How do you tell an original photo album?

[BrianK]

There have been posts recently on the forum about the historical nature of WW2 photo albums, and how they should not be tampered with. But there has been 60 years of time to play around with these things. How can anyone be sure that that no photos have been removed or replaced? I usually buy just individual TR photos. If I buy an album I just add up the total value of the better photos to get what I am willing to pay for it. But some albums go for thousands - one of the reasons for the value being that they are original. How can anyone possibly tell?

[EKman]

As with many things, it is impossible to tell 100% that an album has not been messed with, but here are a few things to look for:

Look for bare/frayed spots on the pages that will indicate if photos have been torn out, this may have been done by the original owner, but maybe not.

As you scan the photos, look for familiar faces. These fellows served in individual units and had a few close buddies, often you will see the same faces appear in different poses and places. This is a good indication that the album has been kept clear.

Watch out for RANDOM photos that increase the value quite a bit. If you are looking at a HJ album and you suddenly see photos from an SS heavy panzer unit, ask youself what those photos are doing there? What opportunity would a HJ member have to be in the midst of such a unit and take such photos in a combat situation--most likely the rare and valuable photo is a fake and has been seeded there to drive up the price, but it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Obviously, look for captions with no corresponding photos. Not all albums are captioned, but if one is and is done consistently, you can tell right away if there are photos missing.

Look at the way the photos are arranged. Each person has a different personality and they assembled their albums in different ways. Some put a photo in each corner, some did corners and one in the middle and so forth. Often times you can see a pattern to how the original owner placed the pictures. If you suddenly start seeing photos thrown in at odd angles, that may indicate that someone added them to increase the value.

Look for method in attaching the photos. If the original owner started the album using corner tabs, but the last several pages are finished out with pictures that are glued in, maybe that means that they aren't original to the album.

Smell the album. If you smell fresh glue, tell the seller no thank you!

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but it's late and I've had a pain pill for my knee, so if I think of anything else I'll post it.

Best,

Chris

[BrianK]

Thanks for the above info. Ironically, I also collect Hitler personality items, and I'm taling meds for pain in my leg!

[Brendan Hunt]

In what I've experienced, look for photos that could have been from the same roll of film. In this case, look for photos in the same size that have the same trim, and may have aged identically in color. If they are removable, you may also be able to see the development batch number on the back.

Just for instance, I have four photos taken in Crimea from the same roll of film. They are all the same size, all have the same trim, and all have aged together. They also have a small "5000" stamped on the back.

Just to reenforce what Chris said, I have an album belonging to the wife an Unteroffizier, but there are tons of other photos in there from family, her brother that was also in the Wehrmacht, and even photos from Atlanta, Georgia! In this case it would be very difficult to tell if the album is original or not. The only way you can really tell is by actually receiving it from one of the original owners, which I did. In some of the military photos, I can see same guys over and over again from 1940-1944. Its somewhat questionable when they start to disappear from the photos though...

-Brendan

[Justin P]

Some very handy tips from Brendan/EKman

I have Re****ly brought a grouping, and including in that is a v nice rare photo album.....However i had to buy the group to get this Album.....and yes the group will stay togeather

[BrianK]

I hope that there are original, untouched albums still around, but suspect that they are getting fewer & fewer. A couple of years ago I bought a Luftwaffe album that had a Goering photo in it. In most cases these days I would think albums would have pics of Hitler, Himmler, Goering or Goebbels removed, esp. if the content was otherwisw mundane.

[Brendan Hunt]

There is a removed photo and a partially removed photo from my album. Maybe this is somewhat because of what you just stated? Its shame...I still really want to see what was there.

[Eric JB]

I can partly agree what is written by the others.

Corner tabs not always say much, same roll and arrangement of the photos neither.

Lot of albums are done very smoothly at the beginning ..... and a messy job at the end.

Started by the soldier himself and finished by wife or family.
One of the reasons for a change in arrangement.

I have a couple of albums I received from vets.

Know that not every soldier did have his own photo camera, so he asked comrades for photos.
So that is one of the reasons to see different sizes, different rolls.

One vet didn't care about how his photos were arranged in the album, he just glued them in one by one, and it looks as if they were taken one by one out of a box with photos and glued in that order.
Different ranks and locations mixed from front to back in his album.

