Needle in a Haystack . . . made of needles!

[Jon Fish]

Odd same wrinkles in both photos??See circled wrinkles and tint scratch on shovel arm raute.these are 2 different photos?!look close many match!Also strange!

Perhaps they were stored in the same paper container and creased the same ways if they were on top of each other?

[JoeW]

I see three creases along the bottom edge of the Weitze photo that are not in the other photo posted, including one to the left of the GPB that was not circled. And I see one to the right of the GPB in the other photo that does not appear in the Weitze photo. The other "creases/bends" circled above appear in the background behind the subject of the photo and to not appear to extend into the subject proper. I would attribute these to the background material used in the portrait studio, whether it was a huge sheet of cloth or paper material.

This is really a ridiculous line of discussion.

Does anyone believe the party badge on the tie is his small GPB. The meager dress regulation of the RAD in the Org Book states Party awards are to be worn on the left breast of the uniform.

[Bob Clark]

Wewelsburg has hit the nail on the head. Yes, it's one thing to have "doubles" of the same photo on the market....
but the same creases and wrinkles on both pictures, in the exact same places? (ie. one is the original and the
other is a copy of that original) - this evaluation is based on decades of experience with pre-1945 photographic
review and collecting. Joe W offers an interesting hypothesis of why the exact creasing and "crinkling" are on
both photos...(background used in the studio) - after reviewing again, this is not the case...as one can see the
same creases on the photo's bottom - even on the areas at the bottom that JoeW has pointed out....they are
still there, but faint. As to this being a waste of time trying to discern, what is collecting originals worth to those
who spend their income on bogus militaria/photographs from the time period.

To conclude - the photo listed at the top of this thread is copied from the photo in the thread with the Gold Party
Badges above it. Whether this is a wartime copy or not, without seeing the backs of the said photos, one cannot
discern. With all respect to the fellow collectors who have posted in this thread...

[sjl]

Does anyone believe the party badge on the tie is his small GPB. The meager dress regulation of the RAD in the Org Book states Party awards are to be worn on the left breast of the uniform.

I do - I've seen it before, and the GPB was authorized for wear on the tie in some uniforms, but not the two together. It would be non-regulation to wear it this way on a RAD uniform, but I bet a close-up will show it is true in this photo. Whether he wore it this way outside the studio is another matter.





Stephen
My Gold Party Badge Website: http://pages.interlog.com/~sjl/GPB/index.html

[Craig Gottlieb]

They are definitely different physical photos, although they are exact copies of the same image. I guess it has to be that case, since I have mine here, and Helmut has his in Hamburg. I do know that people like this guy did pass out pictures to their friends. Don't we all do that?

[sjl]

Hi Craig,

It looks to me like you have more picture than Helmut - you have it clear right to the bottom edge and his gets fuzzy down there obscuring the details. I'd say that's why it is 2 originals from the same negative, except yours has weathered the years better. It's also why yours is unlikely to be a modern copy of Weitze's as some suggest - the copy can't have more details than the original, Photoshop notwithstanding.

Any chance of a look at his tie pin? I'm dying to know.

Cheers,

Stephen

[Craig Gottlieb]

I can say for sure that my photo is original. Regarding the tie-pin, I can try to scan additional photos for posterity, and list them here. It's definitely the small Gold Party Pin he's wearing on the tie. Thanks all, for the input. I just find it hysterical that two photos have surfaced on different sides of the world, of a guy who is not that famous. It'd be one thing if it were Sepp Deitrich, but this guy?

[Arran]

Aren't those 'wrinkles' in the cloth backdrop used for the photo? I don't thing they're in the paper...

[JoeW]

"- the copy can't have more details than the original, Photoshop notwithstanding."

Nicely put Stephen. So that would make Weitze's the copy according to our photo experts. People see what they want to see. And I suppose the "copy" of the original was cut on only three side with special pinking shears to duplicate the rough edge?

Please, give me a break!

[Craig Gottlieb]

Arran: With respect for Joe, I agree - I think these wrinkles are part of the back-drop.

[wewelsburg]

No those are finger nail marks clearly .One has it more.Im not implying anyones is fake,or even a copy,just pointing out a strange occurance.Still doesnt explain the small white hairline on low right corner on shovel raute.There is a curtain but those are creases look closely.Its odd.

[Craig Gottlieb]

I do see those similarities. Heck, maybe I stole the picture by accident, last time I was in Germany!

[der-hase-fee]

Weitze bought the set from Hermann Historica. Their discription did not mention a picture at all. When I asked Weitze's team where the picture came from, the answer was it came with the badges, but it had been forgotten to mention.

[Craig Gottlieb]

If memory serves me (and I am fairly certain of this, but could be mistaken), this photo came from a stack of miscellaneous paper that I picked up in a collection about 2 years ago, and stuck in a drawer until recently, when I started going through it).

[Robert H]

who knows ...