Among my very favorite sorts of photos are ones like this that are as compelling as objects that have lived a rich life in the world as they are as images. And this one I think a perfect marriage of the two--of course it feels right that a photo of a boxing match captured mid-punch should be a bit beaten up, and especially a raw-feeling plein air one, but especially great to me is the boxing ring rope running straight across the image on the horizontal, which looks at first glance like an old fold line (to complement the one running diagonally at far right from the bottom. (The nicely shadowy backs of a couple of hats of men watching the match were caught in the immediate foreground too.) And then on reverse old cellophane tape and a note detailing the fight: MacLean (Canada) vs. Kelly (USA), 1899. (Perhaps the Kelly is Hugo Kelly, an Italian-born, Chicago-based middleweight active from 1899 to 1912)???
3 1/2" x 3 1/2" and a little more sepia toned than my photos. Surface tear at right as evident.
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