Should it stay or should it go now? 1927 Cuban Stars panorama.

[Archive]

Posted By: Ryan Christoff

Okay, I would really appreciate any opinions regarding an item I won in the last Sotheby's/SCP auction. It was lot #93 "1927 PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPH OF EASTERN COLORED LEAGUE OPENING GAME WITH DIHIGO, OMS, MESA, POMPEZ AND OTHERS." I paid $9,600 (including BP, not including shipping) and am trying to decide whether to keep it or return it. I'm curious to hear what others would do in my situation.

The item I received is, in my opinion, in substantially worse condition than the item pictured in the printed catalog or on the website. Here is a link to the auction. It is lot #93: http://www.sothebys.com/app/paddleReg/paddlereg.do?dispatch=eventDetails&event_id=28289

I tried to post a link directly to the lot, but it was absurdly long. You might need to be registered with Sotheby's to look zoom in on the image. I don't know how to save that kind of image to my computer. It's one that lets you zoom in up to 588% on any particular area.

There are many flaws on the item I received that were not visible in the catalog or on the website. Some of the flaws were simply cropped out. Also, there is no mention of the item being framed, yet the photo I received has been matted and framed. Horribly framed and matted, I might add. It appears that when they attempted to flatten it, presumably in order to frame it, they created several cracks that weren't previously there. Either that, or those flaws had been photoshopped out of the image they published in the catalog and on the website.

Also, as you pan to the right edge, it starts to get blurrier and blurrier. The main reason I bought this photo is that it has Martin Dihigo. Unfortunately, he is among the few players who are slightly blurry. The image quality was described as "impressive" in the auction description, which I would certainly disagree with for Dihigo. Dihigo is the tall guy in the Cuban Stars uniform, by the way. The description does mention that there are multiple creases, which I thought were all visible in the picture they posted. Judge for yourself.Here are some images:

Top image is from the catalog. Bottom image is what I received.


Here's the full item in the frame, as I received it:












This crease/crack that goes through the great Alejandro Oms is not visible at all in the auction catalog (on the right, pixelated):


Any advice, comments, opinions, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

-Ryan