REA Presents “Long Lost” T206 Wagner in April!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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1909-1911 T206 Honus Wagner - “The Connecticut Wagner”
Every T206 Wagner naturally has a great story, sharing the Wagner legend that is now part of classic American folklore, and every Wagner also has an additional story relating to its provenance. Collectors have always been fascinated with all aspects of the history of Wagners: how they were discovered, where they have been purchased, when, for how much, where they have been, how they have happened to survive. This is a particularly interesting card in that it has never been up for auction, or been photographed, or even been seen before in the modern collecting world. To Wagner scholars, it would appear to be a newly-discovered card. That conclusion, however, would not be accurate in this case. Despite having never been seen before, this is not a newly discovered Wagner. It has been known for many decades and may even be one of the earliest known of all T206 Wagners. It has simply not had occasion to be seen or made its whereabouts known in any way in modern collecting times. It has been the prize possession of two private family collections going back many decades. We have taken the liberty of calling this example “The Connecticut Wagner” simply because that is the state in which it was long ago purchased by our consignor. The card has actually been consigned by a father-son collecting team, who had (and still have) a great interest in vintage cards, and were very active in the 1980s, even setting up at local card shows to sell new cards to make money to buy old cards for their personal collection.
In 1985 they were set up at a small local card convention in Connecticut when an older gentlemen came up to their table and asked if they would be interested in the complete T206 set. “With the Wagner,” he stressed. The father and son naturally found this to sound incredible, all the more so because they did, in fact, have a great interest in a T206 set. And they especially had a great interest in a Wagner! If the gentleman really had one. He did! The son, who was then just sixteen years old, vividly recalls, “He showed me the card. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. It was in a simple lucite holder. From the instant I saw it, I knew it was authentic. Not in great shape, but not trimmed or cleaned up or anything.” The owner of the collection explained to our consignors that he not only had the Wagner, but he also had Plank, Magie, and every card and variation in the entire T206 set, all 523 cards, and he proceeded to show the balance of the set. (The rare Doyle was unknown at this time; in 1985 this was considered complete including all rarities). He was a very old-time collector, and he explained that he meticulously collected this set with his father! The Wagner and the entire set had been in their family for decades. He had come to the show to sell their T206 set, that they had meticulously checklisted and assembled with such great care over so many years, and he knew exactly what he wanted for it: $10,000 for the entire set including the Wagner.
While $10,000 today, of course, sounds like a very modest sum for a Wagner (let alone also including the balance of the entire T206 set), in 1985 this was real money. It was a reasonable price, it may have even been a good deal, but it was not a “giveaway” price. $10,000 was approximately what a reasonable person might think the set was worth at that time. Our father and son consignors looked at the set (most cards were circulated, in approximately Good condition, although condition was not the priority it is today); they then looked at each other, and instantly knew what they had to do: They had to buy the set. As the son fondly recalls today, “The gentleman who sold us the set - his name has been lost to me - he had made up his mind to sell it, and he happened to pick that particular day, that particular show, and our table. An incredible coincidence, one that I haven’t really stopped thinking about, even after all these years.”
The Wagner has been locked away, eventually put into a safe deposit box due to its escalating value, and has not seen the light of day for the past twenty-five years since purchased at that show in Connecticut. The card is not being sold because the owners don’t like it. They do! They are still collectors and are keeping the balance of their collection and the T206 set! But, as they have continued to see the card go up in value to stratospheric levels over the years, they think think the time has come for them to sell the single most prized T206 Wagner card. It is strictly an economic decision. While they are sorry to see it go, as the son communicated to us, for them it is just “the right thing to do.” As the son wrote us, “I will miss having the card, but like the man who went into the card show that day, I have made my decision. The only reason we are selling it is because I have a young family and I could use some extra financial breathing room. It’s just too valuable for us to keep. We can’t justify having a baseball card that might be worth as much as a couple hundred thousand dollars, or maybe even more. Whatever it sells for, we know we’re going to make out very well, and we’ll put the money to good use. Depending on exactly what it sells for, we may even take a small percentage to buy a few cards. That way we can have our cake and eat it too!”
