Originally Posted by
gary892
If anyone is interested here is the outcome of my meeting with the person selling the Bruce Barnbaum photographs.
The listing was on a popular free site.
Here are the photographs:
Dead Oak - Lebec
Heather Lake
Horses Grazing Beyond Oaks
Leidig Meadow, Late Afternoon
I had several concerns,
One, that the photographs may be posters or some other reproduction.
The person may try to harm me or steal my money.
The photographs may turn out not to be by Bruce and the signature faked.
So, I agreed to meet with the seller in a public place and I brought along a friend who would act as a body guard.
It turns out, he was an older man, younger than me, I am old, and very nice and cooperative.
He opened the trunk to his car and there the four prints, they were in older silver painted wooden frames with non-glare glass right next to the print, No over matting!
I asked where they had been stored and he replied, his garage. In Southern California, the summers can get hot, over 100 and in a garage even hotter.
I picked one image up and I could see the print edge, so, they are not posters or any other reproduction.
I validated the signature based on an autographed copy of the manuscript for his book “Photography … An Approach to Personal Expression” that I bought in 1984.
The price was listed as $25.00. I read that as $25.00 each.
At this point I was ready to pay the $100 and take my chances.
When I mentioned the price just to confirm, he said no, the price is $25.00 for all four prints.
Holy struck the mother lode Batman!!! I quickly handed him the money, accepted the prints in as calm a manner as I could and slowly walked off. Too bad I parked my car some distance away so he wouldn’t see what I was driving.
Ok, I brought the prints home and began to carefully remove the cardboard backing in the frame, the prints were not professionally framed.
I carefully lifted the print and glass out of the frame at the same time and set them on a flat surface glass side up.
I gently lifted one corner of the glass to see if it was going to stick to the print and to my shock, the glass lifted off without any issues.
I repeated this process for the remaining prints and all came out perfect.
I now have four Bruce Barnbaum prints.
On further inspection, the mount board is stamped on the back with Bruce’s name, address, and phone number from a time when he lived in Los Angeles. So this information certainly helps date the images.
I know in 1984, he lived in Somis, California, so these are even before that.
My next challenge is, how do I store them?
I am considering ordering a museum case from light impressions.
Anyone have any suggestions?
In anticipation of certain comments, no, I will not let you store them on a permanent basis.
So, that is how I spent my weekend!
Gary
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