Brooklyn CDV

[jhs5120]

Wow.

Well, I'm glad that this argument has finally been settled. Kudos to Troy for keeping his composure during this ridiculous witch hunt and shame on the few (you know who you are) for nit-picking his efforts. I understand skepticism, I'm a CPA and professional skepticism pays the bills, but this thread quickly turned into an embarrassment to the hobby.

Troy, good luck with the auction. I hope it hits six figures (I'm not holding my breath though).

[bmarlowe1]

Some people have trouble seeing 3-D, others don't. I am somewhere in the middle. I have to have the image size on the screen just right, the viewing glasses the right distance from the screen, and my face just the right distance from the glasses in order for the 2 images to superimpose into one.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by bmarlowe1

Some people have trouble seeing 3-D, others don't. I am somewhere in the middle. I have to have the image size on the screen just right, the viewing glasses the right distance from the screen, and my face just the right distance from the glasses in order for the 2 images to superimpose into one.

Very cool - I don't even need the 3-D glasses. Just cross your eyes like you do with the 'magic eye' images. It takes a little bit longer, but works fine.

Given the fact that this was the 'other half' of a stereo view, and the image does not exist elsewhere, I don't see how it could possibly not be authentic.

[atx840]

It most definitely is a stereoscope image. This may bother some peoples eyes.

[oldjudge]

Jason-the real embarrassment of the hobby is that people don't do their own research and become easy marks for crooks. This thread has thus far brought out many interesting points but, I believe, has not yet answered the basic question as to whether the CdV is period. With Chris's good work we have established that there were probably two negatives from this shoot. The SRA image thus is from a different negative than the LOC image. However, that still doesn't say whether it is period or a second generation photograph of this image, or an image from another source, later attached to the Williamson mount(the glue to the right of the photo still makes this a viable Henry). I hope you are not embarrassed by asking questions when doing audits, if you do those.

[mrvster]

Thats wild looking

[Runscott]

Jay, very good points. But even if it turns out it's a later image that was affixed to a used Williamson mount, given that Paul Messier feels almost certain it's 19th century, it seems very unlikely that it would be a late 19th century 2nd generation image - that would mean that someone had access to the original image for 25+ years, then made a copy, glued it to an 1865-75 cdv mount (correct period, by the correct photography studio), and then threw away the original image. Unless the original image was trashed and they were creating a replacement.

And if it really is a ca. 1870 image, but was made from a photo (as opposed to a negative), it's unlikely that anyone will be able to tell the difference due to the blurry vignette image and the fact that it would still be 140+ years old.

The other alternative is that it's a modern albumen that looks just like an 1870's one, but was made from an image that no one has ever seen before - probably the least likely scenario of all.

[boneheadandrube]

Are stereoscope photo's albumen? Could an original S-Scope photo (right or left side and removed carefully) have been found and put on a Williamson CdV? Maybe why it doesn't fit the mount? I don't know anything about these super early baseball objects, but I have viewed many s-scopes, and was just wondering?
GB

[barrysloate]

One thing I've always wondered is how late after the fact might a studio reproduce a photo? Is it possible someone could have approached them in 1885 and said, I had an uncle who played on the 1865 Atlantics, could you produce an accurate copy of the team? In some cases, if the studio were still in business, could they have made a very good reproduction to order?

[Saco River Auction]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to show you another cool item in the same sale as the CDV. It is a 1888 Dartmouth Football team cabinet photo featuring Cincinnati Major League Pitcher Leon Viau, beautifully framed and matted 17x13 in frame. He also played for the Cleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels and Boston Beaneaters.

Troy

[Runscott]

.............

[MW1]

I find the following statements from Saco Auctions to be confusing:

The card was found a couple of months ago by an antiques picker in Baileyville, a town of about 1,700 people in rural Washington County. The picker stopped at a yard sale in search of furniture, but found none. Instead, the people who were having the yard sale brought the picker to a woodshed, where he found some old Coca-Cola bottles and a photo album, Thibodeau said. Inside the album was the card, which shows 10 stone-faced baseball players, some with bats in hand. It’s a carte de visite, a type of small photograph usually made of thin albumen print and mounted on a thicker piece of paper. Hartford said the picker, who does not want to be publicly identified, sent it to Saco River Auctions because he had heard about the King Kelly card auction. “It came to us out of the blue,” Hartford said. Source: http://www.pressherald.com/life/1865...r-auction.html


Then we have the following from the New York Post:

The seller, whose name was withheld for privacy purposes, happened to find the card by chance after he purchased a photo album, several old Coke bottles and a couple of oak chairs for under $100 at the yard sale. The card was found inside the photo album and the man mailed it to Saco River Auction. Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_...zkRWQuj6BWdLNI


According to NPR (quoting the NYP), however, the picker mentioned in the original story, was actually Floyd Hartford, the owner of Saco Auctions:

The New York Post reports that a 148-year-old Brooklyn Atlantics baseball card was discovered late last year in a photo album Floyd Hartford purchased among other things at a yard sale. Source: http://www.wbur.org/npr/171286526/ga...-auction-block

[atx840]

HOS

"UPDATE Saturday Feb. 9: In a report published by NPR after the sale of the Brooklyn Atlantics CDV on Wednesday, writer Tanya Ballard Brown identified Saco River Auctions auctioneer, Floyd Hartford as the anonymous “antique picker” who originally discovered the rare cdv at a yard sale"

[Runscott]

Saco sure has been lucky as of late.

That's some good pickins.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I thought it was on eBay originally. Maybe the NPR story is wrong.

[mikemcgrail]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

Wow.

Well, I'm glad that this argument has finally been settled. Kudos to Troy for keeping his composure during this ridiculous witch hunt and shame on the few (you know who you are) for nit-picking his efforts. I understand skepticism, I'm a CPA and professional skepticism pays the bills, but this thread quickly turned into an embarrassment to the hobby.

Troy, good luck with the auction. I hope it hits six figures (I'm not holding my breath though).

I have just worked my way thru this entire thread. Great stuff and lots of information from many of you!!

I must have missed the "embarrassment to the hobby" stuff Jason. All I encountered were things that I feel make the hobby better and more transparent.

Mike McGrail

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by mikemcgrail

I have just worked my way thru this entire thread. Great stuff and lots of information from many of you!!

I must have missed the "embarrassment to the hobby" stuff Jason. All I encountered were things that I feel make the hobby better and more transparent.

Mike McGrail

+1

I think it was one of the most useful threads we've had here in a long time. We were able to learn quite a bit about what's important to collectors when it comes to risk and protecting the integrity of the hobby, and that it varies greatly among collectors. It was also interesting to find out how knowledgeable about albumens some board members are (and surprisingly in some cases, aren't). I made some good contacts and reinforced others - personally, I loved it.

It was also very interesting to learn more about authentication options, where the expertise is and where people think it might be. We also saw a very wide range of collector expectations when it comes to auction houses.

It was refreshing to see Troy be so forthright and passionate with his responses - most auction houses wouldn't have been. Even though I disagree with him on many points, at least he participated.

[smokelessjoe]

I will be bidding on this one.... Just a fair warning!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/First-Baseba...item257a70e353

[packs]

Pretty speedy reprint.

[oldjudge]

It's a slow time for a Steeler fan. What better thing to do than photocopy a few images and make some "reprints".