Lot 4. Impressive and Rare Albumen Cabinet Photo of the 1881 Harvard Baseball Team. Several players in their superb photo wear bib uniforms, and a spider mask is visible. Almost 7” x 9.25”, the photo is ex with several inconsequential points of discoloration. It has been trimmed from a larger mount, resulting in slight unevenness along the edges. Harvard established its first baseball team in 1862. This team represented the legendary Ivy League university only 19 years later, and well before formal baseball programs were a staple at U.S. schools. Albumen photos, named for the use of albumen found in egg whites to bind photographic chemicals to the paper, are widely sought and highly collectible. This is one of the finest important examples we have seen.
Winning Bid $330.
Lot 5. Roberto Clemente 3,000th Hit Associated Press Wire Photo. The Sept. 30, 1972 AP photo captures Clemente an instant before he makes contact with a pitch from the New York Mets’ John Matlack. At Three Rivers Stadium in the final home game of the season, Clemente drove the pitch to center field for a double. It turned out to be the last hit of his Hall of Fame career. Three months and a day later, he died in a plane crash while on a humanitarian mission. The 7” x 9” photo, transmitted electronically, is on heavy and somewhat glossy photo stock. The caption is next to the photo. Nice ex-m example.
Winning Bid $134.
Lot 236. Vintage Display of 6 Cabinet Photos of 19th Century Yale Baseball Players. Each photo is approximately 4” x 6”; the six are all matted inside a vintage frame to 18” x 22”. The cabinet mount is obscured by the matting. At first glance, these photos appear to have been taken outdoors, but each is actually a studio shot. The players wear quilted pants, helping to date the photos as products of the 1880s, and one has a period catcher’s mitt. This rare display will make a superb, conversation-staring addition to a 19th century photo or Yale collection!
Winning Bid $400.
Lot 237. Large Circa 1880s Albumen Photo of a Local Baseball Team. It’s the Tenash team, which likely represented a local business. Nine players and their manager are posed in ornate surroundings with ring bats, a spider mask, a chest protector and a ball. The 9” x 11.5” photo has edge tears that could be matted out. The contrast and overall impression are excellent.
Winning Bid $150.
Lot 238. Superb Circa 1885 Albumen Photo of a Baseball Team Wearing Bib Uniforms. The composition, focus and contrast of this photo, which is on an 8” x 10” mount, would be difficult to improve. The players wear bib uniforms with ties, and the photo is full of vintage equipment. Four bats are displayed, one with an apparent Spalding logo, along with a spider catcher’s mask, a chest protector, a glove and a ball. The mount has gold edges. Ex with a couple of minor marks on the photo and a crease in one corner of the mount. This photo is an attention-grabber!
Winning Bid $390.
Lot 239. May 26, 1936 Sepia 11” x 14” Photo of Rookies Joe DiMaggio and Billy Sullivan. A product of the Photocraft Co. of New Haven, the glossy photo presents an action shot of each rookie. An accompanying caption notes that Sullivan was batting .433 and DiMaggio’s “batting and fielding with the New York Yankees has been sensational so far this season.” DiMaggio finished the season as an All-Star with a .323 batting average; he placed eighth in the league’s MVP voting. How Sullivan was considered a rookie is unclear. By 1936, he had already 1,036 official at bats, including 363 in 1931. For 1936, he batted .351 in 339 plate appearances. The photo has scuffs along the top edge, one about 0.5” long near DiMaggio’s glove, and a 0.75” tear below Sullivan. The photo displays impressively.
Minimum Bid $65.
Lot 240. Jackie Robinson Unpublished 1956 World Series Photo by Arthur Daley. And other collectibles as well. Robinson and his teammates stretched the 1956 Series to seven games before bowing to the Yankees. He retired after the season ended. He is shown in a 10.5” x 13.5” photo taken during the World Series by “New York Times” columnist Arthur Daley. Sometime between the Series and 1961, Daley had a limited number of prints made; this is one of them. Nm-m. The print is accompanied by a 1950 Acme wire photo showing Robinson’s wife and son with actor Dick Lane on the set of “The Jackie Robinson Story.” The 7” x 7.25” photo has the caption attached and is vg-ex. Also, a g-vg 1977 program from “Jackie Robinson Night” at LA’s Dodger Stadium.
Winning Bid $113.
Lot 241. Ty Cobb 11”x14” Limited Edition Silver Gelatin 1915 Image. This museum-quality photo, numbered 189, was hand-printed on acid-free paper from the original glass negative. In the 1915 season, Cobb led the American League in numerous batting categories: batting average (.369), runs (144), hits (208), stolen bases (96) and on base percentage (.486). The photo comes with its “Baseball Antiquities” certificate and is housed in its original book-like folder.
Winning Bid $83.
Lot 257. 1924 Photo of Babe Ruth, Actor Douglas Fairbanks and Walter Johnson. The three celebrities appear in a Nov. 21 Associated News Service poster reporting that Johnson has retired “at the pinnacle of his career” and purchased the Oakland team of the Pacific Coast League. According to the 14” x 17” poster, Ruth “is now batting ‘em out for the movies.” The poster has several edge tears and light border stains, the usual folds and a small tear along one fold. Vg+ to ex.
