Robert Johnson (with Johnny Shines ?)
There are two “known” photos of Robert Johnson.
The first is the Studio Portrait taken by Hooks Brothers Photography Studio in Memphis, Tennessee and kept by Johnson’s half-sister Carrie Spencer in her Bible. The dark three-piece suit Johnson wears really belonged to his nephew Louis, Carrie’s son. Louis was about to go into the Navy and was having his picture taken in his uniform. He asked his favorite uncle Robert to pose with him. According to Carrie, “Louis loved his Uncle Robert and Robert loved Louis’s suit.” There is another third photo known to exist. It was taken at the same time as the Studio Portrait, it shows Johnson posing in his new suit along with his nephew Louis in his Navy uniform.
The second is the Photo Booth Self-Portrait, this was also in the possession of Johnson’s half-sister Carrie.
In June 2005, Steven “Zeke” Schein discovered this photo on eBay after typing the phrase “old guitar” into the auction site’s search engine. As he pored over the mass of texts and thumbnail photos, one strangely worded listing caught his eye. It read, “Old Snapshot Blues Guitar B.B. King???” He clicked on the link, then took in the sepia-toned image that opened on his monitor. Two young black men stared back at Schein from what seemed to be another time. They stood against a plain backdrop wearing snazzy suits, hats, and self-conscious smiles. The man on the left held a guitar stiffly against his lean frame. Neither man looked like B. B. King, but as Schein studied the figure with the guitar, noticing in particular the extraordinary length of his fingers and the way his left eye seemed narrower and out of sync with his right, it occurred to him that he had stumbled across something significant and rare. His winning bid of $2,200 earned him the sepia-toned snapshot, which had been incorrectly described by the seller as B.B. King.
The November 2008 Vanity Fair article Searching for Robert Johnson traces Schein’s subsequent efforts to authenticate the photograph, which, to many experts, appears to be genuine.
While research is still being done on the photo itself, it seems to be leaning towards this being the third “known” photo of Robert Johnson.
Read: A Disputed Robert Johnson Photo Gets the C.S.I. Treatment
Johnny Shines was to meet his true musical inspiration in 1935 when he was introduced to Robert Johnson in Helena, Arkansas. He came to know Johnson’s music as well as anyone. They struck up a friendship and traveled together (on and off until 1937) to Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Texas, Kentucky, Indiana, Detroit and even Canada, where they appeared on the “Elder Moten Hour,” a gospel radio show based in Windsor, Ontario.
Even though Johnny Shines has passed away (in 1992), he fervently recollected a photo being taken of himself and Johnson together.
Chronologically, this would be the third known photo of Robert Johnson if or when it’s verified, and depending on the release of the other Hooks Brothers photo of Johnson posing with his nephew Louis in his Navy uniform.
Both would be some of the greatest finds in Delta blues history.
