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David Cycleback

About David Cycleback

David Cycleback is an art and artifacts historian and an internationally known authentication expert. He has authenticated artifacts for major institutions, was a writer for the standard academic reference Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography, and teaches courses in art authentication. Reprinted by Beijing's Three Shadows Art Center, his guides "Judging the Authenticity of Prints by the Masters" and "Judging the Authenticity of Photographs" were the first comprehensive books on the subjects published in China. He can be reached at [email protected].

Guide to George Burke’s Baseball Photos

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More than 60 years after his death, George Burke remains one of the most famous and collected baseball photographers. Based out of Chicago, Burke shot some of the iconic images of the days' stars including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Dizzy Dean and Joe DiMaggio, was the official photographer for several teams and provided the photos for the Goudey and Play Ball … [Read more...] about Guide to George Burke’s Baseball Photos

Real vs. Not So Real: Tips on Authenticating T206 Cards

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With the hobby's most famous image generating headlines again,  it's probably a good time for  a short column on authenticating the often reprinted T206 cards.  Of course, how to spot a fake Honus Wagner is a skill a LOT of people could use, so with that, here are some tips. 1) Read my past two columns on black light and direct … [Read more...] about Real vs. Not So Real: Tips on Authenticating T206 Cards

Baseball Card Advertising Examples Through the Ages

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This column shows a number of posters, signs, magazine ads and other items that were used to advertise and promote baseball cards throughout the ages.  These advertisements are collectible, rarer than the cards themselves, and often more valuable.   Click to enlarge the images. The below 1888 display poster advertises the N28 Allen & Ginter cigarette cards … [Read more...] about Baseball Card Advertising Examples Through the Ages

Photos Through the Telephone: A History and Guide to Wirephotos

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For early 1900s newspapers and magazines, there was no overnight national distribution of images. News photographs were shipped by plane, train and even boat. While this was okay for the many popular monthly magazines, most early daily newspapers had relatively few images and fewer still that were dated. While turn of the century news services could send the printed text … [Read more...] about Photos Through the Telephone: A History and Guide to Wirephotos

How to Date Real Photo Postcards

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Real photo postcards are postcards with genuine photographic images on the front. They are actual photographs on photopaper, but designed to be mailed and have letters written on the back. As with all photographs, if you examine the images under strong magnification the you'll see no dot or other printed ink patterns. Popular in the early to mid 1900s, real photo postcards … [Read more...] about How to Date Real Photo Postcards

Tips for Identifying Authentic Vintage News Photos

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Vintage news photos are a highly popular area of collecting these days, but many collectors and sellers have difficulty knowing if that photo of Babe Ruth, Red Grange or Greta Garbo is vintage or a modern reproduction. As you'll likely expect, a later reprint will be worth a small fraction of the original. While authenticating photographs involves examining many aspects of … [Read more...] about Tips for Identifying Authentic Vintage News Photos

How to Use a Black Light to Identify Reprints and Fakes of Antique Paper Collectibles

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For collectors of pre-World War II paper memorabilia—whether it’s sports cards, photographs, scorecards, postcards, advertising posters or booklets— there is a sophisticated yet inexpensive and easy to use tool for quickly identifying many modern reprints and fakes. This tool is called a longwave ultraviolet light, better known as a black light. While there are many uses for … [Read more...] about How to Use a Black Light to Identify Reprints and Fakes of Antique Paper Collectibles

A Guide to Early Mounted Photographs

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Nearly all 1800s paper photographic prints are mounted to cardboard backing, and are commonly called card photographs. A percentage of early 1900s photographs are also mounted as card photographs. The early paper photographic prints were thin and delicate and had to be affixed to a backing. However, the backing also made for an attractive presentation. Early photographs can … [Read more...] about A Guide to Early Mounted Photographs

Not Always Cardboard: Unusual Materials Used to Make Trading Cards

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By tradition, trading cards have been made out of rectangular cardstock. In fact, the dictionary definition of card usually is a rectangular piece of cardstock or heavy paper. However, card companies have at times stretched or radically broken the trading card rules and issued cards, or at least card-related collectibles, using unusual materials and/or different … [Read more...] about Not Always Cardboard: Unusual Materials Used to Make Trading Cards

Collecting Sports Movie Ephemera

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From Raging Bull to Breaking Away a great number of motion pictures since the silent era have been about sports. Further, many sports stars have appeared in movies, some even making multiple appearances, including Babe Ruth, Jim Brown, Sonja Henie and Johnny Weismuller. This column looks at some of the standard types of ephemera from movies, whether it's The Pride of the … [Read more...] about Collecting Sports Movie Ephemera