Type 1 versus wire photo help

[Jersey City Giants]

Thanks for posting this as I would love someone to explain this to me as well. Also, what happens when there is no date stamp?

[Forever Young]

A type 1 original photo is developed off the original negative at the time the photo was taken(winthin approx 2 years). Type 2.. same thing. It developed later(after 2 years). Both developed of ORIGINAL NEG.

A wire photo is a product of a wire machine. They can also be done at the time the photo was taken. However, they are created in a much different way and the photo quality is not close to as good. It is done with a series of lines one after the other. How the picture is established is extreme lights to darks and everything in between on each line. Wires are type 3s in the type system.

So.. if you look closely and under magnification, you will actually see the lines that compose a wire photo.

Re stamps: sometimes a stamp will literally say wire photo or give a exact time the wire was received. Many times you won’t be able to tell by stamps alone. You need to look at clarity and what i mentioned above. Also, many wire photos if not trimme, have the embedded caption on the front.

I wrote this on phone with voice to text so sorry if things are lost in translation. Pm me if you need more info or have other questions as i am always willing to help new photo guys. Ben

[Snapolit1]

Everything Ben said. He's the guy.

Only thing I would add is that pre-1935, wire photos were very rarely used for sports photographs. So if you see a Babe Ruth picture from 1928 described as a wire photo that is likely inaccurate. Wire photo technology really wasn't perfected (if that's the right term) before 1934-35 when AP installed a much improved system.

[Jersey City Giants]

so is the Mathews photo above a wire photo (aka Type 3)?

[ibuysportsephemera]

It looks like it could be a Type 1 photo...or at least a Type 2 IMO.

Jeff

[Jersey City Giants]

Ok so how would this be a Type II if the date if on the back ? Sorry for all the questions but just trying to learn.

[ibuysportsephemera]

Originally Posted by Jersey City Giants

Ok so how would this be a Type II if the date if on the back ? Sorry for all the questions but just trying to learn.

Probably a Type 1 based on the date. But without knowing the dimensions and seeing the photo in person..it is hard to tell if it was trimmed or not (which would make possibly a wire photo).

As for the Type 2, Newspapers kept these photos in files and would use them over and over again but in this case it would have other dates on it.

When I responded to you, I was really trying to get across that it was probably not a wire photo...it was an original photo made from the negative.

Jeff