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davidcyclebackMy opinion is that if someone is new is to collect early 1900s news service photos. These will include the famous players like Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner, and are easier to judge as vintage. Many of these photos will have a back stamp from the news service or photographer that identifies it as old. For example International News Photos, United Press (not United Press International which is modern), ACME Newspictures, Pacific & Atlantic, Bain News Service are old, defunct companies and their stamp would only appear on an old photo. If you see a Ty Cobb photo with a Pacific & Atlantic or Bain News Service stamp, you can confident it's vintage. Many of these news service photos are of top quality.
Most of these news service photos will have production notes on back and normal usage (rough edges, wrinkle or two, toning). The quality of the image and overall presentation value is what matters. Many of the most expensive 1900s baseball photos have some wear like edge wear or corner creases. In fact, if you find a 1920s ACME Newspictures Babe Ruth photo that has Gem Mint, razor sharp edges it was almost certainly trimmed recently.
What a collector can also consider collecting are baseball photographs by famous photographers. As many photographers like Conlon, Bain and Burke stamped their names on the back, their photos can be easy to identify. These guys shot photographs of guys like Ruth and Cobb, so the collector can have it both ways: famous photographer and famous subject.
Obligatory Jean Shrimpton photo:
