Glass plate negatives are fragile, especially larger ones.
In the camera, They were usually in a carrier that both protected them and prevented extra exposure.
So like load carrier, remove "cover"
Take photo
Replace cover
Remove carrier.
Just like modern photographers, they would take multiple portraits. Maybe two, maybe more. Because you don't get to see which ones the subject may have blinked or something until the film is developed.
Those would all get numbered and filed.
And one would be picked as the one to use. From a big negative, they might make a lot of secondary negatives to sell to other places if the client didn't say they were exclusive.
The original would have been handled very carefully, the copies perhaps not as carefully.
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