NEW YORK – Today, we seem to know everything about everything when it comes to photography. Camera functions automatically date-stamp images as we take them. If we post photos online, we tag the people shown in the photo, and they often respond, confirming their identities. But printed, paper photos from the decades before digital aren’t so forthcoming. Unless someone bothered to write useful information on the back of the photo, what we see is mostly a mystery. We can guess at what’s going on, and come up with our own theories, but we can never know for sure.

On May 19, starting at noon Eastern time, Jasper52 will offer 102 lots of collectible photographs. Some of the images are well-documented, but others are less so. All are intriguing and worth a look. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

Leading the lots is an album of photographs of the band The Monkees on their 1987 U.S. tour. The album collection, which numbers more than 250 images, appears to be the work of at least four different fans. The band members are pictured on several different stages and answering questions from fans. One entry features a Christmas card with a period color Monkees image; another photo appears to show band members playing baseball. Also included are several cards confirming the membership of one Patty Parks in fan clubs and associations for Monkees fans. One features the legend, “Not Bad For A Long Haired Weirdo.” The 1980s album of Monkees photos is estimated at $250-$300.

Also being offered as an album in the auction is a group of 45 black and white photos, dating to 1951, some showing members of the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, and others depicting a family from Washington, D.C. A total of 11 color-tinted postcards are also included. The 1951 album is estimated at $250-$300.

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