REA's 1910 Cobb Sliding Photo LET THE BUYER BEWARE

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Bicem

Just had a collector friend text me an example of a pre-1910 Conlon with borders. I believe you can tell it's pre-1910 based on Conlon's New Jersey address on the stamp. He says they are rare but do exist.

I have seen, handled and collected pre-1910 conlons with borders.

To be clear, This scan you posted came directly from Henry Yee’s database and was given to your friend. There are more.

In speaking with Henry, I believe the Ty Cobb is a Type 1.

[Bicem]

Agreed Ben, just made that clarification in my post, apparently we have mutual friends?

[lumberjack]

Conlon used borders on his prints, as you pointed out with the 1903 Tannehill, but we couldn't find any among our 8x10 dead ball images prior to 1914.

I have a few, Ralph Works and George Mullin, that have borders, but they don't look right. They are too black and white and by 1915 Conlon was using paper that was of a heavier stock.

A Conlon contact print from 1910 is generally from 0.13 mm to 0.15mm. The images I have from 1915 on are 0.16 mm (the size of the Works and Mullin prints). Yeah, I know, I don't have a lot to do during the pandemic.

By the 1920s, and late '30s, Conlon was using heavier paper still, 0.17 to 0.19.

An inexpensive micrometer or digital caliper is all you need; you are not measuring the thickness of paint scraped off of "Night Watch."

It would be just great if Henry Yee would say a few words right about now.

The REA image is going to go thru the roof. What's the over/under on 375 thousand dollars? Everybody has something to gain: old guys with collections, people ready to sell, dealers and grading companies. I include myself somewhere in there.

I agree, it's a terrific looking image. What irks me is the arbitrary nature of the grading scale. The goal post got moved.

Paul Messier, someone I have no connection to, is probably the premier expert on grading photographs. Look him up.
lumberjack

[drcy]

There are strong trends but few absolutes in photographic history, such as about borders and time periods. For whatever rule one makes, there's bound to be an exception discovered.

Many trends are not because they could not do something, but because most didn't. Photographers tended to follow the in vogue trends.

Though stylistic trends are very essential to dating and authenticating photos. I have no particular knowledge about how and when Conlon used borders or what sizes he made, and don't follow his photos as closely as others here. Most Pre-1910 photos didn't have white borders, but that doesn't mean they couldn't or never did. 8x10" was an uncommon size back then, and, ordinarily, an 8x10" white-bordered photo would be assumed to be more modern. But that's a statement of trends or a population report, not a rule.

As a kid of maybe 8, I saw the Conlon image in the family encyclopedia and the image immediately captured my imagination. Something unconscious and neurological about it, as with many great artworks. I've had similar immediate experiences with a Vermeer and a Francis Bacon, some other famous artworks.