Photo Fakes with Michael Medhurst of the Daguerreian Society

The Photo Detective

There are unscrupulous folks in every field. Even in historical photography. Imagine going to the effort of learning historical photographic methods, buying appropriate materials all to dupe a buyer. It’s unfortunately true. When I heard my guest at a conference, my mouth fell open in disbelief. Spotting the fakes requires sharp eyes and a knowledge of historic images. I’ve seen some at Brimfield, the huge antique market in Massachusetts. In this age of electronic purchases and auctions it really is buyer beware.

If you love early images like I do you might want to join the Daguerreian Society. It’s a group of individuals passionate about daguerreotypes and nineteenth century photography. This year they’ve gone virtual with a program of outstanding lectures by experts in the field.

Related Episodes:

Episode 60: Finding Pictures of Your Civil War Ancestor

Links:

• Mike Medhurst & Co.
• Daguerreian Society
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About My Guest:

Mike Medhurst has been actively buying and selling antique photography for more than 30 years. He is currently the President of the Daguerreian Society and an avid collector.

Graduating with a B.S. from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, he was soon dealing in historic photography, documents and autographs of the 19th century. Mike later completed his M.S. from Southern Illinois University and by the early 1990’s the business had become more keenly focused on 19th century photography.

Mike buys and sells images at numerous national Civil War and photography shows each year. His business entity, Medhurst & Co., has the largest inventory of daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes in the Midwest and is well known for selling high quality images of every variety. These can be found on his website mikemedhurst.com.

Many of the top collectors of 19th century photography count Mike as a valuable resource to supply them with outstanding material. Images acquired though him can often be seen on display at noted museums such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chicago Art Institute, Nelson-Atkins and the Library of Congress. In addition, he is a source for many of the nation’s top private and public collections.

Mike’s appraisal

I'm thrilled to be offering something new. Photo investigations. These collaborative one-on-one sessions. Look at your family photos then you and I meet to discuss your mystery images. And find out how each clue and hint might contribute to your family history. Find out more by going to maureentaylor.com and clicking on family photo investigations.

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