Native American Photographs

ajmorris posted this on January 22nd, 2012

Original photographs of Native Americans are a highly collectible sub-category in the field of antique photographs. They were popular in the 19th century, so there are many examples available. Unfortunately, these are also one of the most frequently counterfeited types of photographs, some of the forged copies themselves dating back to the 19th century when illegal copies of celebrities and desirable topics (such as these Native American images) was big business...

Dated Images - an Untapped Resource

ajmorris posted this on January 18th, 2012

Old photographs only rarely have a date on them, but those that do are particularly useful. Here is an example. This photograph has a tax stamp on the back, which gives us an approximate date to begin with -- if the stamp is original, and not added later (as occasionally happens). By law, these tax stamps were required in the United States from August 1st 1864 to August 1st 1866. So just by its presence we narrow the date for the image to a two year period...