Question concerning white lines on photos

[tropenmilitaria]

I am looking a series of WWII German photos to purchase and multiple photos have the same white lines or scratches on the images. If these scratches existed on the original negatives then why would they all be in the same size/location on different prints? Does this point to post war production? Thanks.

[Steve P]

I think the short answer, as I suggest your intuition is telling you, is they probably wouldn't be in the same place...certainly not exactly the same place. Do you have pics you may display for a better assessment?

[nightfighter]

I have seen some like this and they were post war reproductions.so it may be the same for this lot.can u put a photo up so i can have a look..if the white lines are all in the same place i think that is not right.as i have lots of photos from one person and they have white lines but not one is in the same place..

[Simon O.]

If you're saying different photographs have the same pattern of scratches then yes that's a red flag.

Remember though that you also get period prints of prints

[tropenmilitaria]

If you're saying different photographs have the same pattern of scratches then yes that's a red flag.

Yes, different photos with the same vertical white lines on both sides in the exact same places. Some of the photos looked a little grainy also so another possible sign of a reprint. I tried to copy the photos but couldn't do it. I will not attempt to buy as my motto is better safe than sorry when it comes to our hobby. Thank for the opinions guys.

[Mil-Archive]

It is probably not the case with the ones you mentioned but I have seen some of the 'spider web' photo albums can leave a simliair pattern on different pics if they are pressed hard enough for long enough. If you post up a pic or two showing the marks it should be easy enough to find out.

[John Pen.]

Let me post my opinion;

If there are verticle lines, the same width/severity on a small group, or a large number photos, that most likely means that all of those photos were taken with the same camera. The camera had some type of debris or an imperfection that caused the film to become scratched as it was rolled from one side to the other, within the camera. i.e. the emulsion was scratched.
If it was just dust or debris, it probably would not continue to affect succeeding rolls, unless it were a subborn piece, really stuck. If it were a camera flaw, all rolls would get damaged, and all photos takjen with this camera would have the same exact verticle scratches....until the camera were repaired. Also, it could also be the above mentioned problems affecting only the metal housing of the roll of film,. i.e. dents, debebis, or other factors

If this was noit clear let me know and I will explain better.

John Pen.

[R MICHAEL]

Let me post my opinion;

If there are verticle lines, the same width/severity on a small group, or a large number photos, that most likely means that all of those photos were taken with the same camera. The camera had some type of debris or an imperfection that caused the film to become scratched as it was rolled from one side to the other, within the camera. i.e. the emulsion was scratched.
If it was just dust or debris, it probably would not continue to affect succeeding rolls, unless it were a subborn piece, really stuck. If it were a camera flaw, all rolls would get damaged, and all photos takjen with this camera would have the same exact verticle scratches....until the camera were repaired. Also, it could also be the above mentioned problems affecting only the metal housing of the roll of film,. i.e. dents, debebis, or other factors

If this was noit clear let me know and I will explain better.

John Pen.

My thoughts exactly john.

Mike

[PzV]

I have seen a number of photos with scratches from scratched negatives due to debris which actually scratched the negatives as they were wound. These are often Afrika Korps or eastern front photos where there were also many dusty areas. These scratches tend to be uniform and the same on almost all photos from a roll.

[tropenmilitaria]

Let me post my opinion;

If there are verticle lines, the same width/severity on a small group, or a large number photos, that most likely means that all of those photos were taken with the same camera. The camera had some type of debris or an imperfection that caused the film to become scratched as it was rolled from one side to the other, within the camera. i.e. the emulsion was scratched.
If it was just dust or debris, it probably would not continue to affect succeeding rolls, unless it were a subborn piece, really stuck. If it were a camera flaw, all rolls would get damaged, and all photos takjen with this camera would have the same exact verticle scratches....until the camera were repaired. Also, it could also be the above mentioned problems affecting only the metal housing of the roll of film,. i.e. dents, debebis, or other factors

If this was noit clear let me know and I will explain better.

John Pen.

Thanks for the details John. The photos were taken in Africa so perhaps some type of debris, sand, etc. got stuck in the camera. Impossible to know now. Interesting discussion on the flaws found on alot of photos.