[drcy]

I was an outside advisor for Becket photos early on, before the even started up I think, and would advise them from afar (literally email) on a few photos. I never handled or labelled any of the holdered photos and stopped working with them (and visa versa) a few years ago. Though I gave email opinions on one or two photos. The first time I see these photos is when they're posted about on Net54.

I don't follow the photos auction market and PSA/Beckett photos like you guys, as I'm not an active buyer and seller, but did notice on eBay a more modern UPI '1920s' boxing photo holdered by Beckett as Type I. I said i noticed this error to a board member and he said "Some guys on Net54 have notice other errors as well."

I have no insight what went on with these and other errors. Perhaps they had a regular card graded handle them as a bulk order at a show. The one I mentioned was obviously a questionable item as UPI was, of course, founded in the 1950s. I would hope it's a bad batch and they learned or corrected the error/method. But I have no insight.

Perhaps interestingly, when they first contacted me about them grading photos, I said the best thing they could do would be to mail photos for me to authenticated, but the head guy at Beckett said they couldn't do that due to economic reasons-- which I understand. I'm 1,000+ miles away from them. For cards, I think they do a lot of grading and submissions at card shows.

Perhaps even more interestingly, when a big non-sport auction house asked me to authenticate and catalog a LARGE collection of photos, I was originally supposed to fly out to them but there was a travel/schedule mix up, so they mailed all the photos (BOXES AND BOXES) to me by mail on the other coast. For an idea, one box of photos weighed 75 pounds and I needed help dragging it up the stairs! . . . To their credit, the auction house up front admitted they weren't photo experts, and so were reaching out to an outside expert in photos to handle the whole collection-- and handle it in person. They readily admitted the limits of their knowledge and didn't try and i.d./date/describe the collection on their own.

The honorable Scott F. and I talked about sharing a table at the next national, where he sells T206s and I give opinions on photos. My pricing will be $3 for an opinion, $7 for an opinion about the photograph. Though I wonder about scheduling a vacation to the Cleveland airport. Better up the pricing to $4 and $9. I'll bring plastic sandwich bags and an iron, in case anyone wants the photos holdered.