Winning Bid $130.
Lot 258. 2 Wire Photos of Babe Ruth in Military Uniform, One with WWI Hero Gen. Pershing. In both photos, as a member of the New York National Guard, Ruth salutes Gen. John J. Pershing, the only American promoted during his lifetime to General of the Armies. He led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I and was a mentor to several World War II leaders, including Gen. Eisenhower and Gen. Patton. Both wire photos are from UPI, and both were taken at the same event in 1924, when Ruth traveled to Washington, D.C., and, in uniform, met the general. In a 6.5” x 8.5” photo distributed in 1924, Ruth salutes Gen. Pershing. In a 1924 photo distributed in 1948, Ruth and Gen. Pershing salute each other. This 8” x 10” photo was distributed in 1948 following Ruth’s death. Pershing had died one month and one day earlier. The upper right corner of the first photo is slightly clipped. Otherwise, both photos are ex with original captions.
Winning Bid $301.
Lot 260. 2 Vintage Wire Photos Showing Babe Ruth, His 2 Wives and Daughter Dorothy. In an undated wire photo issued on Jan. 28, 1929, Ruth is seated next to his first wife, Helen. Herbert Photos distributed the 5.25” x 7.5” photo after Mrs. Ruth died in a fire on Jan. 11 in Watertown, MA. She and Ruth had been separated for several years. The photo, which has a caption on the back, has nine pin holes at the top or bottom and otherwise is vg. The image of Ruth, in a Yankees uniform, is strong. In the second photo, taken on June 19, 1938, RUTH IS PICTURED ON HIS FIRST DAY AS THE FIRST BASE COACH FOR THE BROOKLYN DODGERS. He received a “rousing ovation” as he made his first appearance in a Dodgers uniform. Next to him in the 6.5” x 8.5” photo from International News are his second wife, Claire Merrit Hodgson, and his adopted daughter from his first marriage, Dorothy. Ruth also adopted Hodgson’s daughter, Julia. The photo, an original, has some minor blemishes along the border and displays as ex+.
Winning Bid $121.
Lot 261. 1931 Photograph of Babe Ruth and Boxers Tony Canzoneri and Kid Berg. Issued by the Elliott Service Co., this composite differs from “Illustrated Current News” issues by being an actual glossy photo. Measuring 11” x 14”, it shows Ruth leaving a Boston hospital and Tony Canzoneri knocking out Jack (Kid) Berg in the third round of their April 24, 1931 bout for the lightweight and light welterweight titles. Technically vg, displays better.
Minimum Bid $50.
Lot 263. 4 1934-38 Wire Photos with Babe Ruth as a Retired Yankee, a Boston Brave and a Dodger. All originals, all with original captions except the 1936 photo. 1934: UPI wire photo distributed by Acme. Ruth retired at the end of the season. A 7” x 9” photo shows him in street clothes at Navin Field in Detroit before the first game of the World Series with Dizzy Dean, Frankie Frisch, Mickey Cochrane and Schoolboy Rowe. Left border trimmed; otherwise, ex. 1935: UPI-International News. A 6.5” x 8.5” spring training photo pictures Ruth, with the Boston Braves, and a House of David player. Vg+ to ex. 1936: UPI-International News. Ruth is shown in uniform, apparently at Yankee Stadium, in an 8” x 10” photo as he makes a film short titled “Home Run on the Keys.” Vg+ to ex. 1938: UPI-Acme. Ruth, in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, talks with Chicago Cubs manager before a game in the Windy City. The photo is 6” x 8” with the bottom border removed; otherwise, ex-m+. An excellent collection capturing the latter stages of the Sultan of Swat’s career!
Winning Bid $165.
Lot 264. 1935 Wire Photo of Babe Ruth and Matsutaro Shoriki, Father of Japanese Pro Baseball. In the fall of 1934, Shoriki sponsored a visit to Japan of Ruth and other American baseball players. At least 200,000 Japanese watched four exhibition games. For his efforts, Shoriki was stabbed by a radical nationalist, who believed that the exhibition games drained money from Japan while the nation experienced an economic depression. An original 6.5” x 8.5” International News photo shows Ruth with Shoriki at the left and Joseph Clark Grew, U.S. ambassador to Japan; Connie Mack and a Japanese baseball fan. Shoriki recovered and formed the Yomiuri Giants. After World War II, he became the first commissioner of the Japanese Professional Baseball League. Since 1977, Japan has presented the Matsutaro Shoriki Award to the player or manager who made a significant contribution to the development of Japanese baseball. Sadaharu Oh was the first recipient and has received the award four times. Bobby Valentine is the only American recipient. The photo is ex+. The caption is included.
Winning Bid $83.
Lot 266. Babe Ruth 11`”x14” Limited Edition Silver Gelatin 1915 Boston Red Sox Image. This museum-quality photo, numbered 341, was hand-printed on acid-free paper from the original glass negative. Ruth won 18 games in 1915 for the Red Sox and batted .315 in the process. The season also included his first major league home run. The photo comes with its “Baseball Antiquities” certificate and is housed in its original book-like folder. A superb Ruth image!
Winning Bid $225.
