Photos bought for £30 now valued at £128m
An American who bought a set of photographic plates for £30 from a garage sale over a decade ago has been told they could be worth £128m.
Rick Norsigian had snapped up the 65 glass negatives at a sale in California and had even bartered the seller down from the initial asking price.
But soon after the purchase he began to suspect they could have been taken by rated US nature photographer Ansel Adams and tried to get then authenticated.
So began a verification process involving hand-writing analysis, meteorology for evidence of weather at the time Adams took his famed landscapes, and consultations with equipment specialists.
Now the images have been confirmed as genuine Ansel Adams works and valued at £128m Norsigian is one very happy shopper -- we just hope whoever sold them to him doesn't read this.
Speaking of the images Norsigian said: "You look at these photographs and they take your breath away. But it is even more meaningful and rewarding to finally have the leading experts confirm what I believed in my heart when I saw the images for the first time.
"I am grateful to these highly skilled professionals who have given so generously of their time and expertise to make Ansel Adams' work come alive in never before seen images.
"Now, his fans worldwide and an entirely new generation can explore and fall in love with his work."
Rick Norsigian had snapped up the 65 glass negatives at a sale in California and had even bartered the seller down from the initial asking price.
But soon after the purchase he began to suspect they could have been taken by rated US nature photographer Ansel Adams and tried to get then authenticated.
So began a verification process involving hand-writing analysis, meteorology for evidence of weather at the time Adams took his famed landscapes, and consultations with equipment specialists.
Now the images have been confirmed as genuine Ansel Adams works and valued at £128m Norsigian is one very happy shopper -- we just hope whoever sold them to him doesn't read this.
Speaking of the images Norsigian said: "You look at these photographs and they take your breath away. But it is even more meaningful and rewarding to finally have the leading experts confirm what I believed in my heart when I saw the images for the first time.
"I am grateful to these highly skilled professionals who have given so generously of their time and expertise to make Ansel Adams' work come alive in never before seen images.
"Now, his fans worldwide and an entirely new generation can explore and fall in love with his work."