New-York tribune., 1922-04-29
Doyle Dupcd in
Fairy Pictures,
Experts Agree
Supposed Elves just Dolls.
Arnold Cenil,c Asserts,
While DR.. Prince Sees No
Psychic Mystery i'm Them
Both AbsoIve Sir Arthur
Photographer erandAntigonish
Ghost Hunter Believe He
Is Il Victim of Trfkcry

A veteran photographer and the head
of psychic research activities in this
city were agreed yesterday that the
fairy photographs sponsored by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle are fakes. They
believe. with the correspondent in
Montreal whose views were published
IN The Tribune yesterday, that the pic
turcd fairies are in all probability
pretty little dolls. Their criticism.
however, is not directed at Sir Arthur.
Il have the greatest regard for Sir
Arthur and believe him to be quite
sincere, but it is Just possible that
some one may be duping him in this
said Arnold Genthe, photographer, Of
100 Fifth Avenue
have very great respect for Sir
Arthur as a distingui ed novelist"
said Dr. Walter Franklin Prince, head
of the American Society FOR Psychicai
Research, who ran down the Ar tigonish
"ghCsts."
Could DO Same Thing Here
Mr.. Genthe declared at the outset that
it would be quite possible for HIN to
attain similar effects in his studAp BY
the use Of some Fifth Avenue dofls.
II was very much interested i'm see
ing these photographs and the accom-
morning." Mr.. Genthc added. II have
watched developments in spirit pho
Biography with care But my first i'm
prcssion on seeing these was that they
smacked too much of the fairy book.
Frankly, I was disappointed in them,
for of course | had heard of them be
fore.
my pre-conceivcd impression was
that there would be something nlysti-
, cal about them. Take this gnome, for
instance. He is a palpabie actuality
We need no ghost to tell US that"
Mr.. Genthe outlined his two theories
about the pictures. He could not de-
termine whether they are the result of
were used without seeing the original
prints. These, of course are not avail
able
The fairy pictures could easily be
freak photography, he said. recalling a
trick by newspaper photographer
which surrounded a picture of Palla-
| dino, taken when she was in this coun-
try some years ago, with group OF
spirit heads. Holding up the gnome
/ picture, he continued:
This effect could be produced By
! pnotographing the cnterprising little
! fairy on a film against a black back
ground: Before the picture Of the girl
was taken, the undeveloped film might
! have been laid over the undeveloped
/ plate al a calculated space
Girls May Have Been Dupes
"Thc deception may have been quite
innocent on the part of the girls. /
gather that one was sixteen at the
time the picture was taken and knew
( something about photography. Prob
a ho,- ~, -
, them home and astonish their father.
1t is odd that they did not take them
again for three years. Photographic
evidence is always more convicing than
reality, you know. The findings of the
camera seem to hold the public eye"
Mr. Genthe gave it as his opinion
! that in all experiments bearing on
| spirit photography sufficient care has
not been taken to see that the plates
have not been exposed beforehand or
treated in any way.
/ DR.. Prince took one look at the fairy
| pictures in the Offices of the Psychical
! Research Society, "A East Twenty third
Street and said he unquestionably be
! lieved them to be fakes
! II should always be suspicious of
figures which correspond so nearly
with the imaginative conceptions Of
! painters" he said. Il do not believe in
anything for which there is no evi-
{ dence, ard there is no evidence Of the
existence Of fairies. This is the only
| instance | know of where an attem pt
has been made by persons protesting
to be psychical researchers to prove
the existence of these little creatures.
! They have never been manifested out
side Of story books"
DR.. Prince attacked the evidence in
the case. He pointed out that the
children never had any one with them
when they took the pictures and that
& period of tnree years elapsed be-
tween the first and second expert
ment. The clarity of the pictures was
also suspicious, he said.
Lack of Testimony Emphasized
"The question that naturally arises
in ones mind is why didn't the little
girls continue to take pictures after
their first success" said DR.. Prince
at is reasonable to suppose that they
would have done so in the presence of
other persons who could testify to
them.
1--WE do not find in our psychical re-
| search that a third person IS neces-
sarily destructive to psychic phe
nomena. Professional mediums fire.
furious, but my experience has been
that there is nothing deterrent to re-
, suits in the presence of a third per
son. Of course if the medium is
fraudulent, she will balk at witnesses.
And if critic is present the vibra-
tions may be injurious, but otherwise
there is no reason why psychic phe
nomena should not be witne essed."