Help \ Info on Maris 61st HR photo

[YankeeFan]

The item shown below is being offered to me, but I don't know what to make of it. I would appreciate any information regarding why it is in the form it is in, and an estimate of its value.

The seller told me that he purchased it from the family of a man who worked for the NY Daily News.
The photo is attached to thick cardboard stock and is numbered on the back. It appears to have been in some sort of binder (wide, white tape on the left edge).
The size of the photo itself is 13.5 x 10.5 inches. On the other side of the cardboard is the original newspaper clipping of the same photo.

He has some other photos which are mounted just like this. Nothing else of real historical significance. Some of the boards have multiple photos showing the sequence of an action play, for example.
Some notable players are pictured, but not always prominently. In these cases, the photos are about 3.5 x 5.75.
None of the others have the yellow tape with the number written on it; just a 2 or 3 digit number written in pencil. That yellow tape may be an auction lot number, though the seller did not say he got them at an auction.

Specific questions I have are:
Is this type of mounting a common practice at a large newspaper, possibly for archival purposes?
Since the photo is attached, I can't see if there is any stamp on the reverse, but do you suppose these would be considered Type I photos?
Do you have an opinion on the value of the Maris 61st HR photo?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[SAllen2556]

Only speaking as someone whose father was a photographer at a newspaper - I am not a photo expert at all - but I have many of my dad's photos from over the years that were published, and they are mounted exactly the same way as the one you've shown. The ones I have are even the same size as yours.

In my dad's case they were mounted for entry into various photo contests that the paper or he would submit them to, and also just for his own portfolio. My dad's are from the late 60's, early 70's so they would be of a similar era.

Cool photo by the way!

[YankeeFan]

Originally Posted by SAllen2556

Only speaking as someone whose father was a photographer at a newspaper - I am not a photo expert at all - but I have many of my dad's photos from over the years that were published, and they are mounted exactly the same way as the one you've shown. The ones I have are even the same size as yours.

In my dad's case they were mounted for entry into various photo contests that the paper or he would submit them to, and also just for his own portfolio. My dad's are from the late 60's, early 70's so they would be of a similar era.

Thank you for sharing that information Scott. Great to know and greatly appreciated. The thought did cross my mind that this might be something the original photographer might do.

[drcy]

News photos were sometimes mounted to cardboard. If the image is sharp and clear and it came from a newspaper, it could be original. Just from the pic you posted, it looks first generation clear. It was common to put a newspaper clipping on back, but it was usually the real newspaper clipping not a Xerox copy. They often also have various cataloging numbers and writing on back. I doubt an auction house would write numbers on back.

If it's original, it's probably worth several hundred dollars. Who knows, maybe more. If it's a genuine news photo but from later, it would still have value. It will be hard to judge if it's original with it pasted to the board, but the clarity of the image is a sign. If the other photos are mounted in the same way and from the same period, that would support the age. Circumstantial evidence.

[YankeeFan]

Thank you for your insight David. I was hoping that you would be among those replying to this thread.

Good point about the Xerox on back instead of the original newsprint. Others in this small collection do have the original newspaper clipping on the back.

[drcy]

I don't think that it's a Xerox proves anything either way. It's just unusual. They could have simply Xeroxed what was on the back of the photo before mounting it. Or perhaps they had two photos, and Xeroxed the one clipping for the second. Or it could be sign it's a later photo. Putting newspaper clippings on back was just a form of record keeping. Though you'd be more confident if it was an original clipping.

Clearly, the safest would be to buy it as a later photo and if it later turns out to be original, then you're lucky. I half base things on what is the sales price. If he wants $100,000, then it doesn't matter what it is. If he wants $100, then it might be worth the chance.

A simple question is does the cardboard mount appear old, sell musty? After all, 1961 was over 50 years ago.