HOF Snapshot Photos.Lets see them!

[71buc]

Chris, great Rose photos! I'm curious where they originated from. There's a seller on eBay with a couple thousand of spring training snapshots that seem to span the early 60's through the mid 70's. Stylistically your Rose photos are very similar. I wonder if they come from the same collection? I purchased many of the 71 Pirates from the seller but alas no Clemente, Stargell, or Ellis were to be had. I'm curious as to the story behind them and the identity of the photographer who took them. Nonetheless, those Rose photos are beautiful.

[Bumpus Jones]

Thanks, Mike. I believe they originated from the same source / photographer but I acquired them through another individual...

[GoCubsGo32]

Alan- Nice pickup!!! Beauty Ruth's!
Sean - Love the Speaker and whose the player above him?

I believe those Rose are from that set of snapshots that are on eBay as well nice Rose!

[thecatspajamas]

Mike, I believe Al Prince is the name of the photographer you are looking for.

A couple of his photos also appear in the book Baseball Fantography, which was probably inevitable given his prolific output and that it is a book centered around baseball snapshot photos.

[BradH]

Originally Posted by thecatspajamas

Mike, I believe Al Prince is the name of the photographer you are looking for.

Lance - was Al Prince a team photog? There were several popular photogs in the 1950s-70s who made a living doing freelance spring training tours every year.

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by BradH

Lance - was Al Prince a team photog? There were several popular photogs in the 1950s-70s who made a living doing freelance spring training tours every year.

Not that I know of, at least not in an "official team photographer" capacity, though I could be wrong. I admit to not knowing much about him other than he is now deceased, and most of his photos that I have seen have a similar composition and tend to be in the 3-1/2"x3-1/2" snapshot format. Here is a shot of Tommie Aaron that I had once upon a time that was attributed to him.

[71buc]

Al Prince, I think you are correct. The knowledge base here never ceases to amaze me! He seemed to favor the hands on hips pose. I posted a few of these awhile back but will do so again for comparison sake. The handwriting on the reverse is the same as well.

[71buc]

Originally Posted by thecatspajamas

Mike, I believe Al Prince is the name of the photographer you are looking for.

A couple of his photos also appear in the book Baseball Fantography, which was probably inevitable given his prolific output and that it is a book centered around baseball snapshot photos.

Thanks Lance I will look for that book.

Mike

[BradH]

Chris - awesome Rose pics - the last one has such an iconic look to it.
Sean - that Speaker is amazing!

Originally Posted by 71buc

Chris, great Rose photos! I'm curious where they originated from. There's a seller on eBay with a couple thousand of spring training snapshots that seem to span the early 60's through the mid 70's. Stylistically your Rose photos are very similar. I wonder if they come from the same collection? I purchased many of the 71 Pirates from the seller but alas no Clemente, Stargell, or Ellis were to be had. I'm curious as to the story behind them and the identity of the photographer who took them. Nonetheless, those Rose photos are beautiful.

Mike - a lot of these kinds of snap shots were actually taken by the team photographers of the day. Based on the poses and the style of the shot, I am 99% sure the Rose shots originated from the Reds photog of the early 60s. Could have come from someone else, such as a UPI or AP photog, but the style and poses are the same as others of that era that came from the teams.

Unfortunately for many of the teams (but fortunately for collectors of today), many of these were released years ago. More tragically, much of this kind of material was simply thrown in dumpsters when teams moved to new stadiums in the 1960s and '70s. I know a few collectors - and some very high-profile dealers - were "in the right place at at the right time" to take advantage of these situations. And I'm not talking about just the photos - player contracts, uniforms, etc were often thrown out in haste. That might be where a lot of these photos are originating from on eBay (I'm not sure of the seller you're referring to).

Hope that helps.

[71buc]

Thanks Brad that would explain the quality of the photos composition which often does not appear to be amateurish. I know times were different then but I cannot imagine players posing so willingly for a fan.