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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Hello everyone. I've kept quiet on the issue but I was the high bidder on the Goodwin photo/proof. I own a couple of the Doran proof's, one framed and unframed, so when the similar Boyce came up for sale - I liked the pose and wanted to have it. I was going to say anything until I was able to return from college and inspect it. Anyway, when I arrived home last night for my spring break, I finally got a chance to look at it so here are the details I can tell you...

First and foremost, the frame. I know there was some debate over the frame. Actually, the frame looked misleading in the scan on eBay. It has a slight curve to it and when it scanned, it made the sides look different than the top. It is actually the same all the way around. The frame is slightly different in size than the Doran frame I have, however the age appears to be the same or close. There fram is held together with nails in the back, and while removing the nails, the rust of the nails went deep into the holes and was absorbed by the surrounding wood. It appears as though the nails rusted in the frame and weren't added after in an attempt to make a more modern frame look older.

The photo itself. The scan on eBay was a little misleading - but not in a bad way. The photo is the same size of my Doran's. It is not glossy, but not matte either. It does have side cracks going up both sides which are natural and not added after the fact. Also, it has almost like pinhole dimples on the surface. (I was hoping David could explain those). All in and all, I inspected the photo for quite some time and it appears to be genuine. The photo is actually elevated almost 1/4 inch with a cardboard backing. The black backing is original, but both of my Doran's were attached right to the black backing, not elevated off. I was curious as to why - but I can't explain it. Again, everything appears to be legit - I just don't know why it was elavted off the backing.

Interesting side notes... I don't have a copy of the card to compare, but here are some little things I noticed. 1. Boyce's eyes are almost closed in the photo. 2. The ball is very blurry. 3. The Goodwin appears to be a lot less faded in person than it did on the eBay scan (this was a topic of discussion on the boards) 4. The ad on back had me worried, but probably added after the fact. It is not a sticker and is quite long - 7inches maybe. It is on thin paper and is of age. I at first thought it might have been an insert in 20 count cig box based on the fold, but even folded in half, it would have been too long to fit into the box. Not really sure how to explain this other than it was probably added after.

All in all, a nice piece and a new change for the Dorans. You all might not have agreed with the price I paid but I don't believe I got suckered either. After all, I'm sure we all have paid more than we wanted to for a piece we wanted for our collections?!