PM, February 9, 1943
“We are against fraud and deceit and greed and cruelty…”
PM,
Recent ebay auctions: “WEEGEE STAMPED Original Blog Post Arthur Fellig HTML”
“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…
“Weegee Stamped Photo” or, “We are against fraud and deceit…”
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)
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- Weegee by Weegee, 1961
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- Weegee, 1977
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- Weegee’s New York, 1982
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- wikipedia
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- 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…)
Weegee Daily… February 9, 1941… Murder in the Rain… Hell’s Kitchen Style…
PM Daily, February 9, 1941
Murder in the Rain… Hell’s Kitchen Style
This is the picture story of the careful man who remembered to put on his rubbers but failed to watch out for death. Weegee took the photo and wrote the title… Weegee said: “He was going into his home on W. 48th Street when an unknown man fired three shots and ran toward 10th Avenue. Nobody saw or heard any shots… so they said.”
Weegee Daily, February 9, 2013
No Murder… No Rain… No Snow… Hell’s Kitchen Style
Weegee as photographer and reporter (and poet!)… We recently saw a horizontal version of this image (the printed version is perhaps a third of the un-cropped image) and the legs in the upper left corner are more obvious… Perhaps the square in the foreground, in the sidewalk, is the same in both of the above photos… Perhaps coincidentally, Weegee’s future home was behind and a few doors west of this location…
This is the picture story of a careful man who remembered to make this photo before the blizzard arrived. Ceegee took the photo and wrote the title. About the photo of a 73 year old crime scene, in what critics call a continuation of a boring and profoundly unoriginal blog, Ceegee said: “I was gradually going home, walking past W. 48th St., before going to B&H Photo, and perhaps an old bakery, when I fired about ten shots and walked toward 10th Avenue. A few people, walking home, walking dogs and/or children, saw the shots… if so, they didn’t say.”
(A few easily google-able news clippings…)
“…Where You Can Get Off”… 69 years ago this week…
PM, February 1943, photo by John Albert
He Shows Where You Can Get Off
“Subway signs were something we never gave much consideration to until the other day…
It takes, he told us, 50 gallons of paint and 40 paint brushes a year to keep the signs legible…”
To be continued…
Veronica Lake Gets a Bouquet… 71 years ago this week…
PM, February 1943
Shoo-Fly Pie… 71 years ago this week…
PM, February 1943
(Whoever siad that we never publish anything useful, has obviously never read this post…)
In our opinion, this is photo was not made by Weegee…
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…
One more time… Recent auctions… Weegee or Maybe not Weegee – “Miss Third Dimension”…
Almost exactly a year ago, we made this great post about a recent ebay auction:
Sold for $123.50
Sold as: “RARE 1940’s Original Photo VIRGINIA MAYO Portrait by WEEGEE”
Funny thing is, the caption on the back of the photo doesn’t say that Weegee made the photo. In the (great) caption there is a quote from Weegee, (“on account of them curves”) as an award presenter, not as the photographer. (That’s a curve or perhaps even a knuckleball…)
(There are photos of Weegee and Mayo, each holding a small movie camera, on the same set.)
Our opinion: the photo was not made by Weegee.
—————————————————————————————————————–
Tonight, we make this great post:
Words and images from the ebay listing:
“RARE 1940’s Original Photo VIRGINIA MAYO Portrait by WEEGEE
a STUNNING example from “Naked City””
Genre: ORIGINAL PHOTO
Date of Image: 1940’s
Date of Issue: 1940’s
Subject: VIRGINIA MAYO
Issuer: Acme Newspictures
Size: 7″ x 9″
Comments:
“GINNY” by WEEGEE
A Vintage 1940’s ORIGINAL Photo featuring the beautiful Virginia Mayo as captured by the legendary photographer, Weegee. Born Arthur Fellig, the artist known for his stark black and white street photographs took his talents to Hollywood in the 1947 and over a four year period produced some of the most stunning images of cinema’s leading stars (click HERE for link more info).
Offered is a RARE period photograph of one of those works from Weegee. This 7″ x 9″ photograph from Acme Newspictures was issued on July 8, 1948 and its a striking portrayal of “Ginny”, clearly demonstrating Weegee’s mastery of light and shadow. The Sultan of Morocco once declared Mayo’s beauty to be proof of the existence of God. Well, here is the quintessential photo of the voluptuous Hollywood beauty – like a pinup painting coming to life !”
Sold for $260.00
What exactly does the caption on back of this photo say:
“MISS THIRD DIMENSION”
HOLLYWOOD: Magazine Photographer’s Association members have named movie star Virginia Mayo, “MISS THIRD DIMENSION”.
Representing the organization, and making the award, “Weegee,” noted photographer, whose camera depictions of New York have become legendary, declared that Miss Mayo is the girl who looks best to the third dimensional lens he is now demonstrating in Hollywood, “On account of them curves.”
NY 1-2-3-4-5 CAN FOR
Credit (ACME) 7-8-48 (SM)”
The caption doesn’t say that Weegee is the photographer who made the photo. He is the noted photographer who is “representing the organization, and making the award.”
We’ve never seen this on a Weegee photo:
Our opinion: the photo was not made by Weegee.
WEEGEEWEEGEEWEEGEE 