As a photograph historian, I don't have an issue with them being signed. Clearly, I wouldn't want Pete Rose to sign an 1870s cabinet card, but Sandy Koufax signing a 1960s AP photo sound cool.
This doesn't mean I would chose to have a photo I owned signed or that I think they SHOULD be signed, but I can see the merits in someone going that route. I purchased a few 1940s news photos that were already autographed in a Gaynor auction-- Boo Ferris.
I also won an original 1910s Charles Conlon photo of Joe Wood, more modern signed by Wood on the front and Conlon on the back. Wood personalized it to the famous autograph collector Jeffrey Morey. One of my favorite autographs. The seller, a well known and respected autograph dealer, sold it simply as a Wood autograph, unaware of the significance (and value) of the Conlon stamp on back. The Conlon stamp was worth more than the Wood autograph.
Last edited by drc; 01-09-2011 at 03:22 PM.
|