One often thinks of photoshopping-style image manipulations and photographic trickery as something of the modern digital age. However, nineteenth and early twentieth photographers produced many wild and imaginative manipulated images that compete with anything made on today's computers. This included collages, composite designs and artistic embellishments. … [Read more...] about ‘Photoshopping’ and Other Creative Designs in Early Baseball Photography
David Cycleback's Identification and Authentication Advice
Guide to George Burke’s Baseball Photos
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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