Louis Van Oeyen Cleveland Photo?
 

I have this Louis Van Oeyen signed photo.
It looks to be from April 21, 1910 from the date written in pencil on it.
I am trying to figure out who the figures are in the picture.
The 1910 Cleveland Naps opened the season on that date...So it might be the owner watching them raise the flag at the pole?
But there are not a lot of clear pictures of Charles Somers and he seems to have a mustache and these gentlemen dont.
Also the Naps were playing Detroit that day.
So was hoping maybe someone has a clue as to who these men might be.
I am hoping it is an Cleveland opening day item as that is something i really enjoy collecting.
Any help would be appreciated.
Andy

The guy far right is consistent with Somers. I have good photos of him, but unfortunately no profiles. If you can email me a very hi-res scan, I might be able to be more definitive, but no guarantees.

Interested in this part. By "signed" did you mean stamped or an actual hand signature?

In the lower right corner by the feet of the two gentlemen on the right is a signature that says l. Van oeyen.
Hard to make out in this scan but it is there.
I will see if I can take a better scan today just of that.
Andy

Here are some higher resolution scans of the side profile and the signature.
It looks like it reads:
Compliments of
L. Van Oeyen
4/21/10

Thanks again for your help!
Andy

I have a number of Cleveland baseball passes that were issued to Van Oeyen, including this one from 1903. I always just assumed that his name was written by a club employee. After seeing the writing on the photo, I'd say there are at least some similarities, though likely not enough to say without doubt that both names were written by the same hand.

http://www.freewebs.com/indianfever/...s/1903pass.jpg

Guy on far left looks like mayor Baehr, of Cleveland at the time.


Attachment 205522

Two things:
One, Bill the picture you put in the post is of the Mayor before Baehr. His name was Tom Johnson. He does look very similar to the guy pictured. Seems as he left office in 1909 though which would not match up to the hand wrtitten date.
Two, the handwriting does look very similar Rob. I rotated the one i have so it is easier to look at. The "L" is almost an exact match. The "V" is not very but I would have to think these were signed 7 years apart so they would not be exact matches.
Hopefully Mark can find some good images of Charles Somers for me to match up with the image.
Andy

Andrew,
Sorry for the mistake.
I also tried to find your photo by description, in the VanOeyen collection, in the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland. But no cigar. I have a copy of the index list of VanOeyen's photos by description. One photo was close, but it stated LaJoie was in the mix, but I do not see Lajoie in your photo. This one was dated c. 1900s, and described as Men standing in a group by Field, talking.
Have you looked into Getty's images, he bought out a lot of photos from the Cleveland Press when it went down in '82. Many he bought were from the VanOeyen collection.

Bill

The photo is signed by Van Oeyen, the pass was not signed by him but written by a team secretary or someone else on his behalf. I've handled a large amount of his images in the last few years out of both the NEA archive (where he was a staff photographer for several years in the late 1910's and early 1920's) as well as the Cleveland Plain Dealer where they had a tremendous amount of his originals as well. Like Conlon, he hand wrote many of the inscriptions and notes on the backs of images and there are probably 50-100 others out there that I have seen with the handwritten credit on the front in ink or even pencil. Many of the ones with the handwritten notes were from players estates and not from newspapers. He was friendly with many players, owners, and executives and it was common for him to gift images to people. Last year a Cobb photo appeared at market with a long inscription from Van Oeyen on the back for example. The image is wonderful with typical early Van Oeyen quality. For my money, he was the best photographer in the game from 1906-1918 when he freelanced. His paper, execution and production far exceeded Conlon, Bain, and Paul Thompson at the same time but for whatever reason he took jobs at newspapers and shifted his model after the War.

Rhys

Louis Van Oeyen Cleveland Photo?
 

Just noticed the Van Oeyen photo. The four suited officials attending the League Park dedication are left to right Ban Johnson, Gerry Hermann, and Cleveland officials John Kilfoyle and Charles Somers. My opinion is based on familiarity with the officials from other photos, including a crystal clear close-up of them also taken at the League Park dedication. Dennis

Dennis
Where can I see these other photos you speak of?
Andy

Louis Van Oeyen Cleveland Photo?
 

Many of the photos are in my collection. The Bain collection, which I believe is accessible through the Smithson's website, probably contains photos of Ban Johnson and Garry Herrmann. The League Park opener with all four officials is from my collection. I'm new to this web site, so I don't know if and how I can send you a copy. Dennis

Feel free to email me a copy... Ajenks3378@gmail.com thankyou!
Andy