Leap of Faith on a 1890 Mike Kelly & Freeman Cabinet Card

[iggyman]

So I was minding my own business, looking for run of the mill T206's when these two cabinet cards crossed my path. I hemmed and hawed, but finally pulled out my wallet, crossed my fingers, and took a leap of faith. I know it was silly of me, but any ideas on whether these are authentic 1890 cabinet cards??? They were purchased from an antique dealer who claimed they came from a New York estate sale. The dealer stated the cabinet cards were Freeman and some guy dressed in a Boston uniform (his exact words). I'm not sure if you can tell but cabinet cards are way outside my comfort zone.............and I sure hope I'm not making a fool of myself by posting these, but I need some guidance. Any ideas???

Lovely Day...








I don't have a scanner, so these pics will have to do for now.

[RickGallway]

F.a.k.e.s.

[iggyman]

Well that settles that! Thank you Rick. I think life just taught me another lesson .

Lovely Day...

[Bicem]

hopefully you didn't pay too much!

[iggyman]

No, not really, and I have hopes of getting my $$$ back. Thanks!

[Runscott]

There is a guy on ebay who glues copies of 1800's Indian photos onto real 1800's cabinet mounts, but he does a much better job than the non-Kelly pic you show. The Kelly copy is absurdly stuck into a 1930's holder.

If you really are interested in such items, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the various photograph types (albumens, silver gels, etc.), photo paper, mounts and folders for the periods you are interested in.

I'll try to assemble something on my website as a guide - I've been meaning to do that anyway. David (Cycleback) might already have something like that on his site.

[packs]

Just for future reference, how common would it be for a New York studio to print an Old Judge cabinet of a player not from New York? Was it common for the studios to print out of town cabinets or would you typically only find a hometown player represented in a cabinet photo used by Old Judge?