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Old 02-08-2012, 04:54 PM
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thecatspajamas thecatspajamas is offline
L@nce Fit.tro
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Forever Young View Post
Do you have facts to support your opinion that they were added after they left the hands of John's team? The seller on eBay says it came directly from them. There are also many in major auctions that I have noticed both fake signatures AND fake stamps which, I believe, get photos directly from the same team. Are you suggesting that the team uses a distributor to sell to distributors?

Please note: The seller on ebay explains EXACTLY what the item is. Eye appeal is one thing... The fact of the matter is, there is a difference in what a real vs a fake item is worth.

Scott-It might be reasonable for someone to write "Conlon photo" on the back. However it is NOT reasonable for them to replicate Conlon's signature within a circle over and over again. Why would they take the time to do that? It is not like they are little kids writing Mickey Mantle on a baseball card(trying to match his sig.).

These stamps and circled signatures are being placed deliberately.


This is a VERY large issue in the photo market and it should not be thrown under the rug. I will go so far as to say it is the current Couches corner of photos. A TYPE 1 BABE RUTH CONLON WITH REAL SIG AND STAMP=4 TO 5 FIGURES..... A RECENT PRINT WITH A FAKE SIG AND STAMP=LOW 1 FIGURE.

I don't care who it is, I would just like it to stop as it is hurting the hobby. Unfortunately, I do not think it will stop until the source be held accountable and exposed).

As a photo collector, I find it all very disturbing.
A well-respected collector and dealer, Rhys, just stated that he had bought a number of photos directly from The Sporting News (not via John Rogers) that had the same pencilled notation on the back. My guess would be that most of these mis-applied Conlon notations were added by editors or archivists prior to the collection passing through the hands of John Rogers' team. That they appear to be in the same hand, which only slightly resembles Conlon's signature, looks to me to be more of a coincidence than anything, and stems more from them all coming from The Sporting News archives than all having passed through the hands of Rogers' team (which, in at least some cases, they didn't).

Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT trying to poo poo the issue or say that you should either disregard the notations completely OR take them as iron-clad provenance, but neither do I think that they are proof of a conspiracy by John Rogers and his team to jack up prices on a handful of the millions of photos they have liberated from so many papers' archives, especially since they were not sold as Conlon originals in the first place. Besides that, John Rogers HAS CONLON'S ORIGINAL GLASS PLATE NEGATIVES and sells high-quality (but modern) prints from them, any one of which sells for more than the mis-identified photos in this thread.

Are false photographer ID's something to watch out for? Sure. Should you look at pencilled notations on the back of photos in context? Always. Is John Rogers out to get you? I don't think so.

I do think more solid proof should be presented than has been though before levelling accusations of forgery against John Rogers (or anyone else) though. Be wary, but at the same time, please be responsible.

Lance F!ttro
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