1995-96
One of
the companies who worked with Big Frank when he was the reigning AL MVP.
Killer Loop is a brand of athletic sunglasses by Ray-Ban Eyewear (a Bausch
& Lomb Company).
I
purchased this amazing picture from a seller attending an eyewear trade show.
Frank was handing these out while promoting Killer Loop sunglasses. I can
only go on his word that this actually happened. But the signature is, in
my opinion, authentic for the period - so I'm inclined to believe him. Additionally,
the picture is not a digital reproduction but an actual photograph
- suggesting a pre-digital media production.
Collector's Note: Many fake Frank signatures are found on "wet media"
photoprints (i.e. Inkjets, Bubblejet, etc) Real/actual photographs are expensive
and are a better indicator of authenticity. To check to see what kind of image
you're looking at: Find a dark area of your image, hold the picture at an
angle against a strong light source (a bright day works fine). True photographs
are smooth and even when seen from that angle. Wet media images are blotchy
looking, like it has a build-up of uneven ink in those dark areas. Also look
at the white areas, in wet media printouts those areas have absolutely no
detail whatsoever. True photographs generally captures something, they're
not going to wash out bright areas completely.
Wet media prints can even be found on so-called "photographic paper",
so be cautious when a seller points to "Kodak Paper" or some other
well-known photography company as a sign of authenticity.
Here's
another picture with Frank promoting the Killer Loop brand:
(Also note the Reebok shoes, White Sox Yearbook, and opened box of 1995 Leaf
Series 2 on desk. There are several types of Reebok gloves, but the item on
the left side of the picture remains a mystery. (they sort of look like t-shirts,
or possibly a pair of sweat pants, but I really can't tell) Note: Sorry for
cutting off the picture - you barely see the CWS Yearbook anymore, I needed
to crop the image in order to save space.
UPDATE
(8/27/05): Located another Killer Loop Autographed Pic!ure from the same
campaign.
Note: Image is not as darkly contrasting as seen above. I scanned it
through the plastic sheet thinking it would be fine, but it made the picture
look like a cheapo color copy. It's actually a true photograph, as clear and
crisp as the top image, but I'm just too tired to rescan this bugger. Too
much hassle as well - it's buried inside a box at a storage facility some
five miles away. <g> Trust me - it's the real thing.