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JoannI agree that they are completely different drawings and not just changes made at the press with different inks, etc. In the two Matty's the orientation of the head is completely different (more tipped in one, more straight up in the other) and in the black cap version his face seems narrower - it has a different shape. Same with the two Cobbs - differences are in hair and even expression.
Maybe the changes come from reuse or repair/maintenance of the same plates, and after the work was done on them they weren't the same? Or (if we know that two versions were in use at the same time) maybe the first plate was somehow used to make the second plate, and the differences in actual contour and configuration came about because of the inability to copy it over exactly.
I like the thought that they are second renditions of the same photo though, because ... well ... I just like the thought of it. It would mean that the second artiste (hee) intentionally wanted to portray something just a subtle shade different. A different attitude, a different look of determination, whatever. It's fun to think that the changes represent a new interpretation.
So, we should be able to know which of a pair was first and which was second. And can people start posting a Version 1 and Version 2 of all the near-duplicates? Who knows, maybe the differences will have some kind of pattern and we could see that it was actually the same second artist on all of them.
Cool post Paul. Honestly, I don't remember seeing it the first time and it seems like I would have. I've been really drawn to the differences in the Cobb portraits.
Joann