Assistance with Id'ing Fake Photographs

[slados28]

Slados, thanks for updating the list! That needed to be done. Your photo: Even though its tough to say for sure with the black residue covering most of the back....I have to say I dont have much faith either, from knowing the source. And I agree with you that some sellers can certainly make mistakes.

I knew a seller who got stuck with a hoard of fake photos from a distributor in Germany, who I was told actually supplies alot of the well known scammers on Ebay. He started to post them for sale on Ebay and soon found out that he too was scammed. He lost alot of money, but was honest enough not to sell them as original photos from then on. He gained my respect from that, and I still buy from him privately to this day because of it. So sellers can make mistakes, but its pretty easy to figure out the ones who are trying to be honest.

Hope we can keep the list going as experiences with different sellers are gained.

I've pretty much settled on it being a repro/fake... thanks for the help! Didn't cost me much so that's fine, lesson learned.
And your story says it all; It never seems to be all black and white with sellers, the honest ones do make mistakes as well. Best to keep ones eyes open at all times and ask for assistance when in doubt.

Here's one that I got a couple of years back. I got it due to it being a very cheap nice quality winter-camo helmet shot from Norway -- most likely Trondheim judging by several factors incl. stamp on back.



It's printed on thin glossy photo paper and it has a photo-studio stamp on the back. Quality is sharp and quite detailed and it doesn't seem to react negatively to the UV light.... still, there's just something about it that I can't really put my finger on that's worrying me with regards to authenticity, maybe it's me just being paranoid.... any thoughts(red lights flashing upon having reviewed the scans?

[ToxicGas]

Hey Mat, thanks for posting better pics, now that they arrived. I think you are okay my friend! I am going to be perfectly honest with you tho, and say that there is still something that bugs me about the SS pic.......but I might just be being too judgemental! haha But the others are all good IMO. Some nice new additions to your collection too!

Cheers Bill. It was the press photo I was really hoping to get the thumbs-up on, so I'm glad about that! You mentioned previously the following:

'The SS photo is mocking an Agfa Brovira paper 6x9 photo that I compared to in my collection....but the cut is not exactly a correct match. Doesnt mean its bad.....and I personally think its probably okay.

IMHO the truck photo is a "grey fake", which examples/details are shown earlier in this thread. There are a handful of "grey fake variants" out there, and this seems to one of them.'

The newer pictures show these two are the same kind of photo, so any reason as to why the SS one in particular looks off?

Mat

[Bill T]

Hi Mat,
The SS foto actually has a different cut as compared to the Truck photo. The cut is one thing that stood out to me, as I couldnt personally match it to any other examples in my collection or to other references that I sometimes use.... But like I said....that is not definitive, as I just might not have that cut type on file for comparison.
The truck photo stood out to me as being very similar to the grey fakes from just seeing the obverse in your first post....but after you had posted a scan of the reverse.....I am perfectly okay with it.
A perfect example of how difficult it can be to form an opinion without reverse scans and by going off pics alone! haha I do try my best to give accurate/honest opinons tho, with what is provided at the time.

But overall I dont think you need to be worried about them from the new photos you have posted with nice reverse shots! Unfortunately I am far from knowledgeable when it comes to press/kriegsberichter photos and there markings. Maybe we can try to look further into German Military censorship stamps from ww2?

[Bill T]

Hi Andreas,
That one looks okay to me! A nice photo too, thanks for posting. And yes, its very easy to get paranoid in this minefield of foto collecting! haha

[Bill T]

Our friend is still at it of course......

Here is a common fake he has up, which is now at $50 and climbing.

[Bill T]

'Adolffe' is still at it too....

Note the infamous "Original" title watermarked on all of these sellers photos. Originally printed yesterday he means, right?

[slados28]

Hi Andreas,
That one looks okay to me! A nice photo too, thanks for posting. And yes, its very easy to get paranoid in this minefield of foto collecting! haha

Indeed, thanks again Bill! One thing that more or less confirms the general location of this one is the fact that the soldier 2nd from the left is wearing a pair of traditional Norwegian mittens from a place nearby myself called Selbu --- just a fun and unusually telling detail for someone with local knowledge.

[Bill T]

wow, thats really cool that you recognized that! Makes the photo even better, for you especially.

[slados28]

Yeah, an unexpected and very telling detail... there was a bit of fighting up there in 1940 at the beginning of the war, perhaps this soldier took part (note: this is just me thinking out loud here). I've gathered that there's two ordinary soldiers(rank of Soldat) and two Gefreiters in there but is there any way to tell from the uniforms/equiment what branch they belonged to?

[Evgeni M]

Dear All,

What are your thoughts on these SS photos? The paper is surely postwar, but do you think the photos are not common reprint? I might still buy them for the price offered as private post war print.

Please let me know what are your thoughts. Thanks a lot!

Cheers,

Evgeni