Infamous Missing Thunderbird Photo Found?

a reply to: StratosFear

I remember that book when i was a kid , my grand father had it and showed it to me , also the Encyclopedia Brittanica sales man giving my grandfather the hard sell one night to buy this set , he opened the book at the back and asked me who would win the elections in America and pointed to Jimmy Carters name months later he was right

a reply to: theantediluvian

I remember (or have convinced myself that I remember) seeing the photo when I was young. It was definitely not any of the photos posted here. The pteradactyl-type creature was attached to the side of a barn and a number of men (at least half-a-dozen) attired in 1880's style gentlemen's garb (as compared to workmen's garb or cowboy garb) were standing in a line in front of it. The bird depicted in the Karl Shuker photo resembles the general shape except that it's not nearly large enough, the proportion of the head to the body is too large and, most importantly it has feathers. The creature in the photo I saw had bat-type wings. The head was proportionately small and was dangling down as would the head of a real winged creature whose wings had been attached to a barn with the head unsupported. In fact, that's one of the things that made it look real. The creators of the fake photos seem to take pains to display the head.

When I say it was attached to the side of a barn I mean a large barn-style building made of wood. I do not recall a barn-style roof but it might have had one. After all, the focus of my attention was the creature not the building.

Being an avid reader, as an older child (10 or so) and young teen I used to look through magazines at the drugstore that I could not buy or that were "inappropriate" for me to buy including pulp publications containing adventure and fantastic stories. Although I do not recall, I suspect that's where I saw the photo. Of course, I now wish I had bought the magazine (if that's what it was), but it would have been difficult to explain to my mother why I had squandered my allowance on a magazine with a cover featuring a scantily clad woman running from space men or some such and filled with inappropriate adventure stories. In any event, I've followed many of these "search for the missing Thunderbird" stories and have never seen the same photo since.

a reply to: Tangerine

your description fits pretty well with the one I saw

Well...while it is not the picture of the bird itself, here is the story on it printed in the Tombstone Epitaph Weekly from April 26, 1890

I'd seen this photo before. Where, I can't recall but it appears authentic.

originally posted by: theantediluvian

NOT AUTHENTIC

originally posted by: proob4
Is this the lost picture?

NOT AUTHENTIC

originally posted by: BendingTheTruth
a reply to: theantediluvian

Do you mean this picture?

a reply to: Answer

I was going to say nearly the exact same thing. I remember the picture too. AND I'm reminded of the Berensteen Bears thread.

Except I remember the books as The Berenstein Bears, but it was pronounced "bear-in-STAIN"

That was an epic thread, BTW.

a reply to: PrinceRupertsDog

a reply to: douglas5

Dang, did I switch universes again???

The article says the creature didn't have any hair or feathers. How come some people describe it as having feathers then? And those who say the article had a picture, now we know it didn't. So... what's going on here?

How come so many people remember it and the details match in some cases (the Unexplained Mysteries books, magazines like Saga, Argosy, etc.) while in others they don't (feathers/no feathers, bird/pterosaur, 3 men/6 or more)?

I've never seen the photo but I find the subject fascinating. I wonder what happened to the body of the creature (the article says it was going to be skinned), or the bit ot wing the men brought back with them. Could it be possible it was taken to a museum or university to be studied, maybe?

You can't just drag a huge corpse like that through town without someone noticing it:
"Hey Bill, what's that you got there?"
"Oh, this? Just a bird that flew into my horse. And I just had it washed, man!"

Anyway, I hope the mystery is solved some day.

originally posted by: Casandra
The article says the creature didn't have any hair or feathers. How come some people describe it as having feathers then? And those who say the article had a picture, now we know it didn't. So... what's going on here?

How come so many people remember it and the details match in some cases (the Unexplained Mysteries books, magazines like Saga, Argosy, etc.) while in others they don't (feathers/no feathers, bird/pterosaur, 3 men/6 or more)?

I've never seen the photo but I find the subject fascinating. I wonder what happened to the body of the creature (the article says it was going to be skinned), or the bit ot wing the men brought back with them. Could it be possible it was taken to a museum or university to be studied, maybe?

You can't just drag a huge corpse like that through town without someone noticing it:
"Hey Bill, what's that you got there?"
"Oh, this? Just a bird that flew into my horse. And I just had it washed, man!"

Anyway, I hope the mystery is solved some day.

