Posted By:
scgaynorA couple of questions:
There are ways of removing the photo from the backing wihtout damaging the photo itself, but did David Rudd base his opinion that they were not authentic only on the mount? It does not sound like it based on his responses above.
Since the word "proof" is stamped on the back of the mount, and the mount is not vintage, what other reason could somebody have to stamp "Proof" on the back of the mount unless they were intending to deceive?
Is there anybody else out there, except AM and Bob Lemke, that is willing to say that they are authentic? Somebody who deals in 19th century material and would know. It really should not be that hard to tell if the prints are modern or vintage. For those of us that deal in 19th century photos on a regular basis, all that you have to do is look at the item, and hold it in your hand, all of the forensic tests are not needed. It would be about as easy as telling a real Goudey Lajoie from the one pulled from the Bert Sugar book.
Scott