A popular size of photos going back to the 1870’s is the 5×7. Many glass plate negatives were 5×7. A 4×6 photo mattes in 5×7 with a 1/2″ border around the edges. A 5×7 mattes in 8×10 with a 1-1/2″ border. 8×10 is the same aspect ratio and a 2x enlargement of a piece of 4×5 sheet film. The 5×7 was a cheap alternative used by novelty and variety performers to the standard 8×10 publicity photo, which beginning in the 1920’s, and up until today is considered the standard size for head-shots. Certainly not all, but many 5×7 photos found available on the market today that feature sideshow performers are second-generation reprints. Specifically, reprints by Bernard Kobel, who copy-standed and sold freak, sideshow, professional wrestling, and tattoo photos by mail for many years starting the the early 1950’s and going into the late-1960’s. Typically these photos can be identified by their washed-out, flat, grayish emulsion. Since Kobel’s original copy-stand negatives were sold after his death, many photos were reprinted again and again, and many of the images in circulation today are copies less than a decade old. Some early Kobel photos may occasionally have Kobel’s typewritten identifiers on the back which identifies them as “original” from Kobel’s own hand-printed stash. Unless specifically identified here, Kobel photos are generally not part of this archive, though a few rarer shots may sneak in from time to time.