Robert Johnson – New Third Photo?

First of all, my thanks go out to Mick for pointing out this Vanity Fair Article.

So, the rumors about Robert Johnson and his photos have been around a long time.  So let’s review what we know.

There are two “known” photos of Robert Johnson.  The first, (in order) is his portrait studio shot, which depicts Johnson in a borrowed suit, sitting on a chair.  We know this picture to be a Hooks Bros photograph.  The second image is a “self” portrait that Johnson took, often referred to as his “photo booth” shot.  It depicts Robert sitting in a photo booth, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, and his bony fingers wrapped around the neck of his guitar.

We also know that more photos exist.  Specifically, we know there could be at least one photo unreleased, which shows Robert Johnson, again in a borrowed suit, standing next to his nephew in a sailor uniform.  
 

New speculation has emerged that a third “known” photo exists of Robert Johnson and Johnny Shines.  Even though Shines has passed away, he fervently recollected a photo being taken of himself and Johnson together.  Chronologically, this would be the third photo.  Here is the photo in question, presumably showing Johnson and Shines together:

This photo was actually acquired on Ebay by Steven “Zeke” Schein, who is a vintage guitar expert and salesman out of Manhattan.  The photo sold for just over $2000.  To Zeke, it depicts Robert Johnson and Johnny Shines, and is the exact photo that Shines spoke about all those years.

There are doubts of course, that this photo is legit, but Zeke plans on tracing it down.  It has already been shown to Honeyboy Edwards, Claud Johnson (Robert’s son), and others.  Most importantly, it was shown to a woman named Gibson out of the Houston PD.  She is the forensic specialist that was able to identify the sailor kissing the woman – you know, the famous WWII photo.  What did she discover?  That if the photo can be dated accordingly, she believes the photo to be – with little doubt – of Robert Johnson.

While research is still being done on the photo itself, it seems to be leaning towards this being the third “known” photo of Johnson.  The issue is, it is very hard to track down a photo of this age, about a man long gone, and witnesses few and far between.

If only the other photos somewhat “known” to be in existence, were released…

~ by thedeltablues on October 7, 2008.