What I'm talking about, David...
...is that "first generation" is a print made from the original negative, which this certainly looks like. That says nothing about WHEN it was made, which is why I added "vintage," which this certainly also is. As for blank-backed photos, unless there is something on the front or some other provenance that proves to me it is a vintage photo, I would never buy it and certainly not sell it as such. Just because there's a system at work in the marketplace, it shouldn't lull anybody into abandoning their own expertise and common sense. "Buyer beware" still applies here as everywhere else. But Henry's system and book brought some much-needed organization to this area of the hobby, and until someone comes up with a better one, it will continue to be followed. Just because you can find an example or two where it was misused doesn't negate it's usefulness in many thousands of other instances. And if you don't agree with somebody's classification, don't buy it. Simple as that. That's what I'm talking about.
Hank Thomas
|