What to do with old framed photos?

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Posted By: Bryan

I recently purchased an old photo that has the orginal frame to it. The back of the frame is covered with the original backing so in order to get to the picture I would need to cut through the original backing. My question is that do you think that it is best to just keep the picture the way it is? My thought was to open it and see if there is any writing or identification marks on the back of the picture itself. Am I losing value by opening, if I were to ever sell the picture?
Did most people write on the backs of pictures before they were framed? Or would this be a lost cause? The picture, I am guessing is from the teens or maybe early 20's era. Nice picture of a baseball player though - even though I have no idea who it is.

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Posted By: hankron

One thing to consider is that the original frame/matting/backing is detrimental to the photo-- causing it to slowly deteriorate. So, removing an old photo, rematting it in an archival material would be considered by many conservators to be positive and perhaps even essential. The 'fixed' photo can still be put back in the original frame if desired.

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Posted By: Bryan

Thanks a ton! I will remove it tonight and if I find anything worthwhile I'll be sure to share. Thanks for the advice. Man, I do love this board!

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Posted By: Bryan

and found that the frame also had newspaper cutouts in the frame. Nothing big but I was able to tell that the paper was from roughly 1918. The back of the picture has the marking stamp from a "Walter Miller" staff photographer. It is hard to get the company name but I'm going to do a little more research. Does this name ring a bell to anyone? After doing a small amount of research I found that a Walter Miller was a newspaper photographer in Tacoma. Before I do a ton more research I wanted to check with great brains on the board to see if I could reduce my work any. Any research ideas besides the internet that might work?

[Archive]

Posted By: hankron

Don't know what you are trying to find out.