Obviously, the people who say it had feathers weren't referring to that article. Most of the people who claim to have seen the photo say they saw it in a men's magazine not in a newspaper. Multiple stories in different venues about the same event?

This is a huge bird but is not what is known as a thunderbird by most north american tribes. Thunderbirds look more like an enormous Raven. I have seen up close once, the thread is in this forum somewhere. It was the catalyst to my awakening. These birds are strange and definitely belong in this forum, but they are not what are often referred to as Thunderbirds in our stories.

originally posted by: NephraTari
This is a huge bird but is not what is known as a thunderbird by most north american tribes. Thunderbirds look more like an enormous Raven. I have seen up close once, the thread is in this forum somewhere. It was the catalyst to my awakening. These birds are strange and definitely belong in this forum, but they are not what are often referred to as Thunderbirds in our stories.

I agree. Thunderbirds are birds and not pteradactyls or similar. However, it was my understanding that thunderbirds were eagle-like and not raven-like. I could be mistaken. What is your source for them being enormous raven-like?

a reply to: NephraTari

Whenever I think of massive birds, I think of teratorns and specifically, this picture of Dr. Kenneth E. Campbell in front of a model of Argintavis Magnificences. It does have a ravenesque appearance.

a reply to: theantediluvian

That's one impressive bird.

Oh, my, the computer just crapped out on me and I lost everything, but oh well.

Sweet! Another thread about the best cryptozoology story ever (in my opinion haha). Seriously though, good thread theantediluvian!

OK, I highly recommend looking through the longer thread about this subject here: www.abovetopsecret.com... Just because it is really interesting.

reply to StratosFear: I really hope that your copy has the photo, however, I have personally looked through that entire book and found nothing except the story about the "living fossil" of a pterodactyl in a french tunnel (which has been pretty much proven to be a made up story). If you really do remember that book having the photo in it then, well, you are not the only one who has said that, but I just don't think it is in there, but good luck.

As for the photo in the OP. I actually looked that one up in the Guinness book that carried it--just to see what they said. Though it may be the reason for a few people's remembrances, most people describe something different. John Keel, Ivan Sanderson (two people who have compared notes with others and have supposedly seen or owned the photo at one time) both AGREE that the photo is:
1. Took up two pages of the magazine.
2. Was blue or brown tinted with a white-lettered subscript.
3. Photo of a large bird (most agree a pterodactyl like bird) pinned against the side of a barn with several men (most say 6) in the photo wearing top hats and standing on a ramp up to the barn.
4. Photo may be a drawing or photograph (most say a photo).

Soooooo, I don't think that the photo in the OP has much to do with the real thunderbird photo at all--but this is just my opinion.

Hey, keep up the great search though everyone! and happy holidays.

-Russ

originally posted by: ShadeWolf

originally posted by: Thorneblood

Since we are speaking of the old tales, does anyone else recall the many stories of mysterious mists or fog that made people disappear?

Or the flying jellyfish?

I know of one or two stories about fog disappearances, and I'm fairly familiar with the skybeasts theory. Regarding the first, look up the "Lost Battalion" of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, some sources say that they vanished into a "low-hanging cloud" and were never seen again.

With regards to the Royal Norfolk Regiment, this has been proved to be false. They walked, or be it marched, unwittingly into a Turkish ambush in a Wood on the hilltop.
They were wiped out to a man. Their remains have been found.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: NephraTari

Whenever I think of massive birds, I think of teratorns and specifically, this picture of Dr. Kenneth E. Campbell in front of a model of Argintavis Magnificences. It does have a ravenesque appearance.

I wouldnt like to stuff that for thanksgiving....

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Am I the only one thinking the dimensions of said Thunderbird described above are maybe a little OTT?

a reply to: andy1972

I have always agreed. But, it MAY just be an exaggeration--which is hugely common among newspaper reports of that time. But yeah, you are not the only one. However, that argument does not even come close to disproving the article all together.

originally posted by: andy1972
a reply to: Vasa Croe

Am I the only one thinking the dimensions of said Thunderbird described above are maybe a little OTT?

Sorry I took so long to respond...I had to look up OTT ( Over The Top? ) on the slang dictionary to understand what that meant.

And no...I have wondered the same. I am SURE many others have as well.

Anywho, I will be in Mexico in April. I am seriously looking forward to some time off with the family.