Images So a women came into my lab today with these tintypes. She claims they were created by C.S. Fly. The first image she said was of Josephine and Wyatt Earp. The second image she claims is there child Sadie who was adopted by C.S. Fly to protect her identity. The last is three men she claims are Doc Holiday, Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp from left to right. What would be the best way to authenticate this?
Honestly there is no way to prove this or 'authenticate' them. When photos of supposedly famous persons are sold at auction (when there is not provenance or other proof), generally it is just based on facial comparison, and at first glance they look nothing like the supposed subjects. Just compare to known photographs of each of them.
As for the C.S. Fly attribution, the only way to do that is to compare the studio backdrops (which would likely have been painted uniquely for the studio) and props with known C.S. Fly images.
And honestly the furniture, backdrops and props are different in every one of these photos (not that C.S. Fly couldn't change his studio decorations). None of the people look like the supposed identifications. I wouldn't waste your time with them, ask her for what proof she has.
Well, the most telling thing is that, based on the clothing, the first picture was likely taken between 1865 and 1870, and Josephine didn't meet up with Wyatt until well after that time.
Regarding the child, Josephine's nickname was apparently "Sadie", which may be confusing her.