The Card: This very attractive T206 Honus Wagner has bold colors, perfect registration, a bright orange background, and a crisp, bold portrait. It is also very well centered. The advertisement for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes is boldly printed on the reverse. Graded PR-FR 1 by PSA, the card naturally has various condition flaws, including rounded corners, creases, and a small area of surface flaking. Yet it also has a very pleasing overall appearance, with a central portrait image that presents beautifully, and is unaffected by the most serious creases of the card. It is a given that most T206 Wagners are in low-grade, so for a Wagner, the overall appearance is of greatest significance and cannot be communicated by just a numerical grade. Every card is different. No one is ever going to confuse this card with the famous Gretzky-McNall Wagner. But this card needs to make no apologies for its appearance. This low-grade example of the T206 Wagner compares very favorably with most other Wagner examples, and is a great-looking card that elicits a positive response from everyone who sees it. It has its condition problems, as do most other Wagners, but that is why it is graded PR-FR 1 and is not valued in the millions of dollars! The T206 Wagner is the one baseball card that generates the greatest interest wherever it is displayed. Kids and adults, and collectors and noncollectors alike, all know about the card, and want to see it in any condition.
Whether this card will be valued by collectors at more than “The All-Star Cafe Wagner” (graded PR-FR 1 by PSA, sold for $399,500 at REA in 2009), or a level lower than the SGC Poor 10 example that sold at Heritage for $227,050 in 2008 is completely unknown. Valuing Wagners is very subjective. That’s for the bidders to decide. Whatever they decide, it has been a great pleasure for us to properly document the history of this card, that for so many decades has been a “lost to the world” example of card collecting’s greatest treasure. Reserve $50,000. Estimate $150,000+
“Merkle’s Boner” Ball Comes To The Auction Block!!!!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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The famous “Merkle’s Boner” Ball! This is one of the most exciting items we have ever had the privilege of offering! This is exactly the type of item that makes putting together auctions so much fun for us at REA. This is the actual ball that cost the Giants the pennant in 1908, and secured Fred Merkle’s place in history forever. If only he had touched second…The ball was personally saved by Johnny Evers and sold at auction by his family way back in 1993, where it was purchased by Charlie Sheen, who sold it in 1999 in a private transaction to a fellow collector who has had it ever since. We’ve known about this ball all this time, but it’s been so long since it’s been seen or heard of, even predating the Internet era, that it seems like it is being presented for the first time. But in fact it was sold in 1993 (at that time for $30,250) and is being offered at REA in 2010 publicly for the very first time since. It is an honor!
Here are a couple of great youtube.com links (The Fred Merkle Story; Part 1 and 2) of potential interest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZWt18RWnCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmpEhTUtCRI
For a free catalog or to inquire about consignments , please contact Robert Edward Auctions at this link:
http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/contact/index.html
Thank You!
Robert Edward Auctions LLC
“With A Name Like Schmelzer’s, They’ve GOT To Be Good”… well, unless they’re fake…
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized
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Above: REA 2006 Adverting Postcard (front and back)
We normally don’t get involved in policing eBay for fakes and scams because, well, there’s only so many hours in a day…But during the past week we received so many calls and emails regarding the eBay auctions for two 1912 Schmelzer’s Sporting Goods advertising pins (one of Joe Jackson and one of Hank Gowdy) that we thought it was appropriate for us to contact the seller.
Frankly, we could barely get any work done with collectors wanting to know… what we think about the Schmelzer’s on eBay, whether they are authentic, whether we would take them for auction, how many exist, and wanting to discuss everything from potential bidding strategies to value. Everyone was calling us about these because we are well known for being knowledgeable about rare pins, and also because REA sold the only large group of these rarities to ever surface (a total of a dozen examples back in 2006, an extremely exciting find that approximately doubled the entire known population of these rare pins and even included a couple of previously unknown players in the set). We got so many calls we checked the ebay listing to see if maybe our number was in there!
