Real Fred Clarke Photo?

[drcy]

It's still hard to tell from the bigger image. But I can tell you that if it's a modern computer print, it would have a multi-color dot pattern under a microscope. Also, a black light will help identify if it's made out of modern material.

The picture of Clarke could be vintage, but, if so, I don't know where it comes from. It looks more like vintage in your bigger picture than in the small eBay image. If it is real S74-like cloth, I've never heard of a modern forgery on such material. I don't know why someone would use silk to make such a forgery. If it's S74-like cloth and has genuine foxing on it, I would assume it's vintage. Though some may say the next question is if the picture and the mount/frame are original to each other.

But, without having it in hand, its still idle speculation for me, and I'll leave it at that.

[fossilcards]

Thanks everyone for their input. It is indeed a mystery to me. I can take it to a friend with a microscope to check. I do have a black light. What would be an indicator of modern material?

[tnfoto]

Originally Posted by drcy

...
The picture of Clarke could be vintage, but, if so, I don't know where it comes from.
...

The photo is ca. 1910. It is the same image used on Clarke's M116 card.

[drcy]

If it fluoresces very bright white or very bright white with a bluish tinge like a piece of today's computer paper, it's modern material. Use a piece of today's computer paper or recent baseball card for comparison. If it doesn't, that doesn't prove it Pre-War, but much to most modern white cloth and paper fluoresce very brightly. Modern (post WWII) white cloth and paper commonly has fluorescing chemicals added during manufacturing, that's why it fluoresces so brightly under blackight. That's why our white clothes and even white shoelaces glow in the dark under Halloween party blacklights. The chemicals are intentionally added to white materials to make them appear brighter in sunlight, as sunlight contains ultraviolet rays.

A blacklight is one of the quickest ways to identify many modern reprints and counterfeits of antique cards, posters, postcards, photos and other paper collectibles.

[fossilcards]

Sure enough, it glows...so it's modern silk or some other material. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make a fake like this...well I guess it's time to fight it through eBay.

Thanks for all the help and education!