Frequently Asked Questions
Buying / Selling /
Valuing
Photos |
NOTE: Please
do not be misled by the heading on this page. |
My research and this web site is entirely
non-commercial.
I am not attempting to sell
anything.
However, here are a few brief
answers to some of the questions that I have been asked about buying
and selling photographs. |
1. |
I have some old photos.
How much are they worth? |
Photographs by some of the early
photographers can sell for several thousand £s at auction. However,
many of the small photos mounted on card from the 19th century (both
portraits and landscapes) do not fetch high prices. I find
that, here in Edinburgh, it is still possible to buy photos in good
condition at antique fares and second-hand shops for about the following
prices:
[£3 = approx.US$5]
50p to £1 each (carte
de visite)
£1 or £2 each (cabinet
prints)
£3 to £5 each (stereo
cards)
Subjects of particular interest or photos that are
particularly appealing can sometimes cost considerably more.
I do not have the expertise to give any advice beyond
the above on individual photos. I recommend a contacting a good
auction house that deals in old photographs that are likely to be
particularly valuable, or visits to antique fairs or checking eBay
auctions prices to determine the possible value of other photos.
Prices requested on internet sites can sometimes be much higher than above. I don't know
whether or not the photos are actually sold at these prices. |
2. |
I have an old photo by
A W
Elson.
- What
is known about this company?
-
How much is my photograph worth? |
Background
The company appears to have produced
large
carbon prints, from around the 1890s until 1925, possibly
over a longer period.
Many of their photos are in large oak frames.
Subjects include reproductions of portrait paintings and a series of
pictures of Indians. |
Value of Photos
I don't know how much any of the A W
Elson photos are worth, other than having seen one of them for sale
occasionally on eBay for perhaps about £50 to £100.
Do you have any more information about their value? If so, please
e-mail me. Thank you
Please see 'Reply' below |
Question
2.
Reply
1.
George T Smith
Nanaimo, Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada |
Thank you to George
who wrote: |
Value of
A W Elson Photos
"The
Artfact web site might provide some of the elusive values that
some of your viewers seem to want."
George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada: April 22,
2011 |
Comment
Artfact claims to be the
world's largest auction database. The link above points to an
A W Elson page on the Artfact web site. I've never used the
Artfact web site, myself.
If you decide to have a look at the
Artfact web site,
please email me to let me know whether or not you find it
helpful.
Thank you.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: April 22, 2011
|
Question
2.
Reply
2.
Peter Stubbs
Edinburgh |
I
am continuing to receive many messages from EdinPhoto visitors,
asking me about the likely value of A W Elson prints, but
practically no answers to this question.
However, I've now arranged for the eBay web
site to let me know whenever an A W Elson item is offered for sale
on eBay.
As I receive notifications I am adding the
details to this page of AW Elson
Questions and Answers. |
Replies |
a) eBay have told me about a book
titled
Our New England that is currently on offer with a 'Buy
it Now' price of US$65.
This book was published in 1890 and is
illustrated with AW Elson photogravures. I don't know the
size of this book or how many photogravures are in it.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: November 18, 2011 |
b) The book in 1. above is being
offered for sale again on
eBay.
It's 'Buy it now' price has been reduced to US$50.
It is described as
being: First Edition, 1890 with 12 Photogravure plates accompanied
by descriptive letterpress, 24p. Complete.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: January 4, 2012 |
c) There is now a copy of A W
Elson's photo of Stratford on Avon
offered for sale on eBay. Minimum bid
US$50. Auction ends February 13, 2012.
©
The seller describes this item as a "rare
mammoth 1890 carbon photo".
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: February 7, 2012 |
Question
2.
Reply
3.
Travis Kleinman
Ironton, Ohio, USA |
Thank you to Travis Kleinman for writing with some information
about AW Elson prints. (This makes a change from most of the
AW Elson messages that I have received recently, asking questions
but providing no answers.)
