Real or not real…

We recently saw this photo at a prominent on-line auction web site:

From the auction page:
“1940s B&W WEEGEE PHOTOGRAPH Crowd at Theater
Up for auction is a Very Rare, Vintage, Highly Collectible 1940’s B&W WEEGEE PHOTOGRAPH . Image is of a crowd going into a theater. 6.5″x4.5″ image printed on 8×10 glossy silver gelatin paper. Photo is in very good condition with imperfections due to its age and rarity. WEEGEE Imprint on back of photo. Don’t miss your chance to own this great piece of photo history.”

Later they admit:

“FULL DISCLOSURE: We are an auction listing and selling facility. We do not own any of the merchandise listed in this auction. All information regarding authenticity, background, condition, etc, is supplied to us by the customer/owner and we do not in any way validate this information. You are bidding on this item based upon your own decision and knowledge, so make sure you ask all necessary questions and do your own homework prior to bidding. Items are not refundable unless item is not as described in listing. All items will ship with insurance to cover the final bid price.”

We are very skeptical that it is a real “Weegee photograph.” In fact, some of us are over 90% sure that it is not a “real Weegee” photograph… based on our knowledge of that photograph (limited to two small jpegs), that photograph is only interesting as an “imitation” Weegee photograph…