I did a quick check of some photos I have by George Grantham Bain, Paul Thompson and Edward Bushnell all from the same period. All the photos I have by them that I checked were track and field. I find that most of their early photos have no white margins. When they did a contact print from the glass plate negative they would occasionally keep a black margin (unexposed emulsion) which had the identity scratched into it. I did find two Paul Thompson photos, both 7x9, circa 1908-11, that had small white margins, but not very significant. Unfortunately with these full frame prints you do find a lot of small tears and bend on the corners. Fortunately, archival document repair tape which is essentially tissue paper, is great for fixing them.
No comment on the photo in question. Just an observation about other significant sports photographers of the period.
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