Recently, a reader emailed to ask if I wanted to buy four Father and Mother Divine photos that had been inherited. The reader had read a blog post I wrote three years ago about some Father Divine photos that my auction buddy Janet had bought.
Father Divine was the famous leader of the International Peace Mission movement in the early 20th century, with thousands of adherents both black and white. The movement was both a social and business enterprise. Father Divine was an advocate of self-reliance, abstinence and celibacy, empowerment, and civil rights and racial equality. The movement owned property, hotels and restaurants, as well as offered services to its followers.
An African American, he married a white Canadian woman in 1942, and she became known as Mother Divine. Father Divine owned a 73-acre spread called Woodmont outside Philadelphia that a follower gave to him in the 1950s.
I wasn’t in the market to buy the photos but I agreed to check with Janet. I don’t usually connect buyers and sellers on my blog for liability reasons, but since I knew Janet I decided to ask her. She wasn’t interested, so I suggested that the reader sell them on eBay, based on several blog posts I’d written on how to determine the value of your items and sell them, and where to research them.
The reader did, and quickly sold the first photo. I got an email telling me about the sale, and I was surprised – not that the photo had sold but that I was alerted to the sale. Usually when I advise readers on where to sell items, I never hear from most of them again. A few acknowledge my suggestions, but rarely do they email to tell me if they followed through.
I asked this reader to do a Q&A on how the photos were acquired and how they were sold. Here are the answers, which I hope are instructive to others with items to sell.
Question:
How did you acquire the photos? Was the owner associated with Father Divine’s church?
Answer:
I acquired the photos from a close family member who had passed away. The photos and other items had been stored in a locked metal trunk for 40+ years. I looked everywhere for a key but couldn’t find it, so I had to drill out the lock! Wow, that wasn’t easy! But I finally got it open! The person who originally owned the trunk had indeed been closely affiliated with Father Divine’s church for several years and was a very close family friend of ours. When this person died, their family gave the trunk to us.
Question:
What did you see as the significance of the photos?
Answer:
I felt the photos were potentially significant from a historical standpoint because they had been locked away for so long. I felt it was possible that these particular photos had never been seen before. I also knew that Father Divine had been a famous person in his era and had achieved many things during his amazing life. For me, the photos had no huge sentimental value, so I felt strongly that a collector who could appreciate them and take care of them should have a chance to purchase them.
Question:
How much did (or do) you know about Father Divine?
Answer:
Initially, I knew very few specifics about Father Divine, although I had heard his name and I knew that he had been a religious leader. I spent many hours researching him and also looking for any similar or identical photos on eBay and other websites. I contacted various collectors and also a professor who had done a documentary on Father Divine called the Father Divine Project. (The multimedia project was produced by Leonard Norman Primiano, a professor at Cabrini College in Radnor, PA, and Will Luers, an educator and screenwriter in Portland, OR). I emailed scans of the photos in the hopes of finding out if these were “one of a kind” or “candid” photos, or if anyone could tell me exactly when/where the photos had been taken. I had a general idea of the time frame they were taken – early to mid-1950s. Unfortunately, no one was able to pinpoint the exact date or location. The photos were totally blank on the back – no writing, no dates, no logo like “Kodak” or anything. I still have never found a single photo anywhere that matched any of the four black and white photos I had. One of the photos in my collection was a color photo of a woman who somewhat resembled Mother Divine. The professor indicated that he did not think it was of Mother Divine, so I removed that one from the collection pending further investigation. As you can see, it can be a real adventure when attempting to identify photos with little information!
Question:
Why did you decide to sell them?
Answer:
I decided to sell them for a couple of reasons. As previously stated, they had no big sentimental value to me and I didn’t want to worry about continuing to store them. I also felt they had monetary value. For me, it wasn’t necessarily about the money, it was the fact that my family had taken care of these items for years through all sorts of moves and other problems. I felt I owed it to my family to at least attempt to get a fair price for them. At times, I’ve encountered people in the academic world who are writing books or working on projects who would very much like to acquire such photos as free “donations.” That’s fine and I do understand. On the other hand, my feeling has generally been that if a collectible or rare item has value, then there’s certainly no shame in seeking a fair price for it on the open market. I chose eBay because I’m most familiar with that venue. However, if a private collector wanted to buy them directly, I would have been fine with that, too. It just worked out as an eBay transaction. EBay has huge exposure to millions of collectors. I knew that photos of Father Divine were a “niche” market, and I needed to expose them to as wide an audience as possible.
