Help identifying this player

[5smokey]

Anyone have a clue who this guy is? Saw this photo at a local art fair in central Indiana. The artist displaying it said he made the print from a glass negative. He said he bought a box of the negatives from someone in central Indiana who knew nothing of their provenance. I said I'd try to get an ID on the player. Looks to me like the print may be reversed (made from the wrong side of the negative) as the "M" on the jersey looks backwards to me. If so, that would make the guy a righty. Sorry, but I tried everything and can't figure out how to post the photo upright so it's appear sideways. Sorry guys. Any clues? Here goes...

[thecatspajamas]

Just re-posting so that it appears correctly:

[5smokey]

Thanks, catspaj. Keep in mind that the photo print I snapped a picture of shows the guy as a lefty. I was simply guessing that the print may have been made backwards. Now that I see him as a righty, I'm thinking maybe he really is a lefty. The "M" looks weird in the "righty" view.

[perezfan]

I'm thinking he's a righty.

Typically, the team emblem is positioned over the left breast, and the "M" looks ok to me...

[Jaybird]

Welcome to the site, Smokey.

I'm not sure how much you've searched for these kinds of images. 9 times out of 10, these generic studio photos are very hard to track down any information on. If there is nothing written on the back and no studio mount, there's even less to go on. I'm guessing a town team player walked into a photo studio in town and had his photo taken. It was a common practice of the period.

[5smokey]

Welcome to the site, Smokey.

I'm not sure how much you've searched for these kinds of images. 9 times out of 10, these generic studio photos are very hard to track down any information on. If there is nothing written on the back and no studio mount, there's even less to go on. I'm guessing a town team player walked into a photo studio in town and had his photo taken. It was a common practice of the period.

Thanks Jaybird. Have been collecting memorabilia for 45 years, but have never even dabbled in photos, so know zero. Hope I haven't wasted people's time. I am aware that the early 1900s were a time with hundreds if not thousands of organized and professional teams, so it makes sense that there may be many, many thousands of these types of photos. Are they worth anything?

[Runscott]

Definitely a lefty, unless he's wearing a shirt that was manufactured backwards. Buttons are on the wrong side of the shirt for him to be a righty.

[JollyElm]

Let me play devils advocate. If the buttons are on the 'wrong' side, has anyone considered that this could be a woman? I can definitely see that possibility. And I don't think I've ever seen a team insignia on the player's right side, only the left. That would be weird.

[Michael B]

I would also say lefty. Notice how the 'M' slants to the right when he is pictured as a lefty. This would be the natural slant of a letter in a right handed world.

[ksfarmboy]

Looks like he has a pitchers toe plate on the right shoe. If that was the case he would be righty.

[perezfan]

The buttons are not on the wrong side. It is a cadet style jersey, and there is a vertical "panel" on which the buttons reside. Look closer and you'll see that the buttons are correct. This, combined with the left-breast insignia and the toe plate indicate the Pitcher is a righty.

Let's see a legit image with team insignia on the right breast... perhaps one exists, but it is far from the norm.

[thecatspajamas]

I tend to agree that, buttons or no buttons, I can't recall ever seeing an insignia on the right breast only. Either way though, here are the player and his evil twin pitching against each other:

[Runscott]

The buttons are not on the wrong side. It is a cadet style jersey, and there is a vertical "panel" on which the buttons reside. Look closer and you'll see that the buttons are correct. This, combined with the left-breast insignia and the toe plate indicate the Pitcher is a righty.

Let's see a legit image with team insignia on the right breast... perhaps one exists, but it is far from the norm.

Mark, I agree - I had a gut feel that I was wrong about the buttons :). Plus, looking at the two pictures side-by-side, the 'M' only looks correct as a righty.

But I don't see how the toe-plate makes any difference - in either photo it's correct.

[Michael B]

I will have to agree with righty also. Looking at it at late at night I was thinking he was throwing with his left rather than right. My comment on the M stands as it has a natural right slant when he is viewed as a right handed pitcher.

[5smokey]

Thanks for all the inputs. Still wondering...what is the value of an image of this sort? What's the value of the glass negative? How about a print that's the same age as the negative? What about the value of a print made today from the old negative? Any ideas?

[thecatspajamas]

Generally speaking and based on my experience, in order of most valuable to least, it would go:

1) original print produced in the period the photo was shot
2) original glass plate negative
3) later period (but still old) print from original negative
4) later period (but still old) print from copy negative
5) modern print from original negative
6) modern print from copy negative

You might think 1 and 2 would be reversed, since the original glass plate negative would necessarily be 1-of-a-kind, but negatives are also practically impossible to display, and you will usually find that collectors gravitate towards something they can actually view and show off.

As for exact value, I'll leave that up to others to comment on, but you will find that a photo of an identified player will have greatly enhanced value over an anonymous one. Even figuring out what team the player is from will help the value. Generally speaking, collectors will not pay top dollar for something that will be a research project. Do the work for them, and then they will get their checkbooks out.