There was only one problem with the eBay auction examples, of course: They were fakes. And not very good fakes in our opinion, but you know how collectors are…they want to believe. These fakes were actually made from REA’s advertising literature. The images used were pictures of examples from the 2006 REA find, taken from advertising postcards we sent out in 2006. That’s why the size was wrong (we enlarged the images of the pins on the postcard, pictured above) and that’s why the small printing imperfections (such as the black dot at 8:00 and the camera flash “hot spots” at 3:30 around the perimeter of the Jackson photo) are identical. They are made from photos that we took, including imperfections. We called the eBay seller (his number was in the listing) and he said he had no idea. He asked us to send him the relevant information by email. Upon receipt, the eBay seller ended the auctions immediately, no problem.
Here are images of and links to the pins made from our advertising materials:
fake eBay Jackson pin
fake EBay Gowdy pin
Here’s a link to when we sold the collection of twelve 1910 Schmelzer’s pins that are advertised on the postcard for $81,200:
http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/auction/2006/932.html
We wanted to be on top of this so that if collectors see other fake Schmelzer’s pins (fakes are like ants, usually where there’s one or two, there are more…) they are not fooled into thinking “With a name like Schmeltzer’s, they’ve got to be good!”
Additional note: REA actually has a real Schmeltzer’s Sporting Goods adverting pin of Joe Jackson, a recent discovery consigned from a Kansas City estate (from a family that in the 1910 era had a business in the same neighborhood as Schmelzer’s Sporting Goods). It is real; it is only the fifth Schmelzer advertising pin of Joe Jackson known to exist, and it will appear in the April 2010 auction.
Provenance! Two Highly Recommended Books on Frauds, Forgeries, and Con Men in the World of Collectibles
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized
We have often recommended pure reference books to REA bidders relating directly to the field of baseball collecting. It is our great pleasure to do so. But we are sometimes very impressed with books that on the surface seem to have little to do with our hobby, when in fact they actually do. Some of these books tell stories of true crime and fraud in other fields of collecting, and in the process arm us with knowledge and help us better understand crime and fraud in our field.
In the auction world we have the privilege of dealing with many great people, but far too often we also have to deal with various types of criminals, forgers, and con men. We work closely with law enforcement and are always looking for red flags, but criminals can be very tricky. They are often professionals and their “job” is to cheat the auction houses and to cheat collectors. Our job, in the ordinary course of our business, is to stop them. Fake uniforms, fake autographs, fake memorabilia with fake provenance, various types of financial fraud, title issues; most of the problems are able to be addressed long before items ever go to auction (though the nature of the business is that we’ve never had an auction that did not have an item with a title issue or an authenticity issue on at least one lot even after the auction went live; this comes with the territory). No one would believe some of the crazy things that we have had to deal with over the years, and dealing with criminals has caused us to go out of our way to read dozens of books about crime and fraud in the world of collectibles in the hopes that we can learn something from crimes in other fields that will make us more knowledgeable about our field, make our auctions better, and help us be on the lookout for scams. Below are links to two books that we think are among the greatest classics of this genre that we have found. They are about the most sophisticated frauds in the art world and the world of rare documents, respectively.
1. Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art is about fraud in the art world. It is by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo and has just been published by The Penguin Press. We highly recommend this book! It is not about baseball collecting, but there are so many similarities to frauds and con men in all fields of collecting that we felt this book spoke to all collectors. If you’ve ever been suspicious of a memorabilia item, a uniform, or an autographed item, let alone been a victim, this is a book that illustrates how collectibles frauds can be perpetrated and how even the provenance can be faked by a great con man. It is an amazing read (maybe more so for us at REA because we have actually dealt with characters that could be in a book like this) but we think anyone interested in collectibles, authenticity issues, and con men will want to have this volume in their permanent library.
Here is the Amazon link:
On page 76 the authors of Provenance describe a scene of their fraudulent art seller “at work,” and referred to the “expertise in the con man’s traditional diversionary tactic of changing the subject and deflecting attention from the original question”. This phrase rang such a loud bell (it could have been written about con men in any field) that we made a point of marking the page.
