Q. What is a Wire Photo and how is it different than a regular photograph?
A wire photo is a photographic image that was transmitted from an agency to a subscriber via telegraph or telephone wires, and later, via satellite. Different agencies trademarked different terms, including Wirephoto, Telephoto, Laserphoto, Laserphoto II and others, that corresponded to their wire photos. The process was similar to sending and receiving a fax, where the photo was scanned in at one location, transmitted over "the wire", and printed at another location. For more information, see this article on the AP website. Wire photos were printed on special, thin paper, rather than developed in a traditional darkroom. The resulting print has a tendency to fade and turn brown much quicker than gelatin-silver prints. With the advent of digital photography, the wire photo is truly an artifact of a bygone era.

Q. How often are new pictures added to your website?
New photos and categories are being added to our website weekly. You can browse all the pictures added in the current week by clicking on "New This Week" link located in the upper right of each webpage.

Q. How do I purchase a picture on your website?
Every picture on our website can be purchased directly off the website by clicking the "Add to Cart" button that appears on each photo listing and going through the checkout process.

Q. What is the eBay link on the front page and on the category pages?
We sell pictures through a variety of marketplaces such as eBay and the TribunePhotos.com website. Our eBay auctions typically run from Sunday to Sunday and are different every week. You can see all the current eBay listings for a topic by clicking the eBay link next to the topic heading.

Q. Are you selling digital files or photographs?
We do not sell any digital files. Every photograph we sell, whether on the website or on eBay, is a Certified Archive Photograph and comes directly from the working archives of the Chicago Tribune or The Baltimore Sun Newspapers. These are the actual prints that have been stored and used by the newspapers over the decades to publish their stories. The archives consist of a variety of materials including photographs, negatives, wire service photos, press kits, drawings, etc. Each photo comes with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity signed by the archive administrator.

Q. Can I combine photos from the TribunePhotos.com website and eBay?
No. As of May 2011, eBay has eliminated 3rd party checkout solutions and prohibits combining non-eBay sales with eBay purchases.

Q. How are photos shipped?
We offer a variety of shipping methods for our customers. Our default method is USPS First Class. We also offer USPS Priority and the option to add signature confirmation and insurance if needed. First Class Mail is an economy shipping option to help our customers save money but it is the least dependable method. If you've had mail delivery problems in the past, we recommend using USPS Priority Mail. While we have very few problems with First Class Mail, we cannot accept responsibility for the package once it leaves our facility.

Q. I’m looking for a specific photo. Can you help?
You are welcome to send us your requests, however, due to the large number of photos we list each week it is very difficult to locate an individual picture of interest. We recommend that you set up a weekly automated eBay search to quickly scan our listings. That way you’ll never miss a photo of interest.

Q. Are the photos that you sell unique (ie. one of a kind)?
It is virtually impossible to claim that any photograph is one of a kind (unless one has been in possession of the original negative continuously since its creation). Unlike other collectibles (sports cards, coins, stamps, etc.) there are no production runs, no sets, no population reports, no records of how many prints were made from a single negative. So it is very possible that multiple photographic prints exist of any given image. On very rare occasions, we even see multiple prints of the same image within our collection. That being said, the vast majority of our photos are unique within our collection, and many have been lost to the public for decades.

Q. Can you declare a lower value on the customs form?
All international orders are marked with the invoice value paid. Please do not ask us to break the law by declaring a lesser value on international shipments.

Q. What payment methods do you accept?
We accept PayPal and most major credit cards.

Q. Do you license pictures for reproduction?
You are purchasing a single vintage photograph as a collector's item only. No rights for reproduction or commercial use in any form whatsoever are given or implied. We are working on a use management program to be available soon.

Q. Can I combine multiple eBay wins to save on shipping?
Absolutely! Simply wait until all your auctions have closed and you have clicked Buy It Now and commited to buy all the items you are interested in. Then click Pay Now in My eBay or in any of the closed listings and eBay's checkout will combine all eligible items automatically.

Q. One of my items doesn't show up in my shopping cart. What do I do?
During peak times, it may take up to 30 minutes for eBay to send the auction information to our checkout server. Please wait a little while and try again. If it has been several hours since your item ended and it still does not show up in your shopping cart, please contact us at sales@tribunephotos.com.

Still have questions?
Send us an email at info@tribunephotos.com and we'll do our best to get you an answer quickly!