Have you ever purchased a silver gelatin print from a living photographer?

[bob carnie]

I have a collection of prints from artists I print for Printers Proofs and from friends I have met here and other internet sources. They are all signed editioned print, silver gelatin, carbon transfer, Wet Plate, Gum over palladium and Platinum Palladium. I have a very few super large inkjet prints by living artists that I own as printer proofs as well. Right now its a collection of over 100 signed images and constantly growing.
Many of my friends have purchased my work as well , I prefer my work to be in the hands of people that like what I do rather than seeing it as an investment. I may see this differently as I age.

[Daniel Unkefer]

A couple of years ago I was taking Tim Layton's LF Flower course, which gave me some new ideas. I did buy from Tim a silver gelatin 8x10 contact print, which I mounted and framed, it's hanging up next to my enlargers. I have other original prints from a photographer or two that has passed. Good reference prints in the darkroom are a great help when evaluating my own printings.

[jnantz]

Yes. Both living and dead as well as non-silver based images.

[drj52]

Several purchased, several acquired in trade, no recognizable names except the Adams Yosemite Special Edition printed by Alan Ross.

[Axelwik]

Only one purchased from a relatively unknown local artist. Some prints given to me by Lee Marmon before he passed away.

[FrancisF]

I am trying to improve my own work but now and then I see compelling works I have to add to my small collection b&w prints

Two photographers, I learned of from their works in View Camera Magazine

Yaakov Asher Sinclair http://www.seasonsofthemoon.com/

Allen Hess https://allenhess.com/

Two others I have met personally at photography events

Roger Goun https://rogergoun.org/ (actually we swapped photos - he got a protrait of himself and I got his photo of Gov. Chrisite on the campaign trail)

Peter Bosco https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-bosco-mfa-3459a616/

[Jerry Bodine]

In 1966 I attended my first of four Ansel Adams Yosemite workshops and was offered an opportunity to purchase his photographs at his gallery at a discounted price. I selected two prints: 16x20 “Clearing Winter Storm” and an 8x10 contact print of “Half Dome, Merced River, Winter.” The contact print was a Special Edition Yosemite print made by him before he turned over the duty to Alan Ross. I paid the $200, brought them home, matted & framed them as he would’ve done, and hung them in my home as a daily reminder of the print quality that was possible with my own darkroom work – provided I studied enough. At that time, my color work was filling the walls of my living room and was starting to show minor evidence of fading. The effect of showing color and b/w work together struck me like a gum ball machine (remember those?) and was obviously distracting from the b/w quality. I donated the color work to the Chamber of Commerce where my wife worked, cautioning them that the onset of fading had become obvious and couldn’t guarantee that the fluorescent lighting in their office wouldn’t ruin them rapidly. I filled the empty spaces on my walls with my own b/w prints, replacing them frequently as my work improved. Eventually, my wife decided all the living quarters needed to be professionally redone, so I insisted the living room walls should be painted Zone V gray to show off the prints properly and gave her a gray card for the paint to match. She agreed, and I was delighted to see the prints benefitted significantly. One day I had to call for TV service; when the tech showed up, he walked in said loudly, “Wow, this looks like Ansel Adams !!!” I said “Well, two of them ARE his.” He said, “Really? Which ones?” Needless to say, that made my day. Last year I auctioned off both the prints at Sotheby’s in NYC for over $52,000. Talk about return on investment!

[Tin Can]

I really think Artists get a bad turn in USA

Some countries assess royalities and risiduals back to the ARTIST who often sold ART for a pitance when young

But are now valuable

I have destroyed my sculpture more than a few times

my jealous wife smashed one

[John Kasaian]

My mom bought a silver print, a photo of me wearing a cowboy hat sitting on a pinto Shetland pony and taken on our front lawn. The photo, a 4x5 contact print was delivered the next day. I don't remember how much it cost but I do remember the camera---it was a Speed Graphic.