Photography Class: It’s What’s on the Back (of Vintage News Photos) that Counts

In the previous two installments of our vintage photograph collecting series, we discussed some basic concepts and outlined considerations for collectors who are new to old photographs (see: Photography Class: Vintage Photograph Collecting Tips). We also touched upon the need for standardizing and applying terminology consistently in this genre, especially surrounding old transmitted photographs that were used by printed publications such as newspapers (see: Photography Class: On the Wire). Though the article wasn’t specifically written in conjunction with this developing series, our article, A Negative Original: Vintage Photo Fraud discusses both the fraudulent side of this collecting genre and a few specific areas to pay attention to when considering a vintage photograph for purchase.

This installment in the series is a continuation of our discussion surrounding photos that were previously employed within the printed media process and provides an introduction into back-marked or back-stamped images.

This ACME Newspictures stamp was applied in 1941 and, as is quite common, has the accompanying N.E.A. stamp with the reference department number.

In our article regarding wire transmitted photographs, we touched upon some of the information that accompanies these photographs. In (almost) all situations with this particular type of photograph, the image will be marked on the reverse with stamps to indicate the source agency, date that the image was captured, date that the image was published and even the publications archival information. Much of this same information will also accompany press or news photos. The following list is a fairly complete collection of the most common marks found on Twentieth Century news photographs:

• ACME, ACME Newspictures, ACME Photos: 1923 to 1952. Early on known as United Newspictures. Purchased by United Press in the 1950s.
• Associated Press Photos (AP). 1926-93. AP wirephotos existed 1935-1970s. AP Laserphotos 1970s-90s.
• Bain News Service, 1898-1930s. Founded by early baseball photographer George Grantham Bain, this was a pioneer news services.
• Central Press Association of Cleveland was in service for many years and started in the first part of the 20th Century. Back stamps often include an accompanying date.
• Culver Pictures Inc, of New York City, was formed in the early 1900s and exists today. This means the Culver stamp can appear on both an early and a modern photo. Culver acquired a significant portion of the Bain News Service archives adding their stamp to older Bain images.
• Harris and Ewing: 1905-45 was a Washington D.C. photo service; subjects are predominantly sports and politicians.
• International News: 1909-1957. Many of this major news service’s images bear the stamp, International News.  Back markings can be easily dated:
  • International News Service – 1909-15
  • International Film Service – 1915-20
  • International – 1915-1922
  • International Newsreel  – 1922-28
  • International News Photo – 1928-57

• Keystone View Company, New York. Existed in the early 1900s.
• N.E.A.: 1923-52. Synonymous with ACME Newspictures. An ACME photo will often also have an N.E.A. stamp.
• Pacific and Atlantic Photos: 1921-31
• Underwood & Underwood, aka Underwood: 1910s-30s
• United Newpictures : 1923-25
• United Press (UP). United Press issued news photos from the late 19th century through the 1958 when it merged with International News Service becoming United Press International (UPI).
• United Press Association (UPA). A synonym for United Press, this  stamp was only used only during the 1950s.
• Universal Press International (UPI), 1958 – Today. UPI made originals and modern photos of modern subjects. However, UPI also made ‘printed later’ photos of 1910s-30s subjects, noted as modern by the UPI stamp on back. These reprints can have high quality images, as UPI had a huge archive of new and old negatives. These UPI reprints of folks like Ty Cobb and Walter Johnson in their playing days have fooled many collectors, who don’t realize UPI is a modern company.
• World Wide Photos, 1919 to Present.

– Source: Tips for Identifying Authentic Vintage News Photos

 

Aside from the glue and paper reside on the back of this Ferris Fain image, St. Louis photographer George Dorrill’s stamp is accompanied by markings from The Sporting News and their label that was applied at the time of deaccessioning.

Aside from the news-source stamps adorning former press photographs, collectors might also observe the presence of markings from the photographers who captured and printed the images. As these photos are deaccessioned from print media archives, they are often purchased in bulk re-sellers who scan and inventory each piece for reselling to the collector market.  As part of the process, re-sellers apply their own stamps, tags or both to the image backs making for quite an array of information for collectors to discern.

An early 20th Century press photo created by Burke and Atwell – a partnership of two Chicago area press photographers. This photographs shows the U.S. Army Baseball Club from the Chicago, Illinois Army Recruiting District command.

