T206 Wet Sheet Transfer? Different Backs

[Herpolsheimer]

I am not sure but I think this is what is called a wet sheet transfer. Strange thing is that it appears to be a Sweet Caporal transfer to a Piedmont back. How did this happen? Any thoughts or other examples of different back transfers?

[swarmee]

My guess is that both were soaked out of a scrapbook and then stacked when they weren't fully dry.

[sb1]

More likely stacked together for many years in a humid or damp environment. Sometimes you will find the cards stuck together from original finds, where the moisture was too great.

[Exhibitman]

Most likely a sign of some chemical involvement in the album removal process. Litho'd cards were made with ink that is insoluble in water once dry. If otherwise, a bath would wreck every card.

The haziness of the lettering is a telltale sign that the ghost was not original. Wet sheet transfers are usually pretty crisp, not diffuse.

[steve B]

What Adam said.

A few years ago I tried to force a wet sheet transfer to prove the point.
Soaked well, placed inside folded paper for a few days in a vise 2-5 tons of pressure.




The paper got a nice card shaped embossing, and both got a woodgrain embossing that doesn't show in the scans.
No transfer at all.

Soaking in solvents might do it, but I haven't tried that. And probably won't.
The card is a fairly worn common, and the embossing may have worked its way out. I'd have to find it and check.

The exact formula for the ink will be important. Some of the bases used harden and simply won't transfer. Others dry, but never completely, and with pressure and vibration might transfer, but not all that clearly.