Commons:Deletion requests/File:WP Helm - Binder.jpg
Also affected: File:Brigitte Helm Binder.jpg --Rosenzweig τ 13:16, 13 March 2022 (UTC)
This file, a portrait photograph of German actress Brigitte Helm, was uploaded (transferred from de.wp) as a work of the photographer Alexander Binder (who died in 1929). But it's most likely not. Yes, his signature is in the image, but the people continuing his photo studio also continued to use that signature as a kind of trademark. So it's not a guarantee that Binder is actually the photographer.
Looking further, I found out that the image uploaded here is actually cropped. You can see the full image at [1]. It's one of the postcards published by the German company Ross-Verlag in the 1920s to 1940s. The number 564 gives you a clue, after a search you will find that it is one of the "Luxus" series cards, and that it was published in the summer of 1931. A similar image (same hairstyle and accessories, also with the "Binder" signature, likely from the same photo session, uploaded here as File:Brigitte Helm Binder.jpg) was published by Ross-Verlag as number 5871/2 of their regular postcard series. Accd. to [2], that one was published at some point in 1930 or 1931. I think 1931 is more likely because the number is close to 6000, and the numbers from 5000 to 6000 are said to be from 1930/1931, while 6000 to 7000 are from 1931/1932.
If you look in the lower right corner of the uncut postcard, you'll see that it is marked with "Atelier Binder, Berlin". Accd. to de.wp, "Atelier Binder GmbH" is the name Binder's successors gave to the studio after Binder's death, while Binder himself is said to have used the designations "Alex Binder Photogr. Atelier" or "Alex Binder, Berlin" or "Phot. A. Binder, Berlin".
So we have an image that was published in 1931, two years after Binder's death, along with a similar one probably from the same photo session published about the same time. I guess that there is the possibility that those were older photographs and it was still Binder himself who shot them before he died in February 1929. But I don't think that is very likely. Brigitte Helm was one of the bigger stars back then, and [3] shows that Ross-Verlag published 168 postcards featuring her. So my interpretation is that they constantly needed new, fresh images showing her and would rather not publish older images of her.
The conclusion is that the photo in question was most likely not taken by Binder himself before he died in February 1929, but rather by one of the photographers working in his studio after his death. Who that might be is unclear. de.wp speculates it could have been Hubs Flöter (who died in 1976). But whoever it was, I do have significant doubts that it was actually Binder, and therefore the file should be deleted per the precautionary principle.
tl;dr: There is significant doubt that Alexander Binder is actually the photographer of this image. It should be deleted per the precautionary principle unless conclusively shown to be actually by Binder or otherwise in the public domain or under a free license. Rosenzweig τ 23:12, 26 December 2021 (UTC)
Info See also Commons:Deletion requests/File:Anny Ondra Binder.jpg for a very similar case. --Rosenzweig τ 13:07, 13 March 2022 (UTC)
- Good research, I suppose. Being the uploader in good faith, I am afraid Delete. BasileusAutokratorPL (talk) 10:53, 11 March 2022 (UTC)
Deleted: per nomination. --Ellywa (talk) 22:29, 16 May 2022 (UTC)
