Photograph Authentication: Am I right or Wrong?

[Johnphotoman]

: I have nailed it down to two possibilities as to the mystery baseball photos. One is, team issue/Player Picture Pack Photo issued through Stadiums. These would be Type 1, made right from the original negative. And people have said they or someone in their family had acquired theirs right from the stadium or bought them from a dealer who said that’s what they were, all around the time period of the 1940s-1950. And they match the ones in the collection to the “T”, same style text, name on photos. I will say this qualifies as an eyewitness, who has firsthand knowledge of the photos.

The second one is commercial photos, viva magazines like sporting News, etc. And again all around the time period 1940s/1950s. These would be Type 3 period pieces, meaning-photo was made the year it was taken, only from a second negative. Not first-hand knowledge, only people who have said-I have seen ones as you have in these magazines. No one has said, yes I have seen the exact one in these magazines. I call this hearsay, not to say it is not very good info, but just not an eyewitness. The hunt continues to find out, once- and- for- all, which one is right. And then maybe I can find out who the photographer was. Thanks for all the great info, John.

[T206Jim]

The simplest way to think about it is as follows:

The original photo taken at the scene of the image is a Type I of the scene depicted.

Your photo is a Type III of the scene depicted, as it is a photo of the original photo. Your photo is however a Type I photo of the original photo, just not the scene depicted.

As collectors are interested mainly in type 1s of the scene depicted and not type 1s of of photos of that scene, the market, rightly or wrongly, will always value yours at a lesser value.

[D. Bergin]

Just to add another layer of confusion onto this. Because these were generally commercial photos sold in Sporting publications by various outfits over a large period of time...

....even if you think it's somehow a Type I, there's a very good chance it's a Type II...and if you think it's a Type III, there's an even better chance it's a Type IV.

I'd explain further, but I don't think I have the energy.

Just enjoy your collection while you can, for whatever it may or may not be.