Golf Photograhs
A collection of historical golf photographs is a wonderful way to record the history, fashions and development of the game. Examples include images from tournaments, group shots, and pictures of prominent players of the game. Autographed images of well- known professionals bring special attention. And today, striking photographs of golf courses often in the form of coffee table books or framed art find their way into many collections.
The history of photography covers less than 200 years, and innovations in technology came at a rapid pace. In 1814, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce achieved the first photographic image with a camera obscura. However, the image required eight hours of light exposure and later faded. In 1837, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, from Paris, France was the inventor of the first practical process of photography - the daguerreotype. It was the first image that was fixed, did not fade and needed less than thirty minutes of light exposure.
The first American photography patent was issued in 1840 to Alexander Wolcott for a camera. The panoramic camera was patented in 1859 and the stereoscope viewer was invented in 1865. The Eastman Dry Plate Company was founded in 1880, and in 1884 George Eastman invented flexible, paper-based photographic film. In 1888, Eastman patented the Kodak roll-film camera.
The first mass-marketed camera – the Brownie - was introduced in 1900 and the 35mm camera was developed in 1913. Eastman Kodak brought the first color film – Kodachrome to the public in 1935. Polaroid introduced instant color film in 1963. Konica produced the first point and shoot, auto-focus camera in 1978 and Canon introduced the digital still camera in 1984.
The earliest known golf photographer was Thomas Rodger, who worked in St. Andrews, Scotland between 1849 and 1883. Examples of his work are extremely rare and valuable. Other early golf photographs included stereoscope cards which were made to be used in three dimensional stereoscopes. These were often produced as instructional aids, prior to the introduction of instructional videos.
It is important for collectors to distinguish between “first generation” photographs and copies or reproductions that often appear to be original. With autographed photos, care must taken to determine if the image is actually signed, or simply a copy of the originally signed photograph.
Historical golf photographs can be found at flea markets, auctions, internet auction sites, antique shops and GCS Trade Shows. Age, condition, quality and subject matter are important considerations when determining the value of golf photographs.