Acknowledgement: Travis Kleinman, Ironton,
Ohio, USA |
Album of 168
Photogravure Prints
Travis told me about a book of A W Elson photogravure prints
offered for sale on the Internet for US$1,759.
The
album contains 168 prints, each measuring 9 ins x 12 ins. Here is
a brief description of the album, taken from the
East Paladin web site.
"One Hundred & Sixty Eight (168) Original A.W. ELSON & CO
(Boston) Photogravures 9" x 12" Prints, years spanning from
copyright 1878 to 1908. All in Poor/Fair condition. No duplicates.
Came from a single collector. Each of these prints were originally
"glued" (at four corners) inside a single photo album.
Each sheet may have
black paper residue at corners, and/or tears at corners. Some
prints have large tears or missing pieces at corners, whereas some
have tiny ones. No tears at MAIN or central images.
Expect some age
discoloration, particularly some obvious image "shadows" on
prints; (again, these prints were placed inside an album face to
face, without any tissue paper between them). Some fox marks,
light creases, tiny tears, stains, and dirt marks. One sheet does
not have copyright info (Titian's "Man with a Glove"). Some prints
have numbered at corners (I think
most of them were written with pencils.)" |
Please click on this
East Paladin link to see the dates and titles of many of the
prints in this album. This link may stop working at some
stage, if the album is sold and the seller removes the page from
his web site.
Peter
Stubbs, Edinburgh: June 26, 2012 |
Questions |
Here are some of the questions that I have been asked
about A W Elson photos.
Please
email me if you have answers to any of these questions, or if you can
tell me anything about the company, A W
Elson.
I will pass on any relevant details
that you give me to the owners of the A W Elson photos,
and will add the details to this
web site. -
Peter Stubbs |
3. |
I have an old stereo
photos by Underwood & Underwood.
- What
is known about this company?
-
How much is my photograph worth? |
Background
The company appears to have produced
many sets of stereo photos of views from around the world, in the 1890s
and early 1900s.
The images in Underwood & Underwood
stereos are normally high quality, retaining lots of detail in the scene,
which looks all the more impressive when seen through a stereo viewer.
In almost all cased, sets of Underwood & Underwood stereo views that I
have seen have been in very good condition. |
Value
I
have bought a number of Underwood & Underwood stereo views, paying between
£1 and £4 per image, here in Scotland I don't know how these
prices vary around the world. |
Question |
Help please?
I have seen large book on the
history of stereo cards, probably published around the 1990s. I
would expect this to include details of Underwood & Underwood - perhaps
what became of the company, perhaps details of the range of cards that
they published.
If you are aware of this book, can
you
email me and tell me its title and publisher, as I believe that would
help me to answer some of the questions that I receive from time to time
in emails and in the address book.
Thank you. - Peter Stubbs |
Answer |
Thank you to KR who replied:
"I believe the book you are
thinking of is titled: Stereo Views - An Illustrated History & Price Guide
by John Waldsmith. It was originally published in 1991 and a second
edition was published in 2002. It also includes prices for View-Master
reels, etc. It is NOT an all-inclusive price guide, but does give a good
idea of the average worth of cards on various subjects."
KR, August 12, 2007 |
4. |
Are photographs on the
EdinPhoto web site
for sale? |
This web site records my research into the
History of Photography in Edinburgh. It is entirely non-commercial.
I am spending my time on research and updating the web site, rather than
attempting to sell photos.
However, if I have agreed in the past to allow some images from the
site to be used, and sometimes to supply higher quality jpg files of these
(free of charge).
If you have any particular request, please
email me. |
5. |
Can I have permission to
reproduce an image? |
Please
e-mail me, letting me know
exactly which image you would like to use and the purpose.
PLEASE NOTE:
a) If the message below the
image says
© peter.stubbs
I should be able give you an answer myself.
b) But if it says
©
[somebody else] it will also be
necessary to contact the copyright owner. In most cases I should be
able to tell you how to contact them. |
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