Question:
Walk me through the process you took to list them on eBay?
Answer:
The process of listing them on eBay was rather time-consuming because I spent hours looking for any identical photos of Father Divine in the listings. I searched every possible way I could search it, and all I could find were a couple of newspapers who were selling some of their archived old wire service photos of Father Divine. There were virtually none that were identical to mine. That told me that perhaps my photos were rare or at least not out there in circulation at this time. Since I’m not an expert in this field, that’s an assumption, but it seems logical. A big part of the sales process is finding a comparable item for pricing, condition, rarity, etc. So, that made it quite difficult to assess the value of the photos. The professor I had been in touch with re-contacted me and indicated a price range that he felt the photos might fall into. But I still never really had a solid idea as to price or value. I wasn’t going to have the photos appraised so I had to just go with a ballpark guess. I basically charged in the ballpark of what the wire service newspaper photos were going for. Not the greatest way to make a determination, because mine were not wire service photos. It’s been frustrating from that standpoint!
Question:
You wrote a detailed description of the photos? Why was that necessary?
Answer:
I wanted buyers to be as informed as possible and to know I was being as honest and straightforward about the photos as I possibly could be. I take pride in my 100 percent positive eBay rating, and I want the buyer to be satisfied. I had done my best and reached my conclusions. I let people know that I am not a professional in the field of vintage photos and gave them every opportunity to judge for themselves based on what I knew and how I had acquired the photos. The more information shared, the better in my opinion!
Question:
How well did they sell individually on eBay?
Answer:
The first photo I listed sold quite fast, in a matter of a few hours! That indicated to me that perhaps I had somewhat underpriced it, but who knows? The second photo I listed sold in a day. I priced it a bit higher just in case I was underpricing. I was certainly pleased with the fast sales. The third photo, which I currently have listed, is a photo of Mother Divine and has not sold as of this writing. It could be that a photo of Mother Divine alone is not as sought after by collectors as a photo of Father Divine. I listed these as “Buy It Now” sales rather than auctions. That may or may not have been a good strategy. It’s all part of the process of selling, pricing and evaluating a collectible, but it’s also part of the fun and adventure!
Question:
Was the eBay sale a good way to go?
Answer:
Ebay has its pros and cons. It certainly exposes unusual collectibles such as photos of Father Divine to a very wide array of buyers, and that’s a huge plus factor. On the other hand, there can be a pretty slim profit after paying the insertion fee, the final value fee, Paypal fees, etc. I’m sure your readers know all about it! It has reached the point that sometimes it’s more profitable to sell on Craigslist! I have tried a couple of other sites in the past, but always end up going back to eBay because it is so huge. With an unusual item, unless you have a particular buyer lined up through other avenues via word of mouth or specific collectors’ forums, eBay will expose you to a wide audience. I wish they’d change some of their fees, but for now, it’s the best for highly unique items.
Question:
What advice would you give to someone who wants to sell photos or other items?
Answer:
My advice is to research and do everything you can to fully identify the item. Don’t just toss something in the trash because you don’t know who or what it is. The photos I had of Father Divine, in someone else’s hands, could easily have gone straight into the trash! Please don’t let that happen! Not only to preserve history, but to make some extra money along the way. I realize it’s difficult and time-consuming and it can feel like a huge hassle to do the research. But you could be wonderfully rewarded, not only monetarily, but in saving history, as they say on (the History Channel show) “American Pickers,” “one piece at a time!”
Question:
Anything you’d like to add?
Answer:
It’s been fascinating for me to find out more about Father Divine and his church, and all the history connected to it. The family connection to the whole thing is personally so interesting! These photos weren’t just some random “stuff.” They were part of my own family and extended friendships. Above all, I’m so gratified and happy that the photos are going to people who will truly cherish them, protect them, and keep them safe and sound. That means more to me than anything in the world!
Question:
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself. Are you a collector?
Answer:
I am a collector, although it’s not my professional business. However, I come from a family that tends to hold onto things. I’m one of those people who still has my original games and toys from the 1950s, old books, old records, clothing, and lots more! I just adore anything vintage/retro! Absolutely, yes, collecting is in my blood because it’s sentimental and it’s about the history, the people, and the older days when things were crafted so beautifully. I’m sure I’ll be collecting forever!
