The legacy of August Sander’s work has passed through over a century’s worth of technological change. All the while, three generations of Sander’s descendants have taken up the mantle of stewardship of his expansive archive. In photography, the picture is set upon a journey that moves from media to media. An image once existing as a reflection of light moves from glass plate and film, to the papers of books and prints, and further on to digital files. It is now on the blockchain that Sander’s photographs can find a permanent home.

Each NFT in this collection represents more than simple ownership of an image. They provide the keys to a century’s worth of knowledge carefully preserved and maintained by the photographer’s family. These are not just photographs, but codexes of information that include annotations and metadata, an accumulated knowledge that infers that pictures are not simply things to look at, but things to know. Over time, additional attributes will be included in the metadata of this collection. These NFTs will function as a living and active archive preserved for continued scholarship, appreciation, and windows into the eyes of a man who sought to preserve the truth about the world he knew.

By becoming a collector of these NFTs, you also become a steward of August Sander’s legacy, and it will be not only his family through which Sander’s work lives on, but through all of us.