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SteveMitchell
12-05-2014, 12:50 PM
Attached is a 4" by 6" photograph of a player identified on the back as Herman Schaefer. I have been advised by a distant relative of Herman "Germany" Schaefer that it definitely is not Schaefer. Any assistance in proper identification would be greatly appreciated.

The reverse side reads: C-310 SCHAEFER, Herman A5 [at the top] which may be Burke's own numbering system. A5 was used for years by collectors to identify the New York Yankees/Highlanders, being the fifth American League team (alphabetically) - A1 Boston Red Sox, A2 Chicago White Sox, A3 Cleveland Indians, A4 Detroit Tigers, A5 New York Americans, etc.

At the bottom right is the Burke rubberstamping: "Reproduced by GEO. BURKE, 847 Belmont Ave., CHICAGO, ILL.

Thanks for looking and any assistance that can be provided.

Butch7999
12-05-2014, 03:50 PM
Yeah, looks nothing like Germany Schaefer.
Similar last name, vague resemblance, same era, same city (although NL Giants, not AL Yanks): maybe (just a thoughtless shot in the dark) Tillie Shafer?

SteveMitchell
12-05-2014, 05:55 PM
Yeah, looks nothing like Germany Schaefer.
Similar last name, vague resemblance, same era, same city (although NL Giants, not AL Yanks): maybe (just a thoughtless shot in the dark) Tillie Shafer?

Thanks for the reply. I think you are correct: it's likely Tillie Shafer!

thecatspajamas
12-05-2014, 07:56 PM
To decode the coding:

A5 = New York Yankees (also used for Highlanders players on early photos he reproduced)
C = copy (any photo taken by someone other than Burke that he reproduced, typically from a copy negative re-shot from an original photo or publication)
C-310 = (I presume) Germany Schaefer. Burke assigned a different number to every player whose photo he had on file. Schaefer's name does not appear on either of the catalog lists that I have, because he was no longer active when Burke began photographing players in 1929. (310 without the C is the player code he used for Jesse Haines). Burke had a separate catalog list of "Players of Yesterday" that he advertised, but I have never seen a surviving catalog list (if anyone ever runs across one, or the similar lists he had of American Association players, Groups of Players, or Players in Street Clothes, I would pay good money for them or even for clear scans).

The "Reproduced by Geo. Burke" stamping is typical for the stamping he used on photos that he did not shoot himself that he produced from copy negatives.

For what it's worth, if Burke put Herman Schaefer on the back, that's who he (or more likely, George Brace, who Burke hired for his baseball knowledge) thought it was. They weren't perfect on player ID's for those photos Burke didn't shoot himself, but they did seek out photos of those "old time" players who he never had a chance to shoot, in an attempt to compile a complete catalog of images of every major league player ever.

At a glance, Tillie Shafer does seem to be a better fit:
http://d3k2oh6evki4b7.cloudfront.net/images-009/headshots/7/7836aa82_davis.jpg

PhilNap
12-05-2014, 09:24 PM
I have a Brace list which I probably got from them at some point in the 90s. It lists "SCHAEFER, HERM. GERMAN" It lists the team codes "A5" but the list doesn't have the player codes.

thecatspajamas
12-06-2014, 09:50 AM
Phil, I have a similar list that I downloaded from the Bracephoto website that Mary Brace operated until recently when John Rogers arranged to purchase the Burke/Brace collection. It's useful in that you can see all the teams that Brace had each player pictured with, though any of the player/team combos listed could actually refer to a number of poses or uniform styles. I suspect that Brace did not include the player ID codes because he does not seem to have continued that part of the file coding system beyond Burke's passing. He still recorded the player's name and team code, but no longer assigned each player an individual filing number.