Here are a couple of additional excepts we marked, that don’t give anything away about the book, but when we read these passages, made us think so much of con men in the baseball collectibles field that (along with the previous quote) they inspired the idea of this post:
“Social scientists who have tried to chart scammer pathology describe the con man as a combination sociopath and narcissist. Typically, he is impulsive, amoral, and uncontrolled, highly intelligent, detached, misanthropic, grandiose, and hungry for admiration. Alienated and often self-taught, the con man feels unique and superior until he is trapped. Then he claims to be a victim of circumstance or of an uncaring society. He tells police that he has been knackered by circumstance, that his bitterness is a function of society’s failures and the vagaries of fate. Then, on the way to the lockup, knowing that the game is up, he drops all pretence and declares that his victims deserved to be conned, that greed is a fox-trot and it takes two. One such schemer, quoted in The Psychology of Fraud, a 2001 study published by the Australian Institute of Criminology, told his inquisitors that he felt entirely justified: “The victim had it coming. There’s no harm done. He can afford it.” Under questioning, he admitted that the pleasure of the scam was the point of it all.”
Another famous com man, Ferdinand Demara, is quoted by the authors as having two cardinal rules: “First, always remember that the burden of proof is on the accuser, and second, when you are in danger, attack.”
We have experienced true con men first hand (and even the wrath of con men!) so reading about it in the context of another field (in this case the art world) was particularly fascinating to us.
2. The Morman Murders: A True Story of Greed, Forgery, Deceit, and Death (by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, published by St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 2005). A New York Times bestseller. It takes 576 pages to tell the story of master forger Mark Hofmann, who dealt in rare authentic documents and document forgeries of his own elaborate creation as well. (Forensic testing of 443 examples of Hofmann’s documents ultimately revealed that 248 documents (60%) were authentic, 107 (24%) were forged, and 68 (15%) were undetermined by testing to be authentic or forgeries.) Many of the forgeries (had they been real) were of great significance to the Morman Church and its history. If it weren’t for the murders that Hofmann committed in attempting to cover up his fraud and forgery crimes, the case might not have ever received the attention it did or the commitment of resources by law enforcement, and the certainty and methods of his fraud and forgeries may have never come to light. Hofmann is currently serving a life sentence at the Utah State Prison in Draper for murder.
Here’s an Amazon link to the book:
Mixing the good with the bad, extreme secrecy, extreme intelligence and superior knowledge, accompanied by devotion to legitimate research, successful self-promotion as a scholar and a true mastery of the subject of the fraud, access to and/or ownership of legitimate research archives that have been contaminated by forgeries, unusual financial arrangements, the juggling of debts and doing whatever is necessary to buy time and keep from getting caught, multiple victims with no communication between them, confidentiality agreements (all the better to inhibit possible communication that might raise questions), operating under the names of different individuals (real and imagined), operating under the names of different companies, nurturing close association with relatives of legitimate material sources (often accompanied by actual dealings, which is of course ideal for the mixing of the “good” with the “bad”), charm, aggressiveness, persistence, threats when confronted with suspicions, creating distractions, always manufacturing delay tactics, litigation…
These are just some of the “tools of the trade” of the con man, most of which (and more) are amply illustrated in the context of the collectibles world in the books listed above. We hope you get them, read them, and enjoy them! These are two of our favorite books in the world!
Sincerely,
Robert Lifson
President
Robert Edward Auctions LLC
http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/
Move Over “Slow Joe” – There’s A New Doyle In Town!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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Over the past year we’ve had a lot of fun on the REA blog documenting the significance and intrigue of the rare T206 of “Slow Joe” Doyle, and, in the process, putting into focus why this card is such a big deal. The Charlie Conlon T206 Doyle example, offered in the April 2009 REA auction, sold for a record $329,000. (Here’s a link to the auction: http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/auction/2009/891.html)
For the upcoming auction, we have just received another Doyle. No, it’s not the rare T206 Doyle, New York Nat’l. It’s much rarer!
It is an 1889 N172 Old Judge of Cornelius Doyle of the San Francisco team of the California League. In addition to being very distinctive and fascinating, all California League Old Judges are incredibly rare. Only one example of many N172 California League players (including this one) is even known to exist. This is the first California League Old Judge we have EVER had the opportunity to auction, and the only other example we have ever had (and we’ve had thousands of Old Judges over the years) is a trimmed example we sold as a favor to hobby legend Lew Lipset over thirty years ago that we got from the Kurzrok collection.