Photos that cover military subjects or were captured in or near sensitive combat areas could contain information that, if an image was to fall into the wrong hands, could have proven to be detrimental to operations or personnel. Depending upon the unit size, function or location, a layer of security control was established to provide oversight and approval of photographs prior to releasing to the media. This element separates vintage baseball photographs (from the armed forces) from those documenting the professional game with applied markings from unit or branch public relations or public affairs offices or even war department censor approval markings.

Released to the media by the U.S. Navy, this Associated Press photo of Naval Aviator and former Philadelphia Athletic is lacking the media source stamps.

These back-markings show the stamp of the photographer, the date in which the newspaper received the photograph and what could be an image identification number from the photographer.

The paper caption is obscuring the winged marking from International News. The caption also provides information that the photograph was originally released by the Navy Department in June of 1942. Note that presence of the date that the image was received by the newspaper.

Aside from the traditional International News Photo stamp, this 1942 stamp also features the INP Sound Photo’s stamp with a lighting bolt.

In many cases, vintage photographs will bear the markings of the photographer. The most well-known of the early photographers and perhaps the creators of the most collectible images were working in the early years of the Twentieth Century. Charles Conlan, George Grantham Bain and George Burke captured the most iconic photographs of baseball’s early stars. Photos bearing their markings are the most sought after and garner significantly higher values on the collector market. George Brace, the aforementioned Burke’s younger business partner, continued to reprint images from Burke’s archive (Burke passed in 1951, leaving his archive with his young apprentice) up until his death in the late 1980s. Most original prints from these four photographers were back-marked – Conlon’s photos with considerable inconsistency.

This marking of Frank Burke (no relation to famous Chicago baseball photographer, George) and Harry Atwell’s press photography business. This image also bears pencil markings that may indicate the size of the image as it was published in newsprint.

The back of this photograph has a lot going on. Aside from the handwritten note (lower right corner) and the stamp to the far left with the player’s name, the principal stamp from the U.S. Navy indicates that this was produced and distributed to the press by the public relations department a Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi. It was received by the San Francisco Examiner on October 15, 1944.

Some military baseball photos feature the stampings of the public relations office. In some cases, PR photos require approval from War Department censors. This wartime USAAF baseball photo was approved on May 4, 1944 by censors.

Covering nearly all of the back of this image is the caption with the public relations and censor stamps. Also visible is part of the N.E.A. stamp who picked up the photo from the U.S. Army Air Forces for publication.

This ACME Newspictures-marked photograph also includes their N.E.A. marking and the affixed paper caption.

This newspaper library marking on the reverse of a photo of Sam Chapman indicates the date it was received from their source: May 16, 1950.

This marking is stamped to the back of a photograph that Babe Herman signed for a fellow ball player, Rip Collins. This stamp indicates that the image was provided by the National League office (most-likely, public relations).

One aspect of collecting retired press photographs to be aware of is that many of the prints will have alterations applied directly to the image-surface by an editorial staff illustrator. In an era that predates digital photo editing (with applications such as Adobe PhotoShop), corrections were made by hand to ensure that the half-toning  (part of the preparation in the newspaper printing process) will translate the focus and details of the photograph will stand out on the newsprint. Enhancing details or spotlighting an individual is done by applying varying colors of paint (with artist’s brushes) providing definition to edges or creating masking around a person.  Collectors should be aware that these nuances might not be distinguishable on-screen in seller’s snapshots of the vintage photograph.

Although collecting retired and deaccessioned vintage press and news photographs has experienced a rise in popularity among hobbyists bring more attention and demand (which has impacted valuations), this area is still one of the more affordable avenues for building a baseball image archive. Depending upon the vintage photograph’s subject (the caliber of player, the setting, pose, etc.), collector-demand can drive the value into the hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars. Vintage photographs of baseball players (including those who were then or became legends) in their military service uniforms or their military baseball flannels are typically more affordable, however their availability is considerably limited.

References:

• Tips for Identifying Authentic Vintage News Photos
• The Genie is Out of the Bottle on the Next Big Thing: Vintage Baseball Photos
• Collecting Sportscards and Photographs: A Perfect Match

See Also:

• Progression From Cards to Photos; Seeking Imagery of those with Service
• Powderhorn Baseball: Seeking on-the-Diamond Photos of the 399th
• Matching Faces to Names: Identifying Four 1945 Navy All-Stars