1953 Bowman Pee Wee Reese

1966CUDA · #1 09-05-2017, 01:41 PM

I believe I read somewhere that this card was actually the only card in the set that was a black & white photo and then colorized. Anyone else know if that is true?

CW · #2 09-05-2017, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1966CUDA

I believe I read somewhere that this card was actually the only card in the set that was a black & white photo and then colorized. Anyone else know if that is true?

I have also heard on good authority that this is indeed true.

Peter_Spaeth · #3 09-05-2017, 05:42 PM

I still don't get the geometry.

JollyElm · #4 09-07-2017, 07:43 PM

Usually the skin tones are the most revealing telltale signs of B/W to color manipulation, but the scan is too small to really study them. One odd thing to note, too, is the way there is seemingly an oval-esque framing to the picture, where the outlying areas (all 4 corners) are unnaturally darkened. These days, you can do that in photoshop in a split second. Not sure if that provides evidence supporting or refuting colorization, but there was clearly work done to the original image.

Volod · #5 09-08-2017, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JollyElm

Usually the skin tones are the most revealing telltale signs of B/W to color manipulation, but the scan is too small to really study them. One odd thing to note, too, is the way there is seemingly an oval-esque framing to the picture, where the outlying areas (all 4 corners) are unnaturally darkened. These days, you can do that in photoshop in a split second. Not sure if that provides evidence supporting or refuting colorization, but there was clearly work done to the original image.

Good point about the strange darkening on the edges of the image. I had always assumed that it was the result of some sort of photo development goof, but perhaps you are right. I agree that the color image seems too well developed and detailed for the usual kind of colorization process employed at that time. Bob Lemke had some interesting comments about the '53 Bowman set and his attempts to produce a replicard from a monochrome photo using colorization:
http://boblemke.blogspot.com/2014/04...on-custom.html

Volod · #6 09-05-2017, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1966CUDA

I believe I read somewhere that this card was actually the only card in the set that was a black & white photo and then colorized. Anyone else know if that is true?

Bowman invested quite a lot into the Kodachrome color photo process for its 1953 set, so it would have been strange for them to dig up a black and white image and colorize it, although I do believe that the photo itself dates back to the 1940's. The company did colorize many B & W images for its other sets, though, so perhaps they did as well for the Reese card. But, was it the same photo editor who did the poor cropping that also did the colorization? Maybe the unusual red undershirt indicates the photo was a Kodachrome, after all. Pee Wee was adept at levitation.

Bigdaddy · #7 09-07-2017, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Volod

Pee Wee was adept at levitation.

Yes he was.

spaidly · #8 09-05-2017, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1966CUDA

I believe I read somewhere that this card was actually the only card in the set that was a black & white photo and then colorized. Anyone else know if that is true?

That would explain the red sleeves...

Volod · #9 09-07-2017, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spaidly

That would explain the red sleeves...

I think it's more likely that a photo editor would color dark sleeves as the normal Dodger blue, no? But, I guess he might have been sniffing photo chemicals for too long on the job. I have seen other players wearing red undershirts in spring training games, so the red sleeves on Pee Wee seem to argue more for an actual color photo in my view. Might it be that it is the unusual red sleeves, in addition to the great action pose, that made the card as memorable as it now is?

Aquarian Sports Cards · #10 09-07-2017, 06:35 PM

This is my all-time favorite card. If I'm in a position to acquire a high-end one it may become the only card in my "collection." I do also love the 1952 Berk Ross. They loved showing Pee Wee in action.

CW · #11 09-07-2017, 06:45 PM

Hmmm, the red sleeves is an interesting argument against a colorized B&W photo.

When I mentioned "good authority" in my post above, I was referring to Griffins here on Net54. He mentions it in this old thread on CU, and I also found it referenced in a very thorough article on the '53 Bowman Color set by Dean Hanley which appeared on SCD in 2010.

Quote:

The most famous card in the 1953 Bowman set, #33 of Pee Wee Reese is actually a painted over Black & White photo.

I wonder where this idea of the card being a colorized B&W photo originated. Maybe Griffins will see the thread and chime in.

BTW, one thing I learned from Dean's article about the set (I never noticed this feature on the backs):

Quote:

The card backs also had empty spaces below the player’ s statistics so that the kids could write in the player’ s statistics for 1953. Thank goodness, that only a few of the kids took Bowman’s suggestion to deface the cards with handwritten numbers.

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