Which edition of the Bruton biography do you have? The 1980 second edition was edited by DeVorss & Co to omit some material that was critical of Doug DeVorss (as alluded to in the introduction of the revised edition). The original 1954 edition has an additional chapter of information about Spalding’s estate or lack thereof. I believe the signed book Bruton refers to is “The prince of India; or, Why Constantinople fell” by Lew Wallace, published in 1893.

Could you share your source on the half brother story and St Germain material? I’m not sure why Baird would claim to have a half-brother, because his parents remained together their entire lives. I will be posting an article of his family history soon. Baird’s two brothers were Hiram and George, both New York farmers. Hiram lived in Cohocton until his death. Although I don’t have a death record for George, it’s not clear why either of them would be working in civil engineering late in life.

My research into the claims that Spalding worked with scientists like Steinmetz have come up blank. Most of the scientists named have been covered extensively by biographers, and there are historical archives of their correspondence and diaries. Spalding isn’t mentioned in any of them I’ve found so far. In the case of Steinmetz, he died in in New York in 1923 before Spalding published his first book. For most of the time Steinmetz was in the US, Spalding lived thousands of miles away. “Charles Proteus Steinmetz: A Biography” written in 1924 by John Winthrop Hammond, is fairly exhaustive, and from a cursory scan Spalding does not appear in it. I believe the scientist stories are simply PR to boost book sales, like many of the other tall tales surrounding Spalding.

It should be possible to date this photo by the dress, collar and cut of jacket.

Looks like a cellulose collar, brass buttons and cotton (rather than linen or flax
cloth) jacket.

Cellulose collars began to be used between 1905 and up to the 30s:

http://www.bookrags.com/research/1910s-fashion-bbbb-01/arrow-collar-man-bbbb-01.html

Of course, even a man born in the 1850s who didn’t age much would wear what was available. Right?

It would be nice if the provenance of the photo was given.

Assuming he was born in the 1870s, according to norms of figure for people in those years,
the receding hair-line and sunken eyes and perhaps signs of stroke by the sinking of the
mouth on the right side: maybe typical of a 30 year oldish man.

Not definitive and not conclusive, of course.

Spalding is a man of mystery. No doubt.

There’s lots of mystery around Bruton, too.

He mentioned Spalding’s wife, but never named her.

He treasured a book signed to Spalding directly, but never
divulged the title of the book nor the author. Why not?

Spalding’s ‘half brother’ is known to have worked on the
highway projects in the South and Spalding claimed he
also worked on ‘drainages in the Apache quarters’ of Paris
where St. Germain’s ‘tomb’ was supposed to be.

That should be researchable.

The various direct claims at relations with Steinmetz, and indirect ones
with Tesla, Plank, Theremin and Nemes found in the materials surrounding
this man who felt it necessary to provide advisos about ‘fact or fiction’
seems to be excellent fodder for speculation and also to have inspired
many writers and researchers in science-fiction.

Consider ‘O.B.I.T.’, an episode of the original ‘Outer Limits’.

A story about a ‘peeping tom’ camera that could view anyone, anywhere
in real-time on the basis that ‘people emit emanations at all times’ that
could be correlated and reduced to image on a sensitive medium or screen.

Spalding described once a screen that was basically a heterodyning system
after the pattern of Theremin and Tesla and Drown.

None of which, of course can in any way substantiate anything this genius
may have ‘sifted’ and constructed into a popular format for metaphysical consumption.

In many ways, he is akin to an ‘Allende’.