Buying Photography: Editions, Print Types and Condition

CHECKPOINT 01 ? 118.2437? W

How photographic editions are structured

Buying photography raises a question that painting does not: how many of this image exist, and in what forms? A negative or digital file can in principle produce unlimited prints. The edition is a limit the photographer or their gallery chooses to impose, and the buyer's protection is the documentation of that choice.

Contemporary photographs are commonly issued in small numbered editions, often with a few artist's proofs in addition. Many photographers issue the same image in more than one size, and the arrangements vary. In some cases each size has its own edition; in others a single edition is split across sizes. A buyer should know the full picture: every size, the edition for each and the proofs. It is also worth asking whether exhibition prints exist, made for a particular show and sometimes outside the edition, since they add to the number of prints in circulation.

Older photographs frequently were not editioned at all. For much of the medium's history, photographers printed as needed for exhibition, publication or sale, and the number of prints of an image is established afterwards, if at all, through research. That is one reason the date and circumstances of a particular print matter so much.

CHECKPOINT 02 ? 34.0522? N

Vintage, later and posthumous prints

In the photography market, when a print was made can matter as much as the image itself. A vintage print is generally understood to be one made close to the time the negative was taken, by the photographer or under their supervision. A later print is made by the photographer, or under their direction, at a significantly later date. Posthumous or estate prints are made after the photographer's death, sometimes by an authorised printer working from the original negatives.

These categories are valued very differently, and the terms are not always used consistently. 'Vintage' in particular is sometimes applied loosely. A buyer should ask for the date of printing as specifically as possible and the basis for it: paper type, stamps and inscriptions on the reverse, exhibition or publication history and specialist opinion.

Physical evidence helps. Photographic papers have changed over time, and specialists can often date a print within a range by examining the paper, its surface and any manufacturer markings. For significant purchases of historical photographs, that kind of examination is worth commissioning.

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Print processes and what they mean for longevity

The process used to make a print determines how it looks, how it ages and how it should be cared for. Descriptions should name the process precisely, and a buyer should understand its general behaviour before committing.

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Mounting and condition problems specific to photographs

Mounting is part of the object. Many large contemporary photographs are face-mounted to acrylic or mounted to aluminium. These presentations look striking but are vulnerable: acrylic faces scratch, and mounts can delaminate. Repairs are difficult and sometimes impossible.

Photographs also age in characteristic ways. Colour prints may fade or shift in colour balance. Silver prints can develop silvering, a metallic sheen in the dark areas, or yellowing from poor processing or storage. Emulsions can crack, surfaces can be scuffed or marked by fingerprints, and prints on poor-quality boards can become discoloured or brittle.

Some damage is visible only in good light or at an angle, and much of it is irreversible. A condition report should address the surface, the image tones, the mount and the reverse, and should be read alongside photographs taken in raking light where the surface matters.

Light, humidity and temperature all affect photographic materials. Conservation guidance from the American Institute for Conservation and preservation leaflets from NEDCC explain how these factors act on different processes, and reading them helps a collector judge whether a print's intended home, particularly a bright or humid room, is suitable at all.

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What to ask before buying a photograph

A well-documented photograph comes with information the buyer can check. A gallery selling contemporary work should be able to provide it readily; for historical material, the answers may require research, and the absence of an answer is itself information.

The questions below apply to both contemporary and historical photographs, although the second and third carry the most weight for older material, where the printing date can change the value of a print substantially.

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Replacement policies and comparing prices

The last question deserves a written answer. Some artists and galleries will, under specific conditions, arrange a replacement print for a damaged work, typically requiring the damaged print to be returned or destroyed. Others will not. Any policy should be stated on the invoice or certificate so that it survives changes of ownership and of gallery. Where a replacement is made, the new print should be documented as such, so that the record of the edition stays accurate.

When judging price, compare like with like. A vintage print, a later print and an estate print of the same image are different objects, as are different sizes of a contemporary edition. The image is only the starting point of the valuation; the print in front of the buyer is what is actually being priced.