It is just a coincidence that Cornelius Doyle happens to share the same last name as the T206 set’s rare “Slow Joe” Doyle. We KNOW it doesn’t make any sense, but this coincidence really does make the rarity of this card all the more amusing and interesting to us. We’re only human! What can we say? But more important, this is also just a beautiful card in all respects. And anyone familiar with Old Judges, we think, will look at this card and be struck by how unusual and unfamiliar it is. The Old Judge book pictures nineteen N172 California League players (including Doyle; this card is the plate specimen). It would be hard to imagine that most or all collectors would not agree that Doyle is one of the very best looking of these ultimate Old Judge rarities, in terms of overall condition, contrast, and background detail. The contrast and overall condition of this card is rivaled only by only a few other examples, including Lew Lipset’s ridiculously high-grade McDonald (Oaklands), one of the best cards in the world and which he has assured all who have asked that it will literally have to be pried from his hands after his passing (and, really, we don’t think he’s kidding).
We are excited about this Doyle card. It’s not everyday that we get a California League Old Judge (it’s been thirty years since the last one) and thought collectors would appreciate seeing it early.
The Jerry Smolin Collection of Historic Baseball Programs Headed To Auction in April at REA!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
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Above are images of just a few of the many highlights of what for us is a particularly exciting collection that will be presented in the April auction:
The Jerry Smolin Collection of Historic 19th and Early 20th Century Baseball Programs.
Since the 1970s, as a collector, as a dealer, and as an auctioneer (one-half of the highly respected Sloate & Smolin Auctions and the sole owner of About Time Auctions), Jerry Smolin has been well known as a baseball historian and as a true connoisseur of baseball memorabilia. He is one of the few collectors or dealers whose experience spans from the earliest days of the organized hobby as we know it to the present day, and he is universally respected and recognized as a true scholar in the field. Some of the greatest treasures of baseball memorabilia of all types, especially nineteenth-century items, including cards, photography, documents, and display pieces, have passed through his hands in private sales and at auction over the past thirty years. One special area of personal collecting interest that has been a constant for all these many years has been early baseball programs. This collection of thirty-five programs (which will be presented in twenty-eight lots) was assembled with great care and patience, and with an eye for quality, rarity, historical significance, and display value. This is by far the best collection of early baseball programs we have ever offered or even seen in one place. Only the best examples of their type were added to the collection, one program at a time, armed with a great appreciation and an unmatched knowledge of what is special in the field of program collecting.
Assembling a significant collection of great early programs is a lot different, and we think a lot more difficult, than assembling a collection of most other printed early baseball-related items. For one thing, very early programs tend to be extremely rare. For many great early programs, there is literally only one example known. On top of that, even though programs have a lot in common with cards, they tend to be far more modest in value compared to cards from the same era (which are usually not as rare or as elaborate in design). This fact has always made getting collectors to sell all the more difficult. Collecting great programs has always been a little like collecting paintings. A general rule of thumb for an experienced program collector is: if you see one you like, you should really go out of your way to get it, because you might never see it again! Great program sightings have always been few and far between. That’s one of the reasons they don’t get all that much attention compared to some other areas of collecting. They are rare. That’s why there are no definitive books picturing them, and no comprehensive guides valuing them. Collectors are pretty much on their own. That’s part of their charm!
We have often wondered what happened to some of the most noteworthy nineteenth-century programs to ever be sold at auction from long ago sales, such as the 1889 Chicago White Sox/World Tour cover program with Anson’s portrait (pictured above, the only one known) from the 1991 Sotheby’s Copeland auction. That program, and many others of similar significance, are included in the Jerry Smolin Collection. As a special note, we should point out that Jerry is still very active, but between not being able to easily add to the collection, and having a particularly good use in the near future for the proceeds (his daughter’s wedding!), he felt the time was right to offer these gems. Congratulations, Jerry, and thank you for choosing REA to present your collection. It is an honor. We hope we do it justice!
