Why there is a pencil outline on Ruth?-1932 photo

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by Yi

Is this good to the value of the photo or bad?

In most cases it does not add value, but if tastefully done (as in this case), is not a big detractor. Generally speaking, most "edits" done to photos like this were done in water-soluble inks and paints or wax pencil and can be removed if desired by the collector. That said though, in a case like this, I would let the end collector make the choice whether to have the enhancement removed as it does not detract from the image. If it were something like wax pencil crop marks around Ruth's head only, my opinion might be different. I try to take these things on a case-by-case basis.