D381 Fleischmann's Wagner and Leland's picture?

[Leon]

So I was looking through the current Leland's auction (great auction again, btw) and noticed this picture-

http://www.lelands.com/Auction/AuctionDetail/73119

and it looks an awfully lot like the one on the D381 Fleischmann's card? However it does have a 1917 stamp on back and the cards are supposedly 1916. So I wonder if there was a picture before this one, or maybe this one, that Fleischmann's used? This is still one of my favorite Wags cards but I am obviously biased....

[ZachS]

It's definitely the same picture. There are several indicators (like the shadow line toward the bottom left that runs across his jersey) that point to the images being the same.

Side by side comparison with your D381 image superimposed on the photo image

[rhettyeakley]

I wouldn't worry too much about the date stamp on the back of photos as often they are merely "File dates" of when a photo was potentially used or added to the periodicals collection and often doesn't quite coincide with when the actual photo was developed. That being said it does provide great provenance and obviously any photo can not be any newer than the date stamp (as long as it is a legit stamp--as it is in this case). Thus, even though the photo may be from 1915 or 1916 or even earlier it would still likely be considered a Type 1 or Vintage 1 (depending on the scale you choose to use).

[Leon]

Rhett and Zach, thanks for posting that info.

In my experience most cards lose something in their transformation from photos to cards. I think what puzzles me on this photo is that the card actually has more details than the photo? That seems backwards....