“WEEGEE PHOTOGRAPH- Arthur Fellig ORIGINAL”
$99.99
“WEEGEE PHOTOGRAPH- Arthur Fellig ORIGINAL”
$99.99
(It’s funny that the images of the backs of the photos are exactly the same – two photos, one back;-)
In our opinion this photo was not made by Weegee…
But this blog post was!
It’s stamped!
An authentic “WEEGEE BLOG POST- Arthur Fellig ORIGINAL blog post”
“WEEGEE STAMPED 4X5 Original Photo Arthur Fellig Gelatin Silver”
Sold for $20.50
“WEEGEE STAMPED 4X5 Original Photo Arthur Fellig Gelatin Silver”
Sold for: $103.49
“WEEGEE STAMPED 4X5 Original Photo Arthur Fellig Gelatin Silver”
Sold for: $103.49
“WEEGEE STAMPED 4X5 Original Photo Arthur Fellig Gelatin Silver”
Sold for: $21.50
“WEEGEE STAMPED 4X5 Original Photo Arthur Fellig Gelatin Silver”
Sold for: $55.00
“WEEGEE STAMPED 4X5 Original Photo Arthur Fellig Gelatin Silver”
Sold for: $71.00
A little over a week ago, this photo didn’t sell for $10.
In our opinion these photos were not made by Weegee.
PS. This post was made by Weegee!
Look, there’s a stamp!
He must have made this blog post!!!
PPS. 
This is what a real Weegee the Famous stamp looks like…
A few years ago a bunch of photos began appearing on ebay that were obviously not made by Weegee.
The only thing that connected the photos to Weegee was a stamp on the back: “Credit Photo by WEEGEE The Famous.”
Here are some of these stamps:
Here are some real stamps from the backs of real Weegee photos.
There are some obvious differences.
Our theory: In preparation for the book, Weegee by Weegee (1961), and perhaps for distortions, Weegee photographed his “Credit Photo by Weegee The Famous” stamp. In the enlargement and reproduction processes the stamp changed. (There is photographic evidence of this.) The C and E of “CREDIT” and the H in “THE” acquired artifacts, the type has fattened up, primarily the “Credit Photo by… The Famous” which is very thin on the real stamps, there is a notch in the circle, at the three o’clock mark, or opposite the final E in Weegee, and the circle is uneven – thin on the bottom, etc., etc…
It is Weegee’s reproduction of his stamp that has been the primary, if not exclusive, source of this image since 1961. Chronologically:
Weegee by Weegee (1961)
Weegee The Famous (1977)
Weegee’s New York (1982)
Weegee’s Wikipedia
Weegee’s Tote Bag (ca. 2012)
The stamp on the back of the “phony” Weegee prints, (based on a small JPEGs from ebay), appears to be an exact match to the reproduction of the stamp, and is not the original stamp.
A real Weegee the Famous stamp is a little larger than 1 3/16th of an inch in diameter…
Approximately 90% of the “Credit Photo by Weegee The Famous” stamps that we have seen are in purple-ish/red-ish ink; off-center; not straight, or aligned with the print… Furthermore, the stamp was used primarily between 1941-1945 (after he was “famous”). The purpose of the stamp was practical and professional…
“An educated consumer is our best customer.”
Now, we move on to more important things…
(To be continued…)
Speaking of Weegee photos on ebay…
From the ebay listing:
“Weegee 1930’s/40’s Framed & stamped”
“Weegee stamped
photo is 4 x5 framed with black
velvet matting ..Nyc building ..Rare..”
US $159.99
Of course the listing doesn’t say that the photographer who made the photo is Weegee.
It is probably framed and stamped.
It was probably made in the 50s or 60s.
There is a Weegee stamp…
It could be made in NYC… It is probably rare, even unique…
The listing is more-or-less accurate, but too misleading, the implication is that the photographer is Weegee.
In our opinion, this photo was not made by Weegee…
Screen shot from the Swannn website.
“WEEGEE (1899-1968)
“Cooler.” Silver print, 13 3/8×10 1/2 inches (34×26.7 cm.), with Weegee’s signature and date, in red pencil, on recto, and with his Arthur Fellig and Weegee the Famous hand stamps on verso.
Circa 1942″
The photo is signed and dated: “Weegee 1953”
The ca. 1942 date is from Weegee’s New York, Photographs 1935-1960, p. 155.
We think it was made ca. 1950, in California…
Results: It did not sell.
From the eBay listing:
“Original weegee from world famous archive
silver gelatin on final fiber print great condition for its age and rarity ! 4×5”
Sold for $65.00
From the eBay listing:
“WEEGEE ORIGINAL STAMPED PHOTO
It is silver gelatin final fiber print in great condition due to its age and rarity ! Size is 4×4”
Sold for $55.00
This eBay listing has a link (“some press on photo aug 13th”) that has a link…
From the eBay listing:
“WEEGEE ORIGINAL STAMPED PHOTO
It is silver gelatin final fiber print in great condition due to its age and rarity ! Size is 4×5”
Sold for $65.00
We saved the best for last. The back of this photo looks a lot like the back of the previous photo… Must be a coincidence… A few more phony Weegee photos sold on eBay…
1.”Weegee Original 1930/1940’s photo artistic shot !
