Is a photograph I have made by J.A. Pixley worth anything? It's dated 1913.

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Request for Question Clarification by wellen-ga on 24 Jun 2003 19:21 PDT

Hello sitakins,

Would you describe the subject of the photograph, the size,  and the
condition? This information may help reseachers provide an answer for
you.


wellen
Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by sitakins-ga on 25 Jun 2003 09:19 PDT

The photo is 4 3/4 X 7 inches.  It is printed on a mat altogether
making the photo a total of  8 X 10 inches.  There is printing on the
photo at the bottom of the image saying: "Mortar Battery Night
Pradtice Fort Andrews, MASS, Sept 1913 and then Photo by J.A. Pixley."
 Then in the lower right hand corner area is the number 152.

It is a night photograph showing  a mortor blasting away...with the
blast clearly in the image and the soldiers standing around the
equipment and quite interesting. It came in a "tramp art" frame I
purchased. It seems to be what you'd call a "silver geletin" kind of
photo and has a few scratches.

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Clarification of Question by sitakins-ga on 25 Jun 2003 09:22 PDT

I misspelled the word practice...it should be practice not with a 'd'.

Hello sitakins, 
 
Thanks so much, I enjoyed doing the research and wish you well with
your picture.
  
 I searched extensively for any information about J.A. Pixley but
found
 nothing. However, I believe that your photograph is worth more than
25
 cents, not because of the photographer but because of the subject
 matter. Fort Andrews was
 built by the federal government in 1900 on Peddocks Island and it is
 now eligible to be included in the National Register. It was one of
 several forts that defended the Boston harbor from 1904 to the end of
 World War II. It was used as a prison to house Italian prisoners of
 war during World War II. Most of the fort's buildings are in poor
 condition but are still standing. (
 http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-6493-8C1BCDD-38778B7A-bd1 )(
 http://www.geocities.com/naforts/ma.html )(
 http://www.state.ma.us/dem/parks/bhis.htm ).
  
 There are several avenues you could pursue if you wished to sell your
 photograph. Web sites that are dedicated to historical subjects such
 as this one about forts ( http://www.fortrodman.org/page874116.htm ),
 including Fort Andrews, may well be interested in purchasing it.
  
 Collectors who are interested in WW II material could also be
 interested. Collectors often search online auctions such as eBay (
 http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=photograph+WWII
 ) and Go Antiques (
http://www.goantiques.com/category,militaria-war-memorabilia-24.html
 ) seeking items for their collections.
  
 Another possiblity would be genealogogists who have an interest in
the
 Pixley family line or someone who had an ancestor who served at Fort
 Andrews. Genealogists are extremely eager to find anything that links
 them with an ancestor. A few sites such as these would be places you
 could sell the photograph.
  
 Heirlooms Lost: http://heirloomslost.com/ 
 (Scroll about halfway down the page and click on the "Post to the
 Sale/List")
  
 Ancient Faces: http://www.ancientfaces.com/military/photos/lists/index.cfm?wa14
 (Click on the sign Up/Sign In link in upper right corner to be able
to
 sell.)
  
 Picture History: http://www.picturehistory.com/find/c/291/p/15/mcms.html;
 http://www.picturehistory.com/fmt/about.html
  
 Google search results for "pixley genealogy MA" brought up quite a
few
 sites of people reseaching the Pixley family name. Contacting those
 with an interest in ancestors connected with the fort would be
another
 option for you. ( ://www.google.com/search?q=pixley+genealogy+MA&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
 ).
  
  
 This web site lacks a picture of Fort Andrews yet is it a travel
guide
 about the fort! Your picture could be just what they need! (
 http://www.virtualtourist.com/vt/c21aa/ )
  
 The fort is now a popular tourist attraction and any business with a
 web site in the area may very well be interested in purchasing your
 picture for use on their site or to display at their business or use
 in their brochures. i. e. ( http://www.fbhi.org/2003boattrips.htm ).
  
  
 These are simply some ideas of what you could do if you chose to sell
 your photograph. The photographer may not have gained any fame but
the
 historical value of the picture may earn you more than 25 cents.
  
 I hope this is of some help to you, 
 wellen 
 Google Answers Researcher

Fabulous answers to my question. So glad that this researcher is
working for you and that he gave me so many ideas to look at.  Thank
you so much!

Hello sitakins,

I am posting this as a Comment rather than an Answer since I cannot
'guarantee' that your photo is worth more than 25 cents. But if you
feel that my comments are a sufficient answer to your question, please
let me know and I will re-post this as an 'Answer'.

I searched extensively for any information about J.A. Pixley but found
nothing. However, I believe that your photograph is worth more than 25
cents, not because of the photographer but because of the subject
matter. Fort Andrews was
built by the federal government in 1900 on Peddocks Island and it is
now eligible to be included in the National Register. It was one of
several forts that defended the Boston harbor from 1904 to the end of
World War II. It was used as a prison to house Italian prisoners of
war during World War II. Most of the fort's buildings are in poor
condition but are still standing. (
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-6493-8C1BCDD-38778B7A-bd1 )(
http://www.geocities.com/naforts/ma.html )(
http://www.state.ma.us/dem/parks/bhis.htm ).

There are several avenues you could pursue if you wished to sell your
photograph. Web sites that are dedicated to historical subjects such
as this one about forts ( http://www.fortrodman.org/page874116.htm ),
including Fort Andrews, may well be interested in purchasing it.

Collectors who are interested in WW II material could also be
interested. Collectors often search online auctions such as eBay (
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=photograph+WWII
) and Go Antiques ( http://www.goantiques.com/category,militaria-war-memorabilia-24.html
) seeking items for their collections.

Another possiblity would be genealogogists who have an interest in the
Pixley family line or someone who had an ancestor who served at Fort
Andrews. Genealogists are extremely eager to find anything that links
them with an ancestor. A few sites such as these would be places you
could sell the photograph.

Heirlooms Lost: http://heirloomslost.com/
(Scroll about halfway down the page and click on the "Post to the
Sale/List")

Ancient Faces: http://www.ancientfaces.com/military/photos/lists/index.cfm?wa14
(Click on the sign Up/Sign In link in upper right corner to be able to
sell.)

Picture History: http://www.picturehistory.com/find/c/291/p/15/mcms.html;
http://www.picturehistory.com/fmt/about.html

Google search results for "pixley genealogy MA" brought up quite a few
sites of people reseaching the Pixley family name. Contacting those
with an interest in ancestors connected with the fort would be another
option for you. ( ://www.google.com/search?q=pixley+genealogy+MA&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
).


This web site lacks a picture of Fort Andrews yet is it a travel guide
about the fort! Your picture could be just what they need! (
http://www.virtualtourist.com/vt/c21aa/ )

The fort is now a popular tourist attraction and any business with a
web site in the area may very well be interested in purchasing your
picture for use on their site or to display at their business or use
in their brochures. i. e. ( http://www.fbhi.org/2003boattrips.htm ).


These are simply some ideas of what you could do if you chose to sell
your photograph. The photographer may not have gained any fame but the
historical value of the picture may earn you more than 25 cents.

I hope this is of some help to you,
wellen
Google Answers Researcher

Hi:  Yea, go ahead and post it. The information you gave me is worth
more than the photo, I think.  thanks so much for all your time and
trouble.
Sita