Laterally Inverted

© Albert Kaplan 2016

The tintype was acquired without its original presentation housing. This protective packaging was put together by Grant Romer.

Life Image

Kaplan Collection	Known Images

The moment I saw this tintype image I was vaguely reminded of J. Paul Getty. Its owner related that it had been amongst the possessions of the Stahl/Dilschneider families. Upon researching these two families I learned of the Getty connection. These two families, engaged in horse racing, had an apparently close relationship with Jacqueline Getty Phillips, one of the wives of J. Paul Getty’s oldest son, George Getty ll.

George Getty II pre-deceased his wife, Jacqueline.  Thus, the family photographs that might have been in George II’s possession would have come under Jacqueline’s care.

I judge the age of this young man to be 12-13 years old.  If he is J. Paul Getty, born December 15, 1892, the image would have been made around 1904-1905.

It appears that the young boy’s forehead hairline has a slightly off center widow’s peak which is clearly seen as well in Getty’s known photographic images. The head hair is superb. Every aspect blends. Dear reader, see where he parts his wavy hair in the license image, and compare it to the hair part in the tintype. Please note the hair growth on both sides of the forehead, where the red, orange, green, and blue arrows are pointed. The nose is excellent. The upper lip and philtral columns are excellent.

The ears, to the extent we can see them, are excellent. The shape of the Helix is the same.  The Lobules are free hanging, and exactly the same shape. The Tragus and Intetragic Notch are identical, and the Cymba Conchae is identical.

Biometric comparisons reveal that the boy’s face is vertically shorter than the adult Getty.  If the tintype was of an adult the difference in vertical measurement would likely close the case. However, we are here dealing with the photographic image of a boy, not a full-grown man.  I asked Dr. Frechette whether the boy’s face could have gown vertically?  He answer was, simply, “yes”. This is especially so if the age of the boy is say, 12 years, or 13.

On the other hand, the eyebrows do not match.  The boy’s eyebrows are thin while the eyebrows in Getty’s known photographic images are thick. Accordingly, the only negative I see are the eyebrows.