...IMO you should either do the research, scan the images and make a book out of them, or sell/license them to someone who will...eBay, etc. is awash with loose photos that might be a pretty picture but have no context and are MUCH less valuable to historians...

...the WORST thing you could do would be to break them up...should be enough information in the photos and names/info on those Sears wrappers to determine where they came from and maybe even who took them...I think that's the real value of what you have found...

Nice buy! As a collector of old photos and negatives, it's cool to see that they survived... whatever the subject matter they are of.

Personally, I would scan and document them all. Search the names, places, etc., written on wrappers. See if the photographer is found listed somewhere on paper or on the plates. Everything is of value. May not be monetary value, but valuable to a local community/museum/library/family.

Subject matter and photographer is key, as you know. Without knowing what the photo quality is, what the subject matter is, if they are from one photographer or many, from a newspaper archive or family photos, ... I really cannot tell you what value may be, what to do with them or who would be interested in them.

If you find out most are from a community or family or have ones that are of famous personalities or places, you could sell copies, have a book published, sell the plates and make some nice money of them, whatever, ... You need to know what you have though.

If they are all different and of different photographers and subject matter is all over the place, I do not see a problem with breaking them up if you plan to sell. Most likely, they are all connected somehow.

Again, nice score and good luck! If you find any with Gilmore gas stations, Gilmore race cars, Gilmore signage or people with the first or last name Gilmore... let me know.

Gilmore

Gilmore,
Thanks for the info, and if i find Gilmore related ones i will let you know. Thanks again, Owen

I have some old glass plates as well.

Value is definitely based on individual context unless the whole collection is similar. Common subject plates are worth maybe $10 whereas specific plates can be worth 100s to the right collector.

Many glass plates were used in "magic lantern" projectors before the age of TV and would have been produced in contextual sets. Also, some glass plates are negatives used in the newspaper/magazine industry of the day. I have one of a 1919 train wreck.

Depending on the type of plate, reproduction can be tedious because the glass plays havoc with reflective scanners. "Magic Lantern" plates can be backlite and then using a digital camera you can grab images, just make sure you take them at the highest pixel setting so they can be blown up enough in reproduction process.

Hope that's some help to you.

I recall seeing something on TV about those Ansel Adams photos and the family saying those are not by him. They say there was no "missing" photos to be found.....so they are being misrepresented.

Jim

Getting off the main subject some..but anyway...here is a old movie theater advertising glass slide I recently picked up cheap. It looks odd because of being in my frosted up window with the landscape showing through.

Thanks for all the input, as i get time i will go through them and see what else i find.

...Herbert Finger from Hustler, Wisconsin...sounds like someone in an Elmore Leonard novel...

or larry flynt!

...HA!

That's what i thought when i read it, but didn't want to say it! LOL

I didn't realize how far off the subject my post would lead you guys!

Jim

I gave a friend (a professional photo restoration expert) 30 glass negatives to for work, he scanned them at around 64 megs per photo, repaired the photos and put them on a disc for me. I printed 6 sample photos 30 x 40 the next morning and used them for a display. There were 3200 people who looked at the photos and were excited to see and were very appreciative that I preserved the photos. The photos were OUTSTANDING! If you want, I can get you in contact with my friend in Northern California.

ANY never before seen photos could be VERY valuable!
I found a rare rumely tractor factory photo album with 80 images and about 20+ images that have NEVER been seen or published before...
There are copyright laws so dont let anyone make copies or post the images unless you want someone to steal them!
I sold the album for 10K to the rumely collectors museum BUT got permission to make professional scans before I sold it...
Just copies of the old album brings 250-350 each...
You should research the copyright laws as they changed after 1926 or so...and your images predate this...
I made a mistake and posted a few rare tractor images on a tractor website and they were immediately stolen and copies made into magnets and calendars!

Thanks guys,
I found a place in town that can scan and put on to disc, but i am going through them first to see what i have. If i find any thing cool i will let you know. Owen