File talk:William Horatio Bates.jpg

Proof that this image is free?
There's no indication here as to where this photo originally came from. Yes, Bates died in 1931, and it has been more than 70 years since then, but just because it is a photo of him doesn't make him its "author" (does it?) I have looked through Bates' 1920 book and it does not appear to be there. Bates' magazines don't appear to have any photos, so they aren't the source either. That said, I have seen this photo a few different places online, and more than likely it is public domain, but how do we prove it? And I am not advocating deleting this photo, but I was thinking of using it in another article, Bates method, which I am trying to get to WP:GA status, but it could be a problem if we can't prove systematically that it's free. PSWG1920 (talk) 19:20, 18 February 2009 (UTC)