Leland's Wire Photos

[worldchamps]

Last night I got my new catalog for Leland's auction. They are having a really cool auction with old photos and wire photos. I am completely un-educated on these and would love if someone would take the time to define what a "wire photo" is. I think the images are really nice and would love to have some, but am curious as to what gives them value. Are these really rare? How many of these are around? Are they unique in that they are only one in exixtance, or does every media outlet in the world have copies of these? Any education or opinions on this type of collectible would be appreciated. Curious how you would tell if one is original. ie is it a Babe Ruth picture from the 30-s or was it reprinted in the 50's, 70's etc.

Also they are selling negatives of Michael Jordan....does this mean you could buy the negative make as many copies as you would like and sell them?

I apologize for my lack of knowledge of this. Any help would be appreciated.

Bill

[mjkm90]

This is a complicated subject. If you are going to get into this very rewarding and interesting portion of our hobby, you need to educate yourself before you buy off ebay. I have picked up wire photos for pennies at antique shows etc, and have had some good luck on ebay. Some are extremely valuable, and most are fairly rare in comparison to items like cards.
David Rudd is a great resource. Search the wire photo posts at this link (keep hitting the more button at the bottom):

http://www.network54.com/Forum/153652/search?&more=1&sort=date&searchterm=wire+photos

Also. You can email David about his photo books at his site:
http://www.cycleback.com/

Masto also has a photo book that I havn't read:
http://books.mastronet.com/

Good luck,
Mike H.:)