You're very welcome to ask any question at any time Guy!
I might not always be able to find an answer for you, or anyone else who needs to know anything but I will certainly try to find an answer for you!
The 10,000 is only an estimate. It could be slightly, although it would not be significantly less than that but it could be up to about 15,000 or so! I lost track a long time ago, and I buy dozens more of them every week. The most important thing is to catalogue them so that I know more or less what I have, and make copies of them just in case they are lost or damaged. In terms of electronic photos I would imagine that I have at least twice as many as actual photos, and possibly up to five times as many! They are easier to search because I simply search my electronic files using a search word which I think is appropriate. There is a down side though. I can't find at least one of my hard drives - and I know that there are a huge number of digital photos on it, and another computer was stolen by my ex wife when she decided that she did not want to be married any more!
I bought that computer before I even knew her, and although it was only a $200 computer I bought at a garage sale it had years of research on it. She probably threw it away years ago, without a care in the world but how many photos are now lost to the world due to this?
The crazy thing is that I still have things that she wants and I don't want, but oh, no I doubt very much that I will ever see that computer again. Fortunately I think that I had copied most of them onto CD's, and I have quite a few other computers with many other photos on them. One of the photos I was not able to find was a striped fuselaged Albatros D.V or D.Va. At that time there was an eBay member called Aero Greg who was bidding against me, so let's hope that Aero Greg is Greg van Wyngarden, and that he won that particular photo! Greg has been doing absolutely marvellous research and has been publishing some world class books and publications, so this particular photo could show up again. The Albatros had crashed into a ditch, but I can remember the photo quite clearly and it is one of the best photos of an Albatros D.V or D.Va that I ever remember seeing.
Regarding colours, yes, just when you think you have it all worked out there is always an exception to the rule that seems to turn up and force you to totally re - think what you thought you knew! For example, I have heard that evidence has turned up relatively recently which proves that lozenge fabric was produced in more than one set of colours. I'm not talking about the difference between four and five colour lozenge, but variations of the colours used in these two different versions of lozenge fabric. Previously I had found, by examining a significant number of original lozenge fabric samples that the pattern, size and shape of the lozenges can vary but the colours have always been remarkably consistent. I examined samples manufactured in different years, and applied in different factories but I was unable to find any significant variations. Most colours, with the notable exception of the earthy yellow (I guess we would call it ocre here in Australia) on the upper surface have been virtually identical from one sample to another, to a degree that I think would be difficult, if not impossible to achieve even today! There is some variation due to ageing and / or weathering but where it has been protected it can be seen that the quality control regarding colours was generally exceptional. The earthy yellow varies significantly from a bright, slightly dirty yellow to quite a dark brownish yellow, sometimes on the same sample! I think the issue with the variation here was in the saturation of the dye as it was applied to the fabric, rather than a quality control issue. Variations in saturation in my experience affected this colour significantly and other colours to much less an extent. I have a sample which shows this colour printed in a dark yellowish brown with a goldish tinge to a medium dirty yellow, and then to a much brighter, slightly dirty yellow within two full rolls of the rollers! (3 identical irregular polygons). The distance over which this colour change occurs is only a metre or so. One of the most notable things about lozenge fabric is the patchy manner the colours were applied to the fabric. This is due to variations in saturation of the dye as it is applied to the fabric, and the rough nature of the fabric itself. The thread size varies enormously, in stark contrast to British fabric, which was of exceptional quality. There has been talk of German fabric having been calendared, which means that the threads have been rolled in order to flatten the imperfections out, and fill the significant gaps between the threads. Whether this is as a result of the process of rolling the colours onto the fabric, or it was a separate process I am not sure. I have, however noticed that the larger threads consistently have far less colour applied to them than the smaller threads. I think this is simply the result of the colour being squeezed out of the thread as it is applied by the rollers. Therefore, lower lying patches with smaller threads have a much more saturated application of the colouring dye. I assume that the coarse fabric applied to German aeroplanes late in the war was due to the fact that the Germans were unable to obtain better quality materials, due to the blockades carried out by the allies. The Germans had terrible trouble obtaining almost all raw materials, and they had to make to with what they had, or were able to obtain. In the case of petrol I heard that they made their own, synthetic petrol which had a higher octane rating than the petrol manufactured by the allies.
Yes, the purpose of collecting so many photos is to preserve them for future generations, and eventually to publish some work. I am still learning, so I am not sure what to write about but I will know what to write about when the time is right. The original purpose for collecting photos was to obtain information about markings on aeroplanes. Colin Owers was the most influential researcher in this regard. He told me over twenty years ago that most aeroplanes were known only by one or two views in photographs. I then set out to try to determine how many photos are out there, and which aeroplanes they illustrate. There are a few large collections here in Australia, and they don't all overlap each other. Although many of the photos are able to be found in most or all of the collections, but each collection has its' own unique set of photos. I just received another two in the mail, for example. There was a knock at the door and I had to sign for one of the photos as I was typing this reply. The one I signed for is an original Sanke card, number 363, of Hauptmann Boelke. The other envelope has two outstanding photos of Halberstadt CL.II's. One is not identified but has clear markings and the other one is an overturned CL.II identified on the rear as being from Schlasta 7. They are both absolutely outstanding photos, and really belong in a book. I have always offered copies of these photos to anyone who wishes to publish some work, and this offer will always stand. I can't write all the books myself! There are only so many hours in the day, and there are so many other things to achieve. Building museum standard replicas is one of these, but I am starting to realise just how huge an undertaking it really is. Day to day things seem to make building and writing close to impossible. It really takes a lot of effort, but it's the reason I started collecting and researching. It's definitely time to start building and writing!
Regards,
David.
