You could try the following code. I can’t vouch for browser compatibility though, so you’ll have to test that.
function testImage(URL) {
var tester=new Image();
tester.onload=imageFound;
tester.onerror=imageNotFound;
tester.src=URL;
}
function imageFound() {
alert('That image is found and loaded');
}
function imageNotFound() {
alert('That image was not found.');
}
testImage("http://foo.com/bar.jpg");
And my sympathies for the jQuery-resistant boss!