Press Photo ?

[Big Ben]

I have searched through this forum and am a little confused about press photos. Not saying I would buy this because of the seller's feedback etc, but can someone tell me if this is a multi-generation photograph or a news wire photo from the day specified on the paper on the back of the photo.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1951-Press-Photo-Bradley-University-Basketball-Jury-/260838385167?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item3cbb2de60f

Thanks in advance.. I'm just trying to learn a little about these. :)

[bcbgcbrcb]

That e-bay seller handles both original and later generation photos and seems to be quite good at identifying each correctly. My guess is that this one is an original from the period marked on the back of the photo.

[thecatspajamas]

First, I think you're applying "wire photo" in too general a sense. "Wire photos" are photographs that were actually transmitted "over the wire" meaning through the phone lines (picture a higher-quality fax machine for photographs). What they have there is not a wire photo. You could call it a press photo or a news photo, but it was developed from the negative, not sent over the wire.

The Acme stamping on the back is consistent with their last stamping style which would have been used in 1951, as the paper caption is dated. They were acquired by United Press in 1952, so no more Acme stamping after that. There is also the big red SPORT stamp which indicates that the photo came from the archives of Sport Magazine whose photo archives were broken up and sold off a couple of years ago. It's not uncommon to see photos from their archives floating around, and I have a number in my own "to be sold" stack.

So everything looks on the up and up to me, and I would feel comfortable identifying this one as a Type 1 original photo from the period dated on the caption.

As for the seller, I've bought from them a few times and had no complaints (other than that they are in TN also, so I always have to pay sales tax :( )

[Big Ben]

Thank you to everyone who posted. I mainly collect vintage baseball cards, but since I graduated from Bradley University, I like to pick up some items from time to time pertaining to the history of the program.

Thanks again.

Ben

[drc]

The photo is from 1951. The ACME stamp dates it to the 1950s (the ACME name was discontinued in the 1950s, so won't appear on a 1960s or 70s reprint) and brown paper tags are old. The paper tag can be considered an accurate date for the photo, put on the photo by the photo's developer.

[drc]

In general but not always the paper tag is an accurate date of the photo.

In this case, the ACME stamp substantiates the general period (has to be from the 1950s) and the brown paper of the tag shows the tag is old. The tags were originally not brown, but white or yellow or similar, and only turned brown after many many years.

[horzverti]

Ben I hope you were the winner of the photo. It is an original photo which was printed on or near the date on the back. The attached paper caption (slug) looks period and stamping is legit. It looks to be a type 1 photo.

If you read Historicimages or Lexibell as the seller on eBay, you can be assured that you are buying an original photo from an honest dealer. If they would sell a non-type 1 photo, they would identify it as such in their description. No worries with them. :)

[Big Ben]

Ben I hope you were the winner of the photo. It is an original photo which was printed on or near the date on the back. The attached paper caption (slug) looks period and stamping is legit. It looks to be a type 1 photo.

If you read Historicimages or Lexibell as the seller on eBay, you can be assured that you are buying an original photo from an honest dealer. If they would sell a non-type 1 photo, they would identify it as such in their description. No worries with them. :)

Yes I picked it up thanks to everyone here. :) I realize it was a small dollar amount, but I wanted to know what I was buying before I made the decision.

Thanks again!

[ibuysportsephemera]

Historic Images are great to deal with. Typically the caption that is attached indicates an original photo. I collect press and wire photos and always look for ones with paper captions.

Jeff

[Leon]

Neat photo. I always like the slugs and period writing on the back of photos. To me it gives the piece much more character and provenance.