Tip of the Week: 1920s Lobby Cards

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Posted By: Hankron

Assuming there would be no objections, I thought I would post my tip of the week here.

I had mentioned earlier that I highly recommend that advanced collectors and dealers buy a microscope of 80x or higher power. This tip of the day requires access to one.


UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: 1920s LOBBY CARDS AND COLLOTYPE PRINTING


* WHAT IS A LOBBY CARD?: A lobby card is essentially a miniature movie poster that is displayed within the movie theatre. They often show various scenes from the upcoming movie, and usually come in sets. For example, 7 different lobby cards would be displayed throughout the theatre.


* SCENARIO: Let’s say, while on vacation, you stop by a little antique shop and see for sale a 1920s Red Grange or Babe Ruth (or Greta Garbo or Charlie Chaplin) lobby card that just have to have. The problem is that you have little to no experience with movie memorabilia. You have no knowledge about lobby card reprints or counterfeits. In fact, someone once told you that movies were often re-issued years later and new lobby cards would be made. You wouldn’t hesitate to pay the $300 price tag for the Red Grange lobby card if you could be sure it was original— but the problem is you aren’t sure.


* 1920s LOBBY CARDS AND COLLOTYPE PRINTING

Many, though not all, 1920s lobby cards were printed with a process called ‘collotype.’ This was a high quality and expensive process, that is still used today by some fine artists.

If a 1920s lobby card has a photographically realistic image, but is not real photo (actual photo), it is likely a collotype. Collotype is such a high quality form of printing, that the images are often mistaken for actual photographs.

Due to its high expense and limited printing run (one could only print a small number before the prining plate would wear out), in the 1930s the movie studios discontinued the process and started making lobby cards with different printing processes.


IDENTIFYING COLLOTYPE PRINTING

In general, collotype printing has a distinct matte (not glossy) surface and, as mentioned, high quality images. However, the true way to identify a collotype is with a microscope of 80x or higher power.

Collotype produces a unique microscopic ink pattern. This pattern cannot be seen with the naked eye and, unlike many modern baseball cards, usually not even with a magnifying glass.

Under the microscope the ink has a reticulated pattern, that often looks like noodles or squiggles (remember "1920s lobby card = noodles"). This is what it looks like. There will be variations from collotype to collotype. Sometimes the squiggles will be closer to partial circles.



As you can see, this pattern is different than the dots many are used to.


Not all 1920s lobby cards are collotypes. However, if the photographically-realistic image on that lobby card looks like that under the microscope, and there are no other problems with the card, you can almost be certain that it is the real deal.

Many people lament that microscopic examination is a laborious process. However, many good microscopes can be carried in your pocket and it can take, say, 20 seconds to see if a lobby card is a collotype.


WANT TO PRACTICE AT HOME?: Many (not all) 1910s-20s postcards are collotypes. For example, all those ‘Albertype’ (Albertype printed on back) postcards of nearing real photo quality are collotypes. Many WWI-era postcards with realistic images are collotypes. I have a bunch of my grandfather’s souvenir postcards from WWI France, and many of them are collotypes.

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Posted By: Hankron

QUICK TIP OF THE DAY #2: ACME, International News and United Press Stamps are Old

PHOTO STAMPS: News Service, magazine, studio and individual photographer photos usually have their stamp(s) on the back of the photo. These stamps can tell the photography historian about the photograph, including approximately how old is the photograph. While there are hundreds if not thousands of different possible stamps, today’s quick tip focuses on three common and easy to remember stamps. The presence of these stamps on a photograph indicate that the photograph is old.

SCENARIO: You are the biggest New York Yankees fan and, in an eBay auction, is the perfect news service (‘wire photo’) photograph showing Mickey Mantle (rookie year) with Joe DiMaggio (last year) in 1951. The current bidding is at $300 and you are itching to place a bid. The problem is that you don’t know much about photos and don’t want to pay $400 for a photograph reprinted in 1995. The auction has a picture of the back of the photo, and there is a stamp but you have no idea what the stamp means. You email the seller, and she says that she knows hardly anything about photography and, while the photo looks old, she doesn’t know if it’s vintage.

If the stamp on the back of the photograph says: ‘ACME Newspictures,’ ‘International News Photos,’ ‘United Press’ or ‘United Press Association’, you can be assured that the photograph is vintage. Why? These news service names and stamps were discontinued in the 1950s, and won’t appear on a photograph made after the late 1950s.

Important Note: Do not confuse United Press (UP) and United Press Association with “United Press International (UPI).” UPI was the name of the new company formed after UP.

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Posted By: Hankron

QUICK TIP: ‘Is it Catalogued?’ and prints by famous arists

Probably few board readers are actively buying original Salvador Dalis, Rembrands or Leroy Neimans. However, you, a family member or friend may come across a sale or print and wonder where to start. While there are many steps to safe buying, the first and most important is to see if the print in question is listed in the artist’s ‘catalogue raisonne.’

Often produced by a famous scholar, museum or the artist’s estate, a catalogue raisonne is a detailed listing of the known original prints by the artist. Along with a checklist, the catalogue raisonne should picture the prints, and give the essential details (size, type of paper, if/how numbered and signed, etc). In some sense, these are like an SCD or Beckett price guide. Sometimes there is more than one volume for an artist, or, like Beckett versus SCD, different catalogs produced by different authors/publishers.

