Caveat emptor: let the buyer beware

In an effort to prevent the misrepresentation of my contemporary work as original, this page has been added to help those in the collecting community. As with every kind of art, there are those with black hearts who would for the sake of their own personal profit misrepresent, or even blatantly forge it.

In my endeavor to keep the 19th Century art of collodion photography alive, I have been successful in creating images virtually identical to the artists of that time. This is very satisfying to me on the one hand, but on the other, it has caused me great concern.

In the past few of years, these two images have been sold at auction as original. The man in the images unknowingly traded them to a scoundrel who removed my signature and passed them off as originals. One of these images was recognized by a friend who is familiar with my work and became suspicious.

Here are some ways my work can be detected from the originals they so closely imitate:

1. The japanning on my plates is solid black on both sides since I dip them.

2. My name and a date will be scratched in the finish on the back.

3. A jug, book or whiskey bottle with my name on them, frequently appear in my photos.

Close-up of the jug

Close-up of the book

1. When I use a pedestal, carpet or chair it will almost always be the ones shown in these examples. Note the curved legs on the chair. Click on the Pedistal for a detailed image of it, and click on the chair for a closeup of the chair and carpet.

Close-up of the pedestal

Close-up of the chair

2. I use these two backdrops that are shown below:

Please study my images, especially throughout my site here. You will begin to see distinguishing items. This will then be easier for you to spot my work in the future. If you ever have any questions about an image please send me an e-mail, my address is listed in the contact area of this website.