Each image in the HISTORIC TRANSPORTATION IMAGE BANK is rare, in some cases unique. "Original Photograph' in our archives is an identifiable early print whose coloration, paper and damage indicate a print made very soon after the original negative was taken. For such photographs, there are few if any prints in existence elsewhere.

A handful of our archival photographs are later prints made from old negatives owned by early collectors. By 'later print' we mean a print made decades after the original photograph was taken. Such 'early reprints' are easy to identify and will be so indicated on product pages. We do not archive images made in recent years from old negatives and prints now owned by contemporary collectors or businesses who often publish 'hard copy' reprint editions that are made by traditional dark room procedures or computer graphics software such as Photoshop.

Here is a 'soft' index as to relative rarity of the 'hard copy' originals that were scanned for our Historic Transportation Image Bank
a) Early stereo cards might be located via a specialist dealer who has the niche expertise to undertake a search. Stereo cards were always considered collectible and therefore handled and stored with care. Cost of the search plus the stereo card itself could equal the cost of our Singe Use, Single Project License but the probability of search success is often low. Stereo cards with subject matter of interest to only a very small geographic region or population are very difficult to find. A good example is Hallowell Maine harbor in our Tall Ships gallery.
b) The same can be said for old, original 'real photo postcards' where the chances of search success are much lower than with stereo cards. In the 19th and early 20th century, postcards were rarely considered collectible except by a handful of individuals. Off course, they were often written on and handled roughly. Real photo postcards with subject matter of interest to only a very small region are nearly impossible to find.
c) Old photographs can be unique if originating with an amateur photographer. If published by a commercial photographic studio, print runs were often very limited and only available to the public for a short period of time. The likelihood that a commissioned search by an antiquarian book, print or photography dealer would be successful is near zero unless the commercial print edition was issued in at least several dozen copies.
d) As we go up the scale of scarcity, we encounter, tintypes, daguerreotypes etc.

If hard copy is an early, scarce stereo photo card, research has established that copyright expired decades ago. Each image page will disclose the format of the original historic transportation image, be it early, original print, 'real photo' postcard, or early stereo card.