When considering buying an original print by Picasso or Andy Warhol, the first and most important thing to do is to see if it’s listed in the artist’s catalogue raisonne as genuine. In other words, see if it’s catalogued. Often times it’s as simple as saying to the seller, “Is this print listed in the artist’s catalogue raisonne, and can you show me the listing or give me the reference?” If you don’t know how or where to obtain an artist’s catalogue raisonne, ask me. Some famous artist’s catalogues raisonne are free online.

A beginning collector should never buy as original a print that is not listed/detailed in the artist’s catalogues raisonne. It’s as simple as that. It’s much the same as if every potential AAA buyer was given the common sense advice of, “Buy a copy of SCD or Beckett, and if a card isn’t listed in it, don’t buy it.”

The vast majority of forgeries and scams involving famous artists are bought by naïve collectors who didn’t read or follow this quick tip.

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Posted By: Hankron

Tip #4: DUSTY COUNTERFEITS

Again, this tip requires use of a microscope of 100x or so power. I should point out that I don’t own stock in a microscope manufacturer, so this is all on the up and up.

ELECTROSTATIC REPRINTS
A common and cheap way to make attractive counterfeits is with laser computer printers, Xeroxes and photocopiers. Especially when the collector has not handled the item before, the item can be deceptive, even in person. The is particularly true for non cardstock items, like food labels, playbills, currency and tobacco labels. Luckily, these types of counterfeits are easy to identify with a 100x power or so microscope.

Laser printers, Xeroxes and photocopiers all use a type of printing called ‘electrostatic’ printing (aka electrographic printing). Electrostatic printing is quickly identified with a microscope due to the unique pigment quality. The printed graphics are made up of many tiny dust-like grains of pigment that have been fused to the electostaticaly charged area (Anyone who owns a laser printer, likely knows how dusty the ink cartridges get. I sometimes literally clean my laser printer with the vacuum.). However, not all the grains make it to the intended area before being fused to the paper, so the finished printing is identified by the many stragglers outside the lines. Under the microscope it almost looks like it needs a good dusting.



Laser print showing the typical stray grains.



Some laser printers will produce this strange type of line pattern like in the above picture. The tiny stray grains will still appear.

Not only is electrostatic printing fairly modern, but it was never used for mass commercial printing, such as to make tobacco labels, currency or trading cards. It has not been until the last few years that laser printers could make super high quality images.

Of note: injet printers use a different technology and won’t have this dusty appearance under the microscope.

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Posted By: Hankron

Tip #5: Identifying Many Modern Fakes with a Black Light

Many on this board are already aware of how black light works to identify many modern reprints and fakes. But, for those unfamiliar with the process, read the below link. Using a black light is a scientifically sophisticated (it actually tests the atomic makeup of paper and inks), yet is inexepensive and easy. Black lights can be used to identify reprints of a wide variety of antique paper items, from cabinet cards to T206s.

http://www.cycleback.com/earlyphotos/seven.html

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Posted By: Hankron

I can't make a final opinion without seeing an item in person, but it appears that a current major sports auction may have a possible fake (misdating), the answer to why clearly detailed in one of the above tips. As I like to be obscure and the tips are literally printed above me, I will leave it at that.

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Posted By: Hankron

As I've gotten nary a peep from anyone concerning my 'Quick Tips', I'll move the operations to my regular site, and let Elliot rule the board unfettered.

So, I will close this thread with an approriate Hank.

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Posted By: Lyman Hardeman

Have enjoyed this thread but do not know the "other regular site" mentioned in your last posting. Can you please provide? Thanks. --LJH

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Posted By: Hankron

Thanks for the note. The regular site is:

http://www.cycleback.com/

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Posted By: Brueso

The "paper photograph styles" page on your site doesn't seem to open...I've recently begun to collect photos and have wondered about "real photo postcards" - I would imagine that when people brought their photos to be developed back in the day, they were offered the option of having a postcard backing on the photo? I've gotten some great 'real photo postcard' images- it really opened up a big option besides just doing searches on ebay for "photo" or "photograph".
Bob

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Posted By: effe

After viewing this page on your site I was struck with another funny caption for your first photo; "Strong enough for a man, my a**!"

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Posted By: Hankron

Thanks, Bob, for pointing that out. The section should appear now. Likely, I had removed it for cleaning and forgot to put it back.

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Posted By: RobertS

Real-Photo postcards refer to cards that actually are photographs, developed on photographic paper the same size and weight as traditional, publisher-issued postcards. Like other postcards, Real-Photo cards feature a postcard back complete with stamp box.

First popularized in 1901, these postcards can be identified by the images themselves, as well as by the stamp boxes, which identify the manufacturers of the photographic paper. More common names are AZO, Cyko, Velox, and later EKC and Kodak.

Because these cards could be made simply by purchasing paper and developing a photo directly onto it, most Real-Photo cards depict semi-pro and town teams. However, some of the rarest postcards of this type feature Major Leaguers, often in candid poses.

For more information and for a gallery of Real-Photo baseball postcards (and a link to a cheat sheet on how to tell the age of a real-photo postcard), you can check out www.vintageball.com/realphotos.html .

**note: this site is not a comercial enterprise, it is intended as purely informational.