A SHATTERING ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE ARTIST           I do not cover framed photographs with glass.  They are open to the air, i.e., uncovered.  There are several reasons for this.   1)  A fine art photograph should receive the same treatment as a fine oil painting.  It should be appreciated at one sole glance, however lingering, from your viewing position.  A sheet of glass can turn a work of art into a mirror.  If I had five dollars for every time I have had to bob and weave before a glassed-in photograph in order to see all of it, I could retire.  (People in galleries think I’m practicing the tango.)  Images of me, of other people cruising about the room, of scenery out of windows behind me, of lighting units about the gallery… all of these overlay the photograph.  Who needs it?   2)  “We do,” say those concerned with air pollution and dust.  The former is fully accounted for with the archival chemistry applied to black-and-white prints, i.e., two fixing baths and toning in selenium.  These classic procedures are proof against anything in the air short of tear gas.  They also protect against sunlight marching across photographs with each passing day.  That is the purpose of archival finishing treatment, so feel free to hang these works in office or home… even in the dining room, as long as you are not given to indulging in an occasional food fight.   As for dust, it collects on glass, too.  Once every year or two, I take a new paint brush kept for the purpose and I dust the photographs in my home.  No big deal.  Use a soft brush of good quality two or three inches thick.   3)  Glass is heavy so it adds to your shipping cost.  Besides, who wants to play the game of chance based on that brittle sheet of glass arriving intact?  If you must have it, order it locally and install it yourself; the frames I supply open easily with a screwdriver.  Only be sure to get the most expensive type--- Museum Glass. This glass product reflects specular highlights only, such as a point of light from a light bulb, et cetera.    4)  Light traveling through a sheet of glass changes its wavelength.  The new wavelength has an enhanced ability to fade colour dyes.  Forget it.   Several years ago a cousin of mine asked why some of the family colour photos displayed on his wall had changed to an orange-pink hue and others hadn’t.  You guessed it.  All the “fade-outs” were under glass, the others NOT.