The "Type" system was proposed by 2 collectors Henry Yee, also a seller, and Marshall Fogel around 2005 in the book "A Portrait of Baseball Photography." The system attempts to categorize and organize pictures by date printed as compared to the date the picture was actually taken.
This is an excellent book, as beside the system, it goes into great detail into various topics about collecting pictures including news company stamps and the time frames they were used, great photographers and their histories, as well as general collecting topics.
About a year ago PSA/DNA and Beckett started offering a service to authenticate and even slab pictures using the system. This has caused an uproar as there is a large anti "Third Party Authenticator" faction in this group of experienced collectors, especially when it come to PSA.
There are many who don't like the system and many who do, both for various reasons detailed in another recent thread. Without getting into this debate again, here are the official guidelines for the different types in the classification system.
Type I - A 1st generation photograph, developed from the original negative, during the period (within approximately two years of when the picture was taken).
Type II - A photograph, developed from the original negative, during the period (more than approximately two years after the picture was taken).
Type III - A 2nd generation photograph, developed from a duplicate negative or wire transmission, during the period (within approximately two years of when the picture was taken).
Type IV - A 2nd generation photograph (or 3rd or later generation), developed from a duplicate negative or wire transmission, during a later period (more than approximately two years after the picture was taken)
Unfortunately many sellers misdescribe the photos they sell, some for nefarious reasons and some because they just don't know. The best advice is this. Buy the picture, not the authentication or seller description, whether they use the type description or not. Good pictures are good pictures regardless of how they are classified or described.
Good luck and welcome to the hobby.
Mark
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