WEEGEE ORIGINAL STAMPED PHOTO
It is silver gelatin final fiber print in great condition due to its age and rarity ! Size is 4×5″
Above photos and words from eBay.
Starting bid is $50.00
Update: This photo, not made by Weegee, sold for $50.00
2. “Weegee Original 1930/1940’s photo Man In Uniform Stamped !
WEEGEE ORIGINAL STAMPED PHOTO RARE!
It is silver gelatin final fiber print in great condition due to its age and rarity ! Size is 4×5 ”
Above photos and words from eBay.
Buy it now price is $75.00.
3. “weegee origanal NYC SUBWAY photogragh stamped !
Original weegee from world famous archive
silver gelatin on final fiber print great condition for its age and rarity ! 4×5”
Above photos and words from eBay.
Staring bid is $75.00.
Update: This photo, not made by Weegee, sold for $75.00
The three photos above are for sale on eBay. They are being sold as “WEEGEE ORIGINAL STAMPED PHOTO RARE.”
In our opinion it’s obvious that the photos were neither made, nor stamped by Arthur Fellig. These are, at best, good examples of a bad joke, bad imitations, and/or just plain fraud…
PS.
This is what a real Weegee the Famous stamp looks like…
In an intriguing and misleading (and perhaps incorrect) recent eBay auction one 8″ x 10″ photo, from the 1940s, and nine 4″ x 5″ photos, from the 1950s, were sold recently… All ten photos sold for $199.99.
One could argue that they represent Weegee’s work during World War II, enthusiastically covering the home front, (uniformly good and sometimes great), and his post war work, enthusiastically covering women in bikinis, enthusiastically covering cheesecake, (uniformly great and sometimes good;-)… One could also argue that nine of the ten photos were not made by Weegee…
Photo was probably made in 1943-1944. (One stamp is from 1943-44, the other ca. 1966-68.)
Unusual: lighting, composition, content, etc.
These photos were not made by Weegee. They were made around 1953. (Assistant? Nope.)
Images above and words below from eBay:
“”ARTHUR FELLIG “WEEGEE” 10 ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS COLLECTION”
“EXTREMELY RARE PHOTO SESSION BY WEEGEE AND WEEGEE STAMPS ON ONE”
THIS RARE COLLECTION CONSISTS OF (9) ORIGINAL SILVER GELATINS BY WEEGEE HIMSELF. THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF WEEGEE AND MODEL WAS TAKEN BY HIS ASSISTANT. ALL OTHERS WERE TAKEN BY WEEGEE WITH HIS CAMERA PRESENT. “PHOTOGRAPH OF WEEGEE WITH CIGAR IN HIS MOUTH HOLDING HIS CAMERA.”
THE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE TAKEN IN 1940, NEW YORK, OF A PIN UP MODEL.
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ARE 4″ X 5″, ALL SILVER GELATIN. “WILL PASS PSA” AS THEY ARE ALL THE ORIGINALS.
ALL ORIGINALS HAVE LIGHT WEAR.
2) ARTHUR FELLIG “WEEGEE” STAMPED SILVER GELATIN PHOTOGRAPH
SIZE: 10″ X 8″
VERSO: WEEGEE STAMPS AND WRITTEN NOTATIONS, 1948 NEW YORK
CONDITION: CREASE ON END LEFT CORNER, STAIN ON VERSO, PHOTOGRAPH NEEDS TO BE LAID FLAT, OLD PHOTOGRAPH.”
Speaking of something smelling fishy… These photos (an incomplete gallery) were offered for sale on eBay in 2011; some sold… The seller had a different name(s),or aliases, not photoshoot2012, they were howardus and vintageexpertchristine… They were allegedly made by Weegee, or more accurately, a “Weegee Original Photograph.”
These are definitely not photographs made by Weegee…
Speaking of smelling fishy… more photos on eBay from photoshoot2012 allegedly by Weegee:
“Weegee Original Photographs 1940’s “His personal photo ” Row your boat ..”
4×4
Unsold. Asking price $75.00 (April 21, 2013)
“Weegee Original Photographs 1940’s ” Skiing”
4×4
Asking price: US $65.00 (The skiing photo was for sale at least six times in April – May, 2013)
Hey! The back of that photo looks familiar… of course, it’s the same as this one, the “Men in Uniform”:
Again: It’s often difficult to extract accurate information from an eBay listing, (especially listings as inarticulate and confusing as these), nevertheless, based on very little information and a few JPEGs, I think these are definitely not photos made by Weegee…
Something smells fishy…
WEEGEEWEEGEEWEEGEE 