Collecting Vintage Photography

Carte de Visite -
a small b/w photo mounted on card and given to friends or business contacts. Often have beautiful printing on the backs.Enterprising photographers produced cartes de visite of famous people,royalty etc.
Examples of collectable rare photographers are Pierre Petite,Disderi,Walery,Frank Sutcliffe,Friese Greene(Inventor of cinematography).The Essex School of Photographers are avidly collected and produce fine work.These were photographers in the East of England.
One very enterprising photographer in London sent out mail order sets of naked ladies to middle management in many companies - he made a fortune !
Collectible cartes de visite are of Royalty,Politicians,Writers,Poets,Actors/actresses.
The Carte de Visite was made popular by two events - Napoleon's return to Paris when he dropped off at M Disderi's Photo emporium to have his photo taken !
Everyone wanted one after that... the other event was the War between the States in the USA(Civil War) - when many thousands of soldiers had left a carte de visite with their loved ones before going off to battle. These are widely collected in the USA.
Famous Photographers pictures are also widely collected - The Essex Photographers group,Friese Greene (inventor of Movies) Bassano and many many more .
Cabinet - Larger picture usually for loved ones. Mostly portraits and scenic views These are not as widely collected as they are usually unidentifiedsubjects. Military subjects are popular and so are Victorian Animals

Dagurreotypes are made on a metal base which can usually be seen by moving the picture to view the background. These are the earliest available photographs and are rapidly rising in value. Daguerrotypes will fade quickly and are very fragile - the cases should always be complete and with an intact hinge and catch (but are often missing one or the other) They should always be kept in dry dark conditions.
Value rockets up for daguerrotypes in prime consition - A Picture of M.Daguerre illustrates this article...but was not a daguerrotype !

Ambrotype initially seem like daguerrotypes but are actually made on a glass base. If you can't see the metal base then its almost certainly an ambrotype.
In Late victorian times a few pictures were printed on to porcelain plates and these are quite rare.
It's more usual to find larger prints of 5x4" and larger printed on paper as this is when photography became popular as a hobby.
Hand coloured prints cost more than black and white ones and then there are rarities like the blue cyanotype prints (made with real cyanide - wash hands after handling !)
In Vintage photographs fakes abound - computer copies are the most common with easily seen pixel dots.Hand Coloured pictures are harder to spot as its often a genuine black and white print that a modern artist has overlayed with a transparent colour. Hand coloured daguerrotypes are rare as fakes but do exist.
A number of photographic fakes are also around and these are harder to detect. Usually these are printed on modern resin coated paper.One photographer was jailed for selling these through a major auction house.

Happy Collecting !

Stero photographs were taken with cameras with two lenses and the photos printed side by side .When viewed with a Stereo Viewer the picture appeared 3-dimensional. These were hugely popular and many thousands were produced by Underwood & Underwood and a few other companies.
While many tens of thousands of pictures exist,they are comparatively common bt do fetch extraordinary prices when sold as complete sets together with the wooden original cabinets. Subjects are very varied and these are still very collecible.As original photographs, they are still liable to fading and should be cared for as if they were original pictures- which indeed they are !

One of the best places to find vintage photos is from relatives - surprisingly oldd pictures lurk in many attics - discarder by their owners. Ask your relatives if there are any old pictures or photo-postcards you can have.
Garage Sales and Car boot sales are the next easy way to buy at reasonable prices (although many people now realise that old photos can be worth serious money)
Try to get pictures from the 30's,40's and 50's as an investment since these are reaonably priced and available.
Antique fairs,stores and arcades can be quite good hunting grounds.
Advertise in local papers - don't forget to ask for NEGATIVES as well as prints. Stick to b/w prints or watch your investment fade as the years pass by (colour fades quicker than monochrome)
In Paris there are several stores specialising in old photographs but these are quite expensive.
Auctions can be good but BEWARE of modern reproductions - always inspect ehe pictures with a loupe or you'll do what I did - buy a fake in an old frame that was computer scanned and printed.If it's a fake you'll clearly be able to see the printer dots with a loupe (magnifying glass) - use a 10x one if you can.
Particularly beware of buying photos by well known photographers - especially the well known photo of scaffolders having a lunch break on girders over New York - that has been ripped off endlessly it seems.
Do inspect photos carefully if posible and always check feedback on ebay before parting with your cash !
A number of photographers have copied well-known photographers work and offer them as originals - which they are clearly not !
Erotica seems to be a field full of fakes so beware if you collect that subject.

