Antiques & Collecting: Advertising icons

Silhouettes and profile images date to ancient times. Usually limited to the head and shoulders, the shape is a filled solid color attached to a high-contrast background. Featureless, but easily recognizable, they offer fast identification.

Silhouettes were at their peak of popularity in the late 18th century as an inexpensive way to create a portrait miniature. Cutting a person’s likeness from paper was the simplest and most economical way to document their image.

They have been used on coins since ancient times and still are today. Because they are used on currency, some of the most recognizable silhouettes in the United States are former presidents.

Can you recognize any in this framed set? George Washington is in the center, of course, surrounded by the next 16 presidents. This set was made about 1870 and sold for $2,688 at an auction by Rachel Davis Fine Arts.

A while back I saw on Google that someone found a picture believed to be of Billy the Kid. I have an early photo in which the person looks identical. Billy the Kid is standing between two other men. How can I find out if it’s authentic?

Billy the Kid (1859-1881) was a notorious outlaw who was born in New York and later moved west. He was part of a gang of cattle rustlers in New Mexico and killed several people in Arizona Territory and New Mexico Territory while evading the law.

His crimes were written about in some of the newspapers of the time. Several movies and TV shows have been made about him.

Billy the Kid’s given name was Henry McCarty. He began using the name William H. Bonney in 1877.

Supposedly there is only one known photo of Billy the Kid. An authentic photo could sell for several hundred to thousands of dollars or more, especially if the other people in the photo can be identified.

The photo needs to be seen by an expert to authenticate it. Contact an auction house that specializes in photographs.

Tip: To preserve valuable photographs, use UV-filtering glass or an acrylic sheet.

Current Prices

Advertising poster, “Care of the Teeth,” light green, oval portrait, smiling woman, dark brown wavy hair, pearl necklace, yellow ground, paper, frame, c. 1900, 34 x 23 inches, $150.

Silver-Mexican, salt and pepper, figural, penguins, standing, beak open, incised eye, footed, row of holes on top of head, marked, 4 inches, $290.

Print, woodblock, Cherry Blossom in Moonlight, cherry blossom branch, falling petals, full moon in background, frame, signed, Suzuki Kason, Japan, c. 1900, 21 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches, $310.

Sampler, needlework, family record, Stevens, list of family members, house between flowering trees with bird perched on top, flowering vine and line borders, frame, E.H. Stevens, 1830, 14 3/4 x 12 inches, $2,625.