baseball photographs - future in the hobby?

judgebuck

I've been getting interested in old Type 1 photographs, such as Mantle, etc. Heritage Auctions had an original sports photos auction earlier this month with incredible results. Is this a significant and growing part of the hobby? Trying to determine whether a photo is a Type 1. 2, 3, or 4 scares me, too. Anyone else getting into this area of the hobby?

cardsfan73

I only have a few vintage St. Louis Cardinals/Browns photos in my collection. If you are interested in purchasing some you should check out RMY Auctions. They have a new auction running from September 7th -September 20th. They always have a lot of great stuff.

judgebuck

I did purchase a few Type 1's at the National from RMY. You're right; they have great stuff. For me, it is really hard to determine if a photo is Type 1 or not, much less to place a fair value on it.

Also, there must not be many photo collectors here, as you were the only one to respond.

NBTrading

I was just at an auction with a bunch of older (late 60's-70's) AP photos. They were the ones with the captions on the back. I tried to get them but they went pretty high. Does anybody know if these
ap photos are considered type 1 or not?

Thanks,
James

Ironmanfan

The newest edition of "Beckett Vintage Collector" magazine (Jackie Robinson cover) has a nice article about collecting photographs & describes the definitions of Type 1, etc. I recommend you take a look at that (I picked up my copy at a Barnes & Noble).

Good Luck!

IMF

Ironmanfan

double post

NBTrading

I'll have to pick up a copy, sounds interesting. Thank you.

Tomi

<< <i>I've been getting interested in old Type 1 photographs, such as Mantle, etc. Heritage Auctions had an original sports photos auction earlier this month with incredible results. Is this a significant and growing part of the hobby? Trying to determine whether a photo is a Type 1. 2, 3, or 4 scares me, too. Anyone else getting into this area of the hobby? >>



I have thought about getting into the Type 1 photos, but after the recent Heritage sales I think I might just stick to cards. I think the future for these photos are unlimited. Ruth and Mantle are selling for insane prices.

Since you are interested in Mantle, I saw an incredible Type 1 from his rookie or second year at the Mile High booth at the National. They also have a signed PSA/DNA Mantle high school yearbook and they are both going to be in the next Mile High auction this month.

Good luck with the Type 1 photo chase, I'm sure there are many bargains to be had, but I think some of the "this photo was used for this card" photos will be crazy expensive.

judgebuck

There is a book, "A Portrait of Baseball Photography," that explores the world of baseball photos. It was written in 2005 by Marshall Fogel, Henry Yee, and Khyber Oser. I wish they would do an update.

No doubt about the following: 1) Heritage August auction sales were unbelievably high, 2) Ruth, Gehrig, and Mantle seem to lead the way, 3) a Type 1 photo that was used for a card is very desirable, 4) Type 1's are much more desirable than wire photos.

I appreciate all the replys. It is a fascinating area of the hobby, and I have a lot to learn.