What kind of photo is this?

[repsher]

Hi,
I've been collecting news photographs for several years now and this is the firs time I've come across a photo like this one. It the Earle Combs photo below where he is swinging the bat. The best way for me to describe the issue with the photo is it doesn't have any emulsion.

It was purchased with the other Combs photo (head shot) from the John Roger's archive. On the back of the photo in question there are slugs attached for both the action shot and the head shot. The stamping appears to be correct on the head shot and there appears to be the correct stamping under the slugs on the action shot. So they both appear to be from 1932.

Maybe this is something common but like I said before I've handled hundreds of news photos and haven't come across this before. It almost seems like it was printed somehow but the clarity of the image is excellent. And the head shot seems like what I would expect a photo look/feel like.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks. Ryan

earlcombe(action) (1932)(1200)33.jpg earlcombe(action)(back) (1932)(1200)33.jpg



earlcombe (1932)(1200)33.jpg earlcombe(head)(back) (1932)(1200)33.jpg

[thecatspajamas]

I'm not 100% sure, but it sounds like what you have is what is referred to as a "silk" finish. George Burke used this a lot, and even refers to it in this excerpt from one of his price lists. Funny that I had never really considered that nearly all press photos are glossy, as you mention and as Burke seems to make indirect reference to here: