Help with 1929 Philadelphia Athletics photo

[Seattlerainier]

Hi guys,

Nice to meet you all. Been following and enjoying this message board for quite some time but never had the need to post something until this weekend.

I recently had a friend of a friend in Chicago who offered to sell me this "original photo" of some of the standout members of the 1929 era Philadelphia Athletics for $150.00. Photo appears to feature Jimmie Fox along with teammates Collins, Dykes, Bishop, Cochrane, Simmons, Grove and Wahlberg. Says his Uncle bought it 15-20 years ago.

I know very little about vintage baseball photos and while this appears to be old, I really have no idea what to look for as far as finding out if this is a original photo. There is no exact date on the photo but research shows all the members in the photo were on the 1929 team.

Are there any resources anyone could point me to? I've done a reverse image search on the photo that turned up nothing and spent a decent amount of time browsing photos of the Athletics around that time that showed no matches.

Given the historical significance of that 1929 championship team, is there is chance I may have stumbled into something special and valuable or would I be throwing away $150? It's pretty unique IMO and kind of humorous photo how they lined up the players from short to tall. As a novice collector, this would be a lot of money for me to spend on a single item.

Thanks for the help guys.

[perezfan]

I like it for that price. Cool mini-panoramic image from an iconic team, and looks to be original.

I would personally frame and mat it nicely, and have no problem with that price.

Just my .02

[drcy]

If original, that's a good price if not a bargain. I can't tell if it's original from the small pics, but the tone is consistent.

[ramram]

Does anybody else have concern about that back possibly being “aged” with tea stains?

Rob M

[Seattlerainier]

I assumed that was from being glues to a scrap book of sorts way back when?

[conor912]

I agree, looks like glue, and, as stated, a steal at $150. Even if questionable, seems like a relatively small risk for a seemingly nice reward.

I should also mention that someone already has Seattlerainers with an 's' as a user name. Just might cause some confusion down the road, fyi.

[drcy]

My only concern is the edges/corners are awefully sharp. But, unless it's a digital reproduction, it looks good. The paper under the glue looks toned, and the tone of the back of photopaper is good evidence of age.

[perezfan]

Yeah... I think the corners are sharp because the majority of its life was likely spent in a scrapbook, thus minimizing the handling. Very nice that it came out so clean.