1867 Basking Ridge Base Ball Score Book Returns To New Jersey!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized
We just received the following extremely fascinating item for the spring REA auction. We are excited about it, and thought collectors would enjoy sharing our enthusiasm for our local baseball history:
1867 Bernards Base Ball Club of Basking Ridge, New Jersey Base Ball Club Score Book
In the past thirty years, Robert Edward Auctions has handled many unique baseball treasures dating from the game’s earliest days. This early baseball treasure, an 1867 baseball score book, is far from the most valuable nineteenth-century item we have handled, but it holds a special significance for us, both due to its extensive use in years past in celebrating the rich history of baseball in New Jersey, and its long-ago place of origin (which happens to be just minutes away from our New Jersey office). This score book was first used to record the action for games in 1867 by the Bernards Base Ball Club of Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Basking Ridge is a neighboring town of Watchung, where Robert Edward Auctions resides. Any baseball scorebook from this era is an extraordinary and rare find. But it is particularly remarkable to us that this score book will be offered to the collecting community for the very first time by a company that specializes in nineteenth and early twentieth-century baseball memorabilia, that is located just a few miles down the road from where the score book was originally used 143 years ago!
The game of baseball has a long and rich history in New Jersey. Just twenty-one years prior to this book’s use, the first organized baseball game was played at the Elysian Fields, in Hoboken, New Jersey, located only thirty miles due east of Basking Ridge. One of the most fascinating things about this book, as documented by the letters and articles that accompany it, is the fact that all throughout the years its great historical significance was recognized in the community, and the book was often showcased at various baseball-related events in the state. It was at one of those events, a banquet given by the Tri-County Baseball League on October 19, 1938, that the book obtained a most distinguishing feature: an exemplary Jimmie Foxx black fountain-pen signature on the interior cover. The signature, which is exceptionally large, measures over five inches in length and grades “9″ overall (downgraded only because of a slight ink smudge to the “O” in “Foxx”). Foxx was a guest of honor at the dinner, as were his fellow Philadelphia A’s teammates Frank Hayes and Charlie Berr (both of whom were New Jersey natives), and the book’s owner at the time (Paul Cowell of Woodglen, New Jersey) thought it appropriate that each player sign it in black fountain pen. The signatures of Hayes and Berry appear below Foxx’s and grade “9.” (Ideally, the signing of the book by Foxx, Hayes, and Berry is documented in a vintage newspaper clipping affixed to the interior front cover.) Years later, in 1956, at another Tri-County Baseball League Banquet at which the book was displayed, the interior front cover was signed in blue ink (grading “10″) former Yankees star Gil McDougald. A fifth blue-ink signature, of an individual named Frank Schott (not a former Major Leaguer, possibly a local player), also appears on the interior cover.
The popularity of baseball in the United States was growing by leaps and bounds in 1867. Small rural towns in New Jersey such as Basking Ridge were a hot bed of activity for baseball in its earliest days. It is very rare for such a substantial relic related to such an early specific organized team to survive the ages. This is the second-oldest baseball score book we have ever offered (the other was a Peck’s New Pocket Base Ball Score Book, copyrighted in 1866). The team’s official scorebook in many ways is the heart and soul of a club, the ultimate record of their activity. We cannot imagine a more important surviving item to represent the long-forgotten Bernards Base Ball Club. This is an extremely important artifact documenting the earliest days of baseball in New Jersey and the rise of our national pastime in the days prior to the dawn of the era of professionalism in the sport. The hard-bound score book, with leather trimmed spine, features the team name and town printed in gilt stamped letters on the cover: “Bernards Base Ball Club - Basking Ridge - New Jersey.” The title page, which includes both preprinted and handwritten notations, reads “The Champion Base Ball Score Book - The Bernards Base Ball Club - Organized June 4-1867 - Manufactured and Sold by Wilbur & Hastings, Stationers - 40 Fulton St. N.Y.” The book records six games played by the Bernards Base Ball Club in 1867 and one in 1868. Additionally, the last few pages of the book record the statistics of two of Bernards’ opponents for games dated July 4, 1867 (Oscola) and June 18, 1875 (Red Stockers).
