Hi Sean-
Thanks for your reply. I need to take the card under a strong light and
examine with a magnifying glass.
Something you said in this makes all of the sense in the world to me. If
the restorer who made these ever decides to make a list of the titles he made
and the quanities it would certainly help in removing the fakes from the market
and easing the fears of collectors like
yourself.
This really would be a tremendous aid for collectors in getting to the
root of at least this particular venture in fakery. It would indeed eliminate
much of the suspicion and doubts. I would hope that the auction houses and
dealers who may have also inadvertantly offered these pieces as genuine would
eagerly welcome this kind of a "master list" so the pieces can begin to be
picked up in this train wreck within the hobby. Of course, that would be an
admission of guilt in the alleged fraud but it sure would be a step toward
redemption!
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: Sean Linkenback
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 2:29 PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Where to send Universal material to authenticate?
Steve,
I don't know where or how you understood that all the fakes are supposedly
paperbacked, but nothing could be further from the truth. While the one-sheets
and three-sheets are linenbacked, all the smaller sizes (halves, inserts, and
lobbies) are NOT paperbacked - though they are all restored.
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein itself as a title is not out of the
clear, as I have seen a fake Title Card on this film in person. I have not seen
any scene card as of yet, but that doesn't mean anything one way or the other.
If the restorer who made these ever decides to make a list of the titles he
made and the quantities it would certainly help in removing the fakes from the
market and easing the fears of collectors like yourself.
Of course it is certainly possible that a card can be 60+ years old and still
be as fresh as the day it was produced. Look at some of the beautiful lobby
sets Todd is offering for sale as an example. I myself have even had near
perfect mint cards from Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and those lobbies are nearly
90 years old.
The main question is - how good do you feel about your ability to spot
restoration? If you have a good eye for restoration and your lobby appears to
be completely unrestored, then it is most likely original.
Sean
----- Original Message -----
From: Steven F. Poole
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 2:42 PM
Subject: [MOPO] Where to send Universal material to authenticate?
Hi all-
A month or so ago, after the whole Universal horror scam scandal broke, I
contacted Profiles regarding a lot that I had purchased in their spring
auction. It is a 1948 lobby card for ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN
and is the card of the boys discovering the Monster in the packing crate (my
favorite card from the set).
Naturally, I had a knee-jerk reaction to the fakes issue and checked the
card out again closely. It is presents as near mint with no backing. I began
to wonder about something that is supposeded to be 60+ years old and is, for
lack of a better term, as "minty white" as could possiblyh be. I did not know
at the time the scandal first broke that the alleged fakes are all apparently
paper backed. I called Profiles and met with a rather dismissive response
that the "reproductionists" would not possibly have bothered with such a
low-end card (although it hammered at almost $1000, including the premium which
is just about where this card sells retail). At the time, I was somewhat
reassured although felt as though the person I spoke with apparently
representing Profiles on this issue really considered my card a small fish in
their large pond and it was not worth pursuing any kind of authentication.
The Profiles rep. did say that if I still had a doubt, I could send it
to Poster Mountain to have it proclaimed authentic.
My question is, would a card like this have been indeed not been ,
for the alleged scammers, "worth their while" to fake? Also, I have not
really relished the idea of speaking with Profiles again but was wondering if
they are still utilizing Poster Mountain for authentication or using another
source if I wanted it checked out.
Thanks in advance for any direction.
Steve
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