And he used a Leica. Who knew?
Just about everybody, of course. But what the heck is the lens shown on it? Looks kinda like an S-mount 50/1.4 Nikkor (Olympic?) in a Cook & Perkins (or similar) adapter --
quelle shocker!
Incidentally, one of the things I learned to ask during my journalism career was, "
Who is giving me this news lead, and why am I getting it
now, as opposed to some other time?"
In the case of the
Independent article, as I read it, it isn't happening
now because of any specific recent "surfacing" incident -- but simply because Mme Francq has gotten irritated at an ongoing trend and decided to issue a statement about it.
I wonder, though, what effect her statement might have on the zillionaire collectors who seek out vintage photo prints for the joy of owning some material object that their fellow zillionaires
don't have?
Will they be embarrassed and turn up their noses at any "suspicious" Cartier-Bresson prints they might be offered, out of respect for Mme Francq?
Or (and I think this is more likely) will they say to themselves, "Whoopee! A chance to acquire a unique rarity with a fascinating history" and start seeking them out?
In which case, might unscrupulous dealers start taking perfectly legitimate Cartier-Bresson prints and crumpling, soiling, and stomping on them, in hope of passing them off as finds from the forbidden hoard?