Old photo on ebay

[10ga Hammer]

I see an eyelid on the left eye, not so obvious on the right. Thought maybe its a glass eye ??

[CSL]

The eyes have definitely been messed with...
It was not uncommon back in the early 1900's for studio photographers to enhance someone's eyes if they appeared too light or washed out due to bad lighting or poor photography skills... I've seen them done like this many times, the dead giveaway being the strong degree of black they used to darken the pupils. When comparing the overall color tones in the photo, the pupils look unnatural and out of place with the rest of the image... Hard to say for sure who altered the photo, but Not very appealing at that price with those strange eyes......

Best, CSL
_________________________________


_________________________________
.

[Jeff Mayhew]

Yes, paint and a brush are no match for modern digital methods.

[Captain Bob]

Prior to the turn of the 20th Century almost all black and white photographic negative plates had an orthochromatic emulsion which was only sensitive to blue and green colors. Additionally as much light as possible was used to shorten exposures, but caused the pupils of the subjects eyes to be closed down and small. A particular result was that portraits of people with especially bright or strong blue or green eyes would end up with strange unnatural looking all white eyes when prints were made from these negatives. The usual correction for this was “spotting” of the negative or print using primarily soft graphite pencils or special spotting paints applied with ultra fine brushes - obviously some photographers or their assistants were more skillful at this than others. This problem gradually went away after the turn of the century with the introduction of panchromatic films which were sensitive to all colors and faster as well.

[CSL]

Originally Posted by Bob Roberts

Prior to the turn of the 20th Century almost all black and white photographic negative plates had an orthochromatic emulsion which was only sensitive to blue and green colors. Additionally as much light as possible was used to shorten exposures, but caused the pupils of the subjects eyes to be closed down and small. A particular result was that portraits of people with especially bright or strong blue or green eyes would end up with strange unnatural looking all white eyes when prints were made from these negatives. The usual correction for this was “spotting” of the negative or print using primarily soft graphite pencils or special spotting paints applied with ultra fine brushes - obviously some photographers or their assistants were more skillful at this than others. This problem gradually went away after the turn of the century with the introduction of panchromatic films which were sensitive to all colors and faster as well.

--------------------------------------

Bob,
Great information... Thanks for explaining the cause of the brightness, and the process of “spotting” they used when enhancing the eyes... You are right, some photographers were much better skilled at this alteration than others...

Best, CSL
____________________
.