Many years later the book was used to score fifteen games of the Woodglen Base Ball Club (New Jersey) played between the years 1902 and 1908. The original owner of the score book, Paul Cowell, was a member of the Woodglen team and his name appears in the lineup for one of the 1903 games. There are a few scored games in the book where neither the names of the teams nor the dates are listed. The age of the book is immediately apparent by some of the language used therein; most notably the term of “Striker,” as opposed to “Batter” or “Player” in the first heading on each sheet. The Bernards team must have been a local powerhouse given the numbers compiled here. The club, which won all of the games recorded, never scored fewer than 39 runs and on three occasions scored over 70 runs. An old newspaper clipping, dated 9/25/47 and which is affixed to one of the interior pages, makes note of the book’s history and reads in part “One of the prized possessions of Paul Cowell, proprietor of the general store at Woodglen, is a baseball score book of the Bernard’s Club of Basking Ridge. It was first used on June 4, 1867 and, without a doubt, is one of the oldest of its kind in this entire vicinity…The Woodglen team started to use the book for its own games about 1900 and Paul’s name is listed in one of the 1903 contests…Cowell proudly pointed to three autographs appearing this this ancient score book. A glance revealed they were the names of Jimmie Foxx, Frankie Hayes, and Charlie Berry. ‘That helps to make the book even more valuable,’ explained the proud owner.” Accompanying the book are additional documents and newspaper clippings, all dating prior to 1957, that reference the offered score book, including a letter from the president of the Tri-County Baseball League from 1956.
The book (10.5 x 8 inches), which contains enough pages to record 136 games, is heavily worn, including numerous abrasions and areas of surface paper loss to both the front and back covers. The spine is nearly separated, and a number of the interior pages are now loose, however, all of the original pages are present and accounted for. The interior pages, mainly those recording games, display minor edge tears, as well as light soiling and/or toning. Good condition overall.
2009 REA Collection of Auction Proceeds Report
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged UncategorizedAdjustments to consignor proceeds for the $10.1 million dollar REA spring 2009 auction were ZERO cents on 1559 of the 1560 lots. (The one exception involves a single lot for which no payment was received, eventually requiring legal action on our part. The lot was sold to the underbidder. We are extremely confident that the incremental amount lost due to this one non-paying winning bidder will be collected, along with our legal fees, allowing us to ensure that the seller receives the full amount that he should have, even if he is very happy with the payment he has already received from the sale to the second high bidder).
So, for the past $47 million dollars in auction sales at Robert Edward Auctions, we have an unresolved collection problem affecting only one consignor with one single lot. And we are working diligently to resolve even that. This is unheard of in the auction world. Year after year Robert Edward Auctions has set a standard of perfection for the collection of auction proceeds. Many auctions report sales that for one reason or another are not executed, or have to be adjusted down due to nonpaying winning bidders, costing consignors money. We take the integrity of the auction process very seriously. Bidders appreciate knowing that when they top a bid at Robert Edward Auctions, they are topping a REAL bid. Consignors appreciate getting paid 100 cents on the dollar. This is a very big deal to bidders and, naturally, to consignors as well.
Consignors also appreciate being paid in a timely manner. All REA consignors were paid within thirty days. Consignment checks started going out literally the day following the auction. REA does not rely on a line of credit. (We don’t even have one. We don’t need it). Consignors are never at risk of nonpayment at REA. There is no leverage at REA, no borrowing, no paying one consignor with another consignor’s auction proceeds. Nothing fancy. Just simple common sense good business practices. This peace of mind offered by REA is rarely emphasized by us and often not even factored in by consignors. We take it for granted too. But in these difficult economic times, it can be a big deal, so we think we should point it out every once in a while.
REA has been actively collecting an extraordinary selection of exciting material for our next auction, which will feature many remarkable discoveries and extraordinary rarities in all areas: pre-1900 baseball cards and memorabilia, display pieces, original art, autographs, nonsport rarities, graded cards, tobacco cards, 1930s gum cards, caramel cards, Topps and Bowman sets, regionals, bats, uniforms, etc.
