because the document validates, it doesn't mean that the elements contain
the appropriate information, or even that it's a good finding aid!

Kris