1918 Mole & Thomas Living Photo & Frame
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GUEST:
I brought a picture that has been in my family as long as I can remember. I saw it hanging on the wall as I was growing up. I thought it was rather ugly, big.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And after my mother passed away, I wrapped it up and put it underneath my bed, and that's where it's been, until today. My grandfather is in the photograph down in the bottom.
APPRAISER:
Well, when you pulled this out of your, your cart.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
I first saw the frame, and it's a wonderful tramp art frame, it's made of wood. And then I saw the photograph.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
The photograph, as we can see, is the Philadelphia Liberty Bell, complete with crack. And this was done by a pair of commercial photographers from Chicago, Arthur Mole and John Thomas. And they became famous during the First World War with these living photographs.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
That took thousands of troops to create these images. They did the Statue of Liberty.
GUEST:
Oh, my.
APPRAISER:
The head of Woodrow Wilson, eagles-- all sorts of things. This was one of their most famous images.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
And it's copyrighted 1918. The partner, Mole, would stand up on an elevated place, just bellowing down to the group below to get it orchestrated, get it organized and, and photographed.
GUEST:
Wonderful.
APPRAISER:
This happened to be taken at Camp Dix in, in New Jersey.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
The print itself is in excellent condition. The frame was made in 1921 by a man by the name of William Bergstrom, who must have been the...
GUEST:
Hired hand.
APPRAISER:
Hired, hired hand. And he so carefully made a frame that's perfectly...
GUEST:
Amazing.
APPRAISER:
...reflects the photograph. You've got two great things. To insure this piece, I would put maybe $8,000 on it, something like that.
GUEST:
Well, that's wonderful.
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