Maybe I should begin collecting Ethnographic pictures??

[Bill M]

I CAN NOT believe these prices!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...083565821&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=110083563510

Can anyone explain this??? For a picture from a book? Well, sure, it is an old book, but still!

And both of these pictures started at 10 pounds. That's $19.75 USD with no reserve. I bet the seller is celebrating tonight and he is buying!!!!

[Rick]

Are extremely valuable Bill ; at least one of these is an albumen print and I would not be surprised if the other two were not also.
Cartes De Visite from the 19th C. if they are of famous people are auction gold!

I believe an Edward Steichen print recently went for over a million dollars at auction.
Brady and Sullivan's original prints are priceless .
http://www.howardgreenberg.com/

Psssst!
I have a signed 8X10 B&W by Minor White if you're interested ........

[BluErf]

Oh gosh!!!! Thousands of Sterling pounds!!! Maybe we should followup to see that good feedback are given, indicating payment has been made.

[Rick]

With respective positive bidder feedbacks of 808 and 314(?) I expect they'll pay Kai Wee .
I am a bit surprised that they commanded such prices considering the condition they are in .

[FenrisWolf]

Yup, there is a huge art market for early prints like these *if* they are originals. Keep in mind these were taken in Northern India at the same time Brady was photographing the Civil War.

What's a dead giveaway is that the seller had two different people try to get him to end bidding early, a sure sign of a hot item. I saw that happen once on an old, rusty samurai sword, no fittings, just a good clear picture of the two character signature. It was a vet bring back, being sold off by the vet's kids. It started at 25.00 and ended at 50,000.00.

[FenrisWolf]

Originally Posted by Rick

With respective positive bidder feedbacks of 808 and 314(?) I expect they'll pay Kai Wee .
I am a bit surprised that they commanded such prices considering the condition they are in .

They're actually in pretty good shape, considering their age and their fragile condition. A good photo restoration expert can clean those up without any problem.

[Rick]

I remember about 30 years ago buying 300 Cartes De Visite at a church rummage sale for $3.00 total US; among the luminaries present were Dickens, Walt Whitman and John Wilkes Booth along with most of the famous stage actors and celebrities of the mid 19th C.
Needless to say I cashed in ....

Today they would be priceless.

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by Rick

Are extremely valuable Bill ; at least one of these is an albumen print and I would not be surprised if the other two were not also.
Cartes De Visite from the 19th C. if they are of famous people are auction gold!

Hi Rick,

They MUST BE GOLD! Seems outrageous, but I do not understand the collecting arena for old prints.

Certainly there are people who think we overpay for old pieces of rusting metal and decaying wood!

The buyers' FB indicate they are sophisticated and knowledgeable, so I can only assume these are legit sales.

I always have a curiosity when valuable items are priced at low opening bids (10 GBP = $19.74 USD), with no reserve, like these. You have to be a confident seller, or . . . . ?

And some of the seller's other old pictures went cheap. Maybe the buyers recognized these subjects as being important people??? But the captions do not indicate this. Just a "policeman" and a "bodyguard" -- "A Sikh?"

Their eyes look a bit strange, but it may have been the long exposure times of two to three seconds.

I was going to bid at $50 USD. But . . . . . . . .

[B.I]

19thC Indian photography is extremely rare and sought after. There are a number of photographers known to have been in India at some pretty momentous times, and their images, if found, would fetch staggering prices, that would put to shame the two listed here.
A point of comparison, Howard Rickett is well known for being one of the top dealers in Arms in the world. He now deals (almost) exclusively in Indian photographs with his wife. I would think this transition was not just personal interest, but also finantially led.
He owns the published image of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, on his death bed.
I dont think that one would come cheap.

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by B.I

19thC Indian photography is extremely rare and sought after. There are a number of photographers known to have been in India at some pretty momentous times, and their images, if found, would fetch staggering prices, that would put to shame the two listed here.
A point of comparison, Howard Rickett is well known for being one of the top dealers in Arms in the world. He now deals (almost) exclusively in Indian photographs with his wife. I would think this transition was not just personal interest, but also finantially led.
He owns the published image of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, on his death bed.
I dont think that one would come cheap.

Obviously this is is very specialized field. BUT I see a lot of this seller's 19th century pictures selling at his reserve of 10 GBP, many received no bids --- and many of these are title "ethnic" and "India."

I am still curious as to why these two particular pictures sold for so much. Far above his usual prices.

Does anybody know how to reach the buyers? Ebay blocks me from emailing them.

Certainly there is value in these pictures. This particular thread certainly points this out.

I would guess there is also a huge market for negatives and plates these images were made from. I like to look at old photos mostly to see the weapons and artifacts. It helps to establish dates.

[B.I]

Hi Bill,
The Sikh market is booming, with rival collectors boosting prices. These were well known images, and I doubt there was anything unsavoury about the auction. Religion enters into this field of study, so two potential buyers will bid quite fanatically. These werent Indian photos, but Sikh photos, and so entered a different price structure.
Try buying a khanda now for the same price as not-so-many years ago. The price on anything Sikh-related is crazy.

[Alan62]

Makes me wonder about these I have from the 1920's from Iraq and Egypt and other middle east countries. I have 3 albums full of course these are just snapshots. Too Bad they arent 3 albums full of Indian photos

[BluErf]

Hi Alan,

Would auction houses be of any help in the valuation of the photos?

[Alan62]

Originally Posted by BluErf

Hi Alan,

Would auction houses be of any help in the valuation of the photos?

Hi BluErf
I will have to check, I just recently bought them. I haven't really had time to check them out. There are 3 old photo albums with all kinds of interesting photos and postcards.They appearantly belonged to a british soldier in the 1920's.
I just posted a few for grins,like I said I wish they were worth what those albumen ones from india sold for. I could retire but they are likely worth about what I paid for them.
I will have to do some research on them this week.
Thanks for your suggestion

[Alan62]

Here is a good one, I brought home today