Knickerbocker Photo (Update)

[SteveS]

RCMcKenzie, along those lines and just for fun, I ran your Chickering cabinet through a reverse image search. This is one of the possibilities that popped up. Everyone needs to note that in no way am I saying this is Cap Anson. I'm not going down that rabbit hole, and I have no idea if he had any connection to Boston. But there are noticeable similarities. Again, not at all saying it's him and it came up not through my IDing it but through the reverse search. Just a fun thing to throw out there.

[68Hawk]

Chinese bots have taken over this site, right???

[SteveS]

No. Russian.

[RCMcKenzie]

That's awesome, Steve. The ears match don't they?

[SteveS]

Yes, among other things. To me, the eyes are very close. Looking at this and other pictures of him, notice how his left eye stretches out, and the eyebrow extends well past his nose. You don't see that in a lot of people. The same hairstyle can also be seen in other photos of him. I'm sure you can find some connection to Boston; I'm sure he must have played a game there at some point. Chickering certainly would have been a candidate to take a picture of someone of his status there. But again, I am not going down that rabbit hole and I'm not saying for sure that it's him. That's something you can investigate further if you want. Maybe you can start another thread on here and enjoy the experience that I've had. I'm kidding about that last part. It's actually been fun, because talking about baseball is always fun.

[seablaster]

Cap Anson? Seriously?

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

That's awesome, Steve. The ears match don't they?

No, the ears do not match. Nor do the eyebrows. This is definitely not the same person.

[SteveS]

Just gonna say it one more time. In no way did I say that this is Cap Anson. I didn't see a resemblance to anyone when I first looked at it, but the reverse image search spit out this photo of Anson. After looking at this and other pictures of him, I can't say that it's absolutely ridiculous. So I posted it for RCMcKenzie to investigate further if he wants, but again, I am not making any claims. I have enough on my hands with Knickerbockers and Wrights.

[Snowman]

It looks like the purported Wright cabinet photo most likely dates to the early to mid 1890s based on drcy's feedback and the artist's other similar work that I've been able to find online. George Wright was born in 1847, so he would have probably been in his early to mid 40s when this photo was taken. Obviously that doesn't prove that it's him, but if you were to ask me how old I thought the subject in the photo was without any other information, I would have guessed mid 40s.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

That's awesome, Steve. The ears match don't they?

One has detached ear lobes the other one attached.

[SteveS]

Snowman, yes, I would not have bought it without the age being right for the era (or "Wright for the era," If you will) and the strong Boston connection, which I believe provides at least some provenance.

Scott, as I said, I don't make any claims regarding RCMcKenzie's photo, and he can pursue it further if he wants. But when I sharpen it and blow it up and look very closely, it's difficult to tell where the ear ends and the shadow begins. The part I find most interesting that is more evident in other pictures of Anson is the stretched eye and elongated eyebrow. I posted this particular picture of him because that's the one the reverse image finder produced. But again, I am in no way making any claim that it is Anson, and would rather stick to Knickerbockers in this thread.

[drcy]

With the Anson and the Nicholas Cage photos (and the Ty Cobb in the other thread), I think people are catching on that it takes more than a resemblance to prove a photograph identification authentic. If you look through someone's yearbooks, you'll likely find someone who resembles someone famous.

I've never dismissed that there are resemblances, or that the Chickering as a photographer is significant.

This all also demonstrates why the examination of the photograph itself and its age is essential. Doesn't matter how much someone looks like Babe Ruth. A 30 year old Babe Ruth couldn't appear on a 1890 cabinet card.

In cases of some photos of famous people, the photos are known to have come from the estate. In fact, there are Cap Anson photos out there that came from his family, I believe his granddaughter.

And with many antique photos there are mysteries and always will be mysteries. Most tintypes, and most baseball tintypes, are of unknown people, their identities lost in time.