Regarding the provenance, I’ve read that the couple who sold the scrapbook to Bowen was “friends with Frank Smith’s family.”
Obviously anyone can make this claim. Is it fair to assume that part of authenticating the “only signed photo of Jackson in existence” involves verifying this claim? Or was it simply the case that having a scrapbook of Smith photos and living in the CLE area is proof enough of the friendship?
As Joe Orlando says, the job is to be skeptical, so I wonder what evidence here satisfied the skepticism of all involved.
|