What do you folks think of the 1970s crop of WW2 Aerial books?

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

Quoting Ed:

"It also appears to be the case that books were published long ago that contained valuable images that were never reprinted. And I am always looking for the magic words - "contains new and unpublished photos.""

I see a couple of pitfalls in trying to republish photos of "dead" photos. Can someone still get their hands on the originals or have they gone to photo heaven? If you try to reprint directly from the book, then you'll have a second generation copy that will look like a second generation copy, with subsequent snipes by the experati.

Following this thought even further, the quality of photo images in books varies from excellent to terrible. But, overriding this is the realization that the photos are not analog or great digital, but subject to the limitations of the printing process used. When we scan from books for our personal use there is that nagging feeling that you wish you had a true photo to deal with. If you question my thesis, just get a magnifying glass out and look at that photo in the book. You'll be surprised how much your eyes have blended the image to try to make it look like it really is a photo when it is not, but only a printed version.

Regards,
Richard

[edwest]

Dear Richard,


Some publishing companies, or their successors, are still around. It would take time and effort but it may be possible to get high resolution scans of original photos suitable for printing. I scan original images on a large flatbed scanner where I work, which are sent on to the printer. A friend of mine who worked at a newspaper showed me photos from their files which they would scan or just throw away. What I saw consisted of local life and personalities from the town where he worked. And I know there are hard drives out there with photos. Just a thought.

Believe me, I know what happens when photos are scanned from publications, but if people want evidence, a low quality photo is sometimes better than nothing. I've also seen images reproduced from old books that looked good - not great - but good.



Best,
Ed