Posted By:
Corey R. ShanusMy apologies for not responding to this thread earlier.
Yes, I did purchase that elephant plate collodion negative of the Mansfield baseball club c. 1872. It was a piece I had been aware of for some time and was glad to have the chance to acquire it at auction. When the piece was first brought to my attention, it was represented to be an ambrotyoe. Collodion negatives and ambrotypes are made from the same chemical process, though with different chemical concentrations. An ambrotype this size is unheard of, not to mention being too late (they were essentially replaced by tintypes/positive images by the early to mid 1860's). If in fact the year of the image is 1872 (which a period letter affixed to the verso of the frame suggests might be the case), then Jim O'Rourke should be in the picture. When I look at the players faces with a loupe, there is one player in particular who looks like it might be him, but admitedly due to the lack of enough facial features I cannot say for sure.
In regard to the future state of this forum, at such time as I obtain the capability to scan transparencies, I will look forward to posting images from my collection.