Brooklyn CDV

[smokelessjoe]

I wouldn't say that Williamson was well known for his Frame/crop work in regards to his CDVs.... Some are pretty sloppy.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by smokelessjoe

I wouldn't say that Williamson was well known for his Frame/crop work in regards to his CDVs.... Some are pretty sloppy.

Actually, those look pretty good, and he uses the entire available mount on both. That one on the left is a great example of his vignettes, and a very clear image.

[smokelessjoe]

Scott,

We will disagree I guess... Actually not of high quality - certainly not his best. Trimmed & mounted fairly hastily / crooked and overlapping... and a clear image compared to what? I would have to have another of the same to say whether its clear or not? (this in context of comparing two CDVs in question)

[Runscott]

never mind....waste of time

[drc]

Visa vie my earlier post, I thought it would be interesting to post three 1860s period Abe Lincoln albumen photos. These were made for sale and are by prominent studios.

#1) Mathew Brady cabinet with sharp and clear image (though with some aging/foxing)





#2) Oversized albumen with second generation/worn image and some artistic manipulation. By Henry F. Warren, well known to baseball photo collectors Of historical footnote, this is the last image of Lincoln.






#3) And an albumen CDV that reproduces artwork, probably an engraving. It's actually a photograph of the art.

[oldjudge]

Troy--any word on the guarantee?

[Saco River Auction]

I spoke with Paul Messier This Morning and Posed the question that Cory asked Me to. The question was how certain are you that this albumen was printed in the 19th century?

Paul's Response is that "He has a extremely high level of certainty that this was printed in the 19th century and is period". Moreover, There was also no evidence to support that this was made any other time. He is extremely certain that this is a 19th century albumen print, created in the mid 19th century.

Also, Paul is away this week, however next week he will be available for phone calls. The only caviat is you need to set the appointment up with me in order to call him, as we do not want him pestered by certain people and reporters.

And Jay I have not forgot about you, you will have your answer shortly.

Troy

[drc]

I haven't followed the details of this thread or looked closely at the images, but having handled countless 'mass produced' 1860s CDVs of famous people and situations I can say that the image quality can legitimately vary in quality and clarity between CDVs of the same subject. These were often produced as commercial items, not original works of art, and the image quality can vary for a variety of reasons, including aging and time changes to the negative or print, who made them, perhaps the some were made form a copy images, etc. It's possible to find one lighter and/or clearer than another and they were made in the same year. Perhaps they weren't made in the same way or by the same printer (helping to explain the difference), but they can be from the same time period.

With civil war era photo of US generals, presidents and other famous people, some of the images are clearly first generation (images are as sharp and detailed as a modern photo) while others are copy images, copy negatives and even reproductions of engravings and paintings. The latter don't qualify as 'Type I' but do date to Civil War.