Couple of Uboat albums.
No photo camera allowed at uboatbase and uboat.
So photos exchanged with comrades or PK men.
In some of those albums, corner tabs dried out and were gone, photos were falling out, and photos that were loose or fallen out were no longer there.
Some vets did re-glue the photos in with glue only, or new postwar corner tabs.
Empty places filled with other loose photos, glued in on wrong positions.

One vet glued in photos he once wore during the war in his wallet, to fill the empty places, so photos with heavy wear / staines / cracks and damaged corners......between nice / clear undamged ones.

Another vet who was missing some of his photos received reproductions from a former crewmember of his boat to complete his album again.

Ofcourse when one buy material from dealers one has to be very careful, as what is mentioned here above is done by vets or family, while dealers do the same to make extra money or the sell the best photos separate from the album.

yours friendly

Eric-Jan

[The Arctic Fox]

A woman at a show I met 5 years ago had a thick National Socialist Party photo album with over 100 actual thick postcard sized photos. It was for high ranking party members. All in German with captions under each picture, which could be pulled off the page if one wanted too. Pictures I have never seen in history books. Lots of pictures of Hitler off the shores of norway on his private yacht etc. Also some of Goering if I recall. $400 and I almost bought it at the time. It looked original.

[PzV]

original photo albums

There are many good points that have been made in the previous comments. I would suggest to also observe how taut the strings are tied on a photo album, if complete pages are removed they tend to be quite loose! If the photos are glued in, this is often with wallpaper paste or an organic, sometimes flour based glue. These photos often don't adhere as well as modern glues and if the glue is rubbed with a finger it tends to crumble off the paper. Some fakers even use contact cement, when these photos are slightly pulled away you can see the fibers/strands of the glue and sometimes smell it also (I once almost bought a really nice Afrika Korps photo album only to find the photos were glued in with modern glue! Check the photos with a black light, the old photo paper does not glow as does the modern. This is not always 100% as some post-war paper also does not glow but helps. Some fakers here in Germany have coated the photo paper to stop the glow but if the surface is scratched (on the back) the paper may glow (these photos tend to have a yellowish surface color). Be cautious when the photos all have the same cut on the photos (these cutters are still around and fakers often trim the photos to look older!). The majority of period albums are actually with the photo corners and it is advisable to note if the photo corners used are the same type. The photo corners can vary as the photos are placed in the album but tend to be the same on the individual page. After a while one tends to see these differences quite quickly and you can detect a period photo album at a glance. The most important thing is to buy from a reputable dealer and if necessary with the right of return.
By the way, it is not unusual for a photo to be missing as this unfortunately was often done at veterans meetings and the photos never returned. I have been to many of these and have seen them taken out! Also it is very common for the album to start off very professionally and then in an extremely haphazard manner- this is often the case if the soldier was killed in action and the family had a carton of loose photos. Here in Germany this is very common and I know families where all male youth were killed in action or the majority.

[BrianK]

Yes, I have wondered why you see graves of men KIA in original photo albums. My chief worry when buying from dealers are the special SS, Himmler, or captured tank photos that might be seeded in. You could enhance the value of an album from hundreds to thousands doing this. I would expect that photos from inside U- boats, concentration camps, or the Berghof would be suspect!

[kaiserwilhelm2]

Hard to tell what is what with photoalbums as others said photoalbums were started during the war and finished after the war with in some cases also post war content. Pics were added after the war that comrades had made and which were then reprinted. These are therefore post war reprints (and some would say fakes) but that was of no import to the vetran who was just interested in getting a copy of a nice pic of him and his best buddy. Best thing to do is finding named and researchable photoalbums so you know who the previous owner was and then try to reconstruct his life through the pics in the album. Find out in what unit he served, where that unit was stationed and who the people of interest were in those units KC holders, DKiGholders, commander and officers try to identify people and locations. Get veteran divisional histories, read them andcarefully study the pics in them. It helps if you collect albums in a narrow field say airmen of Luftwaffe bomber units. After a while you start to recognize people, airfields, planes, Russian cities and so on. This is highly rewarding. Put in the time and get highly personalized photoalbums showing the original owner over and over. Avoid albums only showing random generic pics of say Russian villages, prisoners, war damage, soldiers. Photoalbums should tell you about a part of the life of the owner once lived. That is what makes them so interesting. Do not get hung up on the fact that pics are missing that is farfrom unusual. Enjoy the weekend!