Henry Yee Auction

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Is it more likely that all of these newspaper archive acquisitions will depress the market prices for original photos or will they generate more and more collectors entering this segment of the hobby as more product will become available and, thus, ultimately increase prices? Of course, all of the hardcore photo collectors will say the latter but how do the non-biased board members feel?

I think both. The abundance of photos, especially the lower-to-mid-tier ones, is keeping prices down on those for now as more are coming into the market than collectors can absorb, even with more photo collectors being drawn in by the abundance/attractiveness of vintage photos. On the other hand, even with all of the archives opening up, there are still not enough top-tier photos to go around for the existing collectors, let alone the new collectors who are refining their tastes and working their way up the chain to the nicer material. Even with all of these archives opening up, there simply isn't the equivalent of a "Black Swamp Find" when it comes to top tier photos, and you're not going to see a collection of, say, 100 early-career original Babe Ruth photos hitting the market all at once and driving down prices. The Top Tier photos will remain top tier, and in my opinion, will only go higher as more collectors turn their eyes to vintage photos.

But enough talking about market prices of stuff. To modify what Mark said, collect what you like, but not what I like, and we'll all be happy