Antique negative, modern print

[Rich Ullsmith]

My wife picked up a B&W print at a sale, a shipwreck scene somewhere on the Pacific Northwest coast. There's a horse-drawn carriage on the sand, a man high on the prow with a top hat and walking cane. I assume the negative was glass plate, but this print is on RC paper.
My question is, any way to tell if this was contacted from the original negative, or just a reproduction of an existing print, i.e., photo of a photo. A few observations:
The borders give no clue, as someone had clumsily trimmed it slightly to fit a frame. It's a tad less than 11X14.
It's pretty sharp. Black mast against the washed out sky, even under magnification the lines are sharp.
There are a few perceptible defects that I would have spotted out.
Unable to keep my fingers out of it, I tried to bleach it and sepia tone, but it did not bleach. I assume the existing tone is sepia, not warm. The blacks don't look like selenium to me.

So, any giveaways that could provide some insight? Thanks up front for any comments. I will be away from the computer for a couple days.

 

[ic-racer]

11x14 inches?

 

[Rich Ullsmith]

A little less. It's been cropped with scissors, not on a paper cutter or mat trimmer.