HELP - Removing crop marks ect. from photos

[Bumpus Jones]

Does anyone out there have any experience removing crop marks ect. from old newspaper photos?

I've heard it can be done but not sure how to go about doing it???

Thanks,

Chris

[steve B]

I wouldn't try. Water will damage the photo for sure. Removing the marks will require some kind of solvent. It's also possible that the black is India ink which is very hard to remove. The only stuff I ever had luck with removing india ink from anything was with 111 trichloroethane. And that's been essentially off the market since 2002 and before. I couldn't buy it induustrially as a cleaner after about 1998. Its replacement is alcohol related, and will also wreck photos.

Aside from the difficulty, I like seeing the cropping/image changes done manually back then. To me it adds to the picture as a historical object.
Especially if you can find the original item the photo was published in.

Steve B

[D. Bergin]

If the cropping marks are done with a wax pencil they can simply be rubbed off with a cloth. In the case of the picture you showed that doesn't seem to be the case. I don't think there's much you can really do.

[prewarsports]

It can be done with mixed results if you know what you are doing. White and Gray are not bad but I would not attempt the black, it is heavier material and almost always will start to peel the gelatin surface and damage the photo.

[ibuysportsephemera]

I collect wire photos and love the marks...JMO, but it adds to the history of the photos.

Jeff

[baseballart]

Originally Posted by ibuysportsephemera

I collect wire photos and love the marks...JMO, but it adds to the history of the photos.

Jeff

I agree.

[Bumpus Jones]

Thanks for everyone's input.

I'm pretty sure that Steve B's assumption is correct, that it is indeed india ink. So, I guess it's going to stay the way it is. I've attached a scan of the full image. It measures approximately 4" x 10". This was one of my "holy grail" items. Pictured are the 1908 Cincinnati Reds on there tour of Cuba! Included in the picture are: baseball hall of famer Miller Huggins (far left standing) and Frank "Banny" Bancroft (Center Standing) who was instrumental in bringing Major League baseball to Cuba and Cubans to the major leagues. He should be in the baseball hall of fame. After many years of searching, this is the first item I have encountered that dealt with this tour.

Chris

[Kawika]

Chris: Seeing the whole piece, the impact of the edit marks is not as affecting. I'm not crazy about edit marks either so I can understand why you'd want to investigate their removal. Realizing that it is a "holy grail" item for you (and it is indeed a right smart photograph) I wouldn't take the risk of tampering with it. What you might consider doing is making a high-res scan and do a Photoshop clean-up of the worst marks. You could probably smooth out that crease and even put a face back on the one guy. I have no Photoshop skills myself but on a few occasions I have taken pictures to a local camera shop to "Stalinize" stray faces etc and have been very pleased with the result. You'd have the original as an artifact and a nice presentation image.

[canjond]

I think David posted a great idea. Make a high resolution scan and then usig photoshop, fix the portions of the picture that need repair. You could even replace the missing face with a clone from a different photo of the same guy, taken at approximately the same angle.

The photoshop repairs actually would not be too difficult to do and you would be left with a BEAUTIFUL edited version for display purposes, while the original can stay tucked away.

[olsport]

Great suggestions by everyone, and I totally concur as to leaving it alone in it's current state, and doing photoshop on a high res scan to make a copy look like new. I would really like to see the details of all those fans in the background going all the way across. That and the palm trees make it a very interesting photo as well. Thanks for sharing!

[prewarsports]

BTW, I am pretty sure that the guy with the missing face is non other than Dick Hoblitzell in his Rookie year. I have a ton of vintage photos of Hoblitzell from his estate if you want one to photoshop in there for display.

Rhys

[Bumpus Jones]

Thanks, Rhys. It is indeed Hoblitzell. I would love to have any image you think would fit.Chris

[shimozukawa]

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