I have similar concerns.  I’ve pulled a fair number of Delano’s photos into a top end photo editor and “adjusted” them.  They look better.  But what I wonder is this: Is today’s “better” simply artificially saturated?  Is today’s “better” bright, clear light that maybe wasn’t present when the photo was taken?  Delano was shooting in December.  I know Chicago Decembers and there are more than a fair share of pretty gloomy days.

All of which leaves me wondering the exact same question raised by Dave Evans, below – that maybe these old images ARE exactly what freight cars looked like in December, 1943, in and around Chicago.  I just don’t know but I do hesitate to label them off in any way.

Dave Nelson