My question is always with back stamp dates. They are a great tool in so many ways, but can also be very deceiving. I have seen type 1 photos from Bain and others that were stamped decades later by news services and archives. I have then seen other similar photos stamped a few years after the publication date that are absolutely type 1 photos that were simply stamped by a library or archive when they got the photo. So a 1910 photo that was made in 1910 and not date stamped could have been given to a different archive that stamps their photos in 1918 and all of the sudden it is a type 2 because of the date stamp.
I have said before and I will again, the 2 year thing a totally arbitrary and random number which means absolutely nothing. A photo expert can tell whether a photo is of the right time period or not and very few will have the right documentation to certify them as original type 1 photos.
As a side what will happen once Type 1 photos start selling for huge premiums are
1. Fake Back Stamps and date stampings
2. Obliteration of legit stampings that might be 3-4 years later to pass a photo within the 2 year period
3. Additional photo alterations to try and cash in on this 2 year timeline.
I like the idea but hate the 2 year limit for a type 1.
Rhys
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