A print, a negative, and a digital file are three things with three kinds of damage. The print fades. You scratch the negative with a wrong grip. The file dies with the hard drive that sits in the same fire. In the overview Security for collectors photography is paper plus a copy that lives somewhere else.

What breaks without a thief

Light, acidic albums, fingers on the emulsion, damp that sticks prints together. You store dark and cool, in sleeves meant for photo paper. You do not peel old magnetic albums off by force. You get advice before the emulsion goes with the adhesive.

When someone comes

Albums are light. The larger quiet damage is the single drive. You keep a copy of the digital holdings outside the home, and the expensive vintage prints do not lie on the shelf under the window. They lie flat, and the invoice for them in the document cabinet.

The folder

Photographer, year, edition, dimensions, whether an original print or a later print, proof. Negative and print as two lines when both are there. The digital file with a second place.