Need some help on collecting vintage photos
 

Most everything I do in this hobby is geared towards making a profit. While that is rewarding in its own way, I miss out on having a collection of my own, and I want it to be something that I do for fun and not profit.

What I have decided to collect are type 1 pre war photos of kids playing baseball. These can be anything from wire photos to personal photos. I would be most interested in action type of photos as opposed to strictly team photos, although that could vary depending on the piece.

My question is...where would be a good source for such a thing? I assume they would cost a fraction of what type 1's of big leaguers cost, but at the same time, may be harder to locate.

Any suggestions on where I might be able to find such things? People I can talk to?

Thanks for any help.

Tom C

Interesting choice Tom -- I think it's a double edged sword. They will be cheap because hardly anyone else buys them, but because they aren't in demand, most people don't sell them. I really can't remember seeing any type 1 photos of kids playing baseball. I have several vintage photos of kids at the HOF, or kids checking out sporting goods, but nothing in action.
There are several big sellers on eBay of vintage newspaper photo collections -- I will have to check their names for you.
You may also want to consider real photo postcards -- I have definitely seen those with kids playing.
With either photos or postcards, I don't think you'd ever have to pay more than ten bucks a pop.
Happy hunting!

Greg

If you include all kids baseball photos-- not just action shots--, you will find a wide selection, including real photo postcards, cabinet cards, team photos, tintypes, etc. A lot of 1800s-early 1900s mounted high school/grade school team photos around. A lot of those can be found on eBay.

And you are correct, a photo of a kid's team or kids will be a lot cheaper than MLB and college players.

I definitely plan to include RPPC's to my collection. For right now I plan to only go with action images although there is always a chance that a team photo catches my eye. I have a feeling that personal photos would be more prevalent in terms of what I am looking for.

I really just don't know where the best places would be for me to look for this kind of thing. Certain dealers or certain locations? That is kind of my issue at the moment. Where is the best place to find this type of stuff.

Thanks for the help so far.

Tom C

Start by going to your local newspaper or library.
In addition to having a lot of their own stock, often the stock they have might have been donated by a local photographer or family. There could be names associated with the photos and you can trace them back.
When I worked for a newspaper, we had some photos of an air base that were donated and I was able to locate pictures of Howard Hughes that way.
As well, simply ask friends and neighbors. My guess is there isn't a central location of this type of photo but you would be able to build a nice one over time.

Ebay.

It may not be quite what it was in the old days, but eBay is still in many ways "the nation's garage sale." There are a handful of sellers who somewhat specialize in splitting up and parting our old photo albums, as well as the usual estate sale lots. Some percentage of these will feature your subject matter of choice, and it becomes a matter of narrowing your search down by including some terms and excluding others until you have a grouping of likely items.

please forgive the interruption.