Lots of early pictures for sale on this website -
here's the url:
http://www.vintagephoto.com/

On the subject of links - would any site on the subject of Vintage Photos please let me have a link - it would be much appreciated ! Thanks Keith

You can bid directly from this page simply by clicking on the ebay link and signing in to eBay.
Don't forget that not only the photographs themselves are collected - ambrotype and daguerrotype cases are also very collectible.
You can see more of a subject by clicking on any of the pictures and following links on eBay.

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Framed   Mounted

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed   Mounted

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed   Mounted

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed   Mounted

Buy at AllPosters.com

Framed   Mounted

Don't forget to look in your attic and relatives garages and shed for old postcards.
Old postcards were often real photos and as such are considerably collectible.
The majority will probably be litho or offset prints but real photos do turn up and of astonishly high quality.
Reckon on paying up to $2 for an everyday photo of a scene and the older the picture is the better.
Fashion,portraits and pets are all good purchases and early trains and ship,trams and automobiles are avidly collected.
Military subjects abound (especially in France and Belgium) - please note that in Germany it is ILLEGAL to buy and sell Nazi cards and portraits but there are collectors for this subject.
Erotica forms a huge part of the market and early erotica is very collectible. Beware of fakes though as the very early naughty pictures are often copied and sold in antiques shops and at collectors fairs under the counter - on the basis that anyone buying erotica is unlikely to ask for a refund ! Fakes Always show up under a magnifier (look for the dot pattern)
Animals,birds and early travel pictures are really worthwhile but travel pictures can be hard to identify.
Early postcards of Royalty are very useful -especially of the Romanovs and Rasputin.
Advertise locally and you'll get lots offered to you.
Remember though that postcard lose almost all their value once they have been used in the main - but look carefully at used cards as thes often have rare stamps on them !

Old Photographs will in time fade and you will be left with a worthless sheet of silver coated paper - UNLESS you use ARCHIVAL storage methods.
I would consider buying more recent photos with a view to investment.
Get catalogues from Christies and Sothebys of Picture sales (you can find them on ebay !) These will give you prices that pictures fetch and what is currently in demand.
Now you have to decide what will increase in value .. with recent pictures from the 50's to the 80's try to only buy LIMITED EDITION prints with a print run of less than 500 for the best increases in value. ONLY buy pictures you actually LIKE !
Pick French and American and British Photographers of the 40's to the 80's and look for very graphic or romantic images.
Remember that if you are buying for investment you will eventually have to resell to recoup your investment.
Stick to well known photographers or ones that you consider produce truly outstanding work. Even modern photographers in the 21st century may well prove great investments - it all depends on quality of work and public demand.
Go to modern photo galleries and look at their display with a jaundiced eye - often the work in the gallery is by a friend of the gallery owner - modern photography is very clique-ish and just because a photographer has an exhibition is no guarantee of a rise in value of their work.
Strt off with works by Photographers like Doisneau and Brassai with a solid track record.
If you need investment advice on photography then I can advise on a one to one basis. I charge a fee for this !
I can also purchase investment photographs on behalf of clients.

Here's an example of what I mean :





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This picture is of good quality,its affordable and has strong graphic quality - the photographer clearly has a great EYE for a picture and works should appreciate in time.

A surprisingly modern building which houses a superb collection of vintage photographs ambrotypes and daguerrotypes - including some very rare early ones.
The history of photography and the movies is well worth viewing and I learned lots !
THe displays of photo equipment are well displayed and the curators are amazingly helpful.
If you have early pictures to identify then its best to make an appointment to see a curator.
Its slap bang in the centre of Bradford and there's very lilttle on-street parking nearby.

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This is a GREAT photo and should be a great investment - however many hundreds or even thousand of this have been sold worldwide both as prints or posters - an ORIGINAL PRINT by the photographer would be valuable but this is presumably a reprint by the Bettman Archive and its not a limited edition. But its still a great picture and collectable - but not for short term investment.
Ansel Adams Photos are a classic example of investment pictures. He was commissioned by the US Goverment to photograph lots of things and these pictures are in US Government Files and available to the public for just a few dollars each - HOWEVER when he sold signed prints from his Yosemite more recent pictures, these WERE limited editions and now sell for tens of thousands of dollars each. Unlimited editions of the same pictures from the same negatives are still being printed today ! But are not as likely to increase to the same giddy heights as signed numbered certified originals.