Personal Note On 2014 National: Examining Photos in Person

[drcy]

I'm thinking about it. I just had a few of my books in a pile in a small corner of Scott's booth. My books sold well to passers by, which pleased me, but the only people who knew i was there to authenticate were Net54ers who were there to authenticate. The good thing is that meant I got to mill around a lot and meet all those folks, including the so-called 'big wigs.' I was surprised how many knew who I was and making the contacts and having the conversations was very useful. And enjoyable. I enjoyed talking to all (well, 95%) of the people there, including auction house presidents, local collectors and Net54ers. The social aspect of the trip was worth it and I thought people were friendly.

I've always preferred to do large collections all at once, such as though auction houses and museums, and that's what I plan on doing. But I will have it so I can do things through the mail for collectors. The problem with the mail is the packaging can cost more than the authentication fee.

One thing is I'm familiar with all forms of photography, including non-sport and modern, and other areas as well. I also specialize in ink and printing press items, such as antique posters, postcards, art prints as well. I can even tell you if your Andy Warhol screen print is original. Some people, including a couple of auction house executives, would say "You do just photos, right?" and I'd have to correct them.

I can say that the photos people had me look at were an interesting assortment-- the whole range. One intentional forgery. And my booth mate, Scott, would have me assess the value of photos before he bought them. A free service as it was his booth. Some guy, who I guess was leaving to go home and wanted to unload his bulk, sold Scott a fantastic 1919 Milwaukee Brewers team photo that was possible unique-- after asking me if the guy's price was good. Scott's knowledgeable about photos, and a good second opinion for me, but he wanted my valuation opinions ("Is that a good deal?")

But I'm thinking about the whole thing. I will have it that collectors can have me examine photos if they wish. Before, I never really did that and when a collector would ask if they could send me a photo to examine, I'd think "Hmm, what's the logistics behind doing that?" and often say I don't often examine things through the mail. I'd do it, but on rare occasion-- if I knew the person or if it was an auction house. This time I'll be ready and likely even promote the service.

I won't bore you with anymore details

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by drcy

One thing is I'm familiar with all forms of photography, including non-sport and modern, and other areas as well. I also specialize in ink and printing press items, such as antique posters, postcards, art prints as well. I can even tell you if your Andy Warhol screen print is original. Some people, including a couple of auction house executives, would say "You do just photo, right?" and I'd have to correct them.

David knows all aspects of vintage photography, so he is an excellent resource for oddball photos. He also knows rarity of photos based on the combination of age, size, subject, etc. I acquired two photos that weren't in the range of what I would call 'normal', and it was great to have David there to discuss. But for the record, I did manage to make six other photo purchases unassisted

Originally Posted by drcy

For the record, my dad thinks string theory is a bunch of bunk.

He also told me that your Oxford time was spent in Mississippi at a truck stop.

[drcy]

Few know that Scott owns a unique baseball photo 'type' collection, including the only baseball opalotype I know of (opalotype was an early photo process with the image on white glass), late 1800s Kodak snapshots including a salesman sample and the only cyanotype (blue image) cabinet card I've seen. The first Kodak snapshots were round image albumen prints mounted like cabinet cards.

So, even within the esoteric genre of baseball photography, Scott has some proverbial hen's teeth. A few of them are so rare and unusual that, if he wanted to sell, he'd have to write an article for potential bidders explaining what they were.

I don't know if Scott's collection needs an authenticator or an exorcist. Luckily, I can perform both services.