We won’t be at the National Convention because, as an all-consignment auction house, it doesn’t make sense for us to do so, but we are, as always, available to provide valuable feedback regarding all potential consignments. The week of the National Convention is always a big week for us. We’re not exactly sure why this is. Collectors always send us items right before the show, send us items directly from the show, call us from the show to see if we would be interested in specific pieces, to request feedback and interest on items, and even drop off items on the way home. This week so far we have already received over $400,000 in consignments and the show hasn’t even started. So even though we won’t be at the show, we sort of feel a part of it, and are having a very busy week ourselves.
Please remember the following…as always…
GENEROUS CASH ADVANCES ARE AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY!!!
Robert Edward Auctions offers both lower commission rates to sellers AND lower buyer’s premiums, while at the same time delivering:
. The largest catalog circulation
. Reasonable reserves
. The most trusted and detailed descriptions
. The fastest post-auction payment of consignor proceeds
. The fastest post-auction shipment of auction items to buyers
. The most advanced authentication processes
. The most secure and trusted bidding processes and auction policies
If you have quality material you think may be of interest, please call or write! We can provide special terms for early consignors. It would be impossible for us (or anyone!) to process the entire auction with REA-quality care and detail in just the last few weeks before going to press, so it makes sense for us to offer the best deals to early consignors so we can keep busy all year long. We work all year to bring you the best auction possible and to provide the finest auction service possible for consignors.
For more information about why, if you are even THINKING of selling your quality material, you should contact Robert Edward Auctions, please visit:
http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/about/criteria.html
We hope to hear from you soon. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Robert Edward Auctions LLC
908-226-9900
http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/
REA Auction Catalogs Will Be Mailed April 9, 2009!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized
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The spring auction catalogs will mail on April 9, 2009. We will put the auction online a few days later (we may actually be able to do this earlier as we are ahead of schedule) and the final day of bidding will be Saturday May 2, 2009.
A quick reminder from Robert Edward Auctions: If you are a new collector or for any reason have never been on our mailing list, we make our catalogs available free of charge and would be happy to send you a complimentary copy of our spring auction catalog. You don’t have to bid or be a big collector to get a free catalog. It’s our pleasure to send a catalog to anyone interested in collecting, or the history of baseball! Please go to www.RobertEdwardAuctions.com , click on “Free Catalog” on the REA “contact” page and provide your name and address. Catalogs mail on April 9, 2009. (If you have moved please let us know also so we send your 2009 catalog to the correct address).
For those interested in additional information at this early date, below is the REA pre-auction press release for the sale. Actually, because the official press release is so long, we’re going to provide a short version as well as a long version.
Here’s the unofficial short version:It’s going to be a great auction. We appreciate the support of all the consignors, who have provided the incredible material, and we appreciate all the kind words of support from our many friends in the collecting world all year long. We have worked really hard to do justice to every item. We hope everyone enjoys the auction and the catalog!
Here’s the official long version:REA Presents Baseball Card and Memorabilia Treasures 1845-1975 Excitement Builds For Baseball World’s Most Anticipated Auction!The Robert Edward Auctions catalogs will ship on April 9, 2009. The first copy off the presses will be presented to The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, for their library, as is the longstanding tradition. The other 10,000 672-page catalogs will be sent to collectors all over the world who have anxiously been waiting all year for the annual sale by Robert Edward Auctions, the collecting world’s most exciting and highly anticipated auction. Inside the auction catalog will be hundreds of items worthy of Cooperstown, many of which will ultimately find their way into the most prestigious collections in the world, both private and public. The final date of bidding is May 2. Bidding starts April 10 by FAX, phone, or the Internet via the Robert Edward’s site. The total sales for the event are expected to exceed $5-million.
Serious baseball collectors all over the world look forward to Robert Edward’s annual spring auction. “We try to make it a special event for everyone, to make it fun and at the same time to give collectors and historians some great reading with the catalog,” says REA president Robert Lifson. “With all the problems in the economy, and all the problems even in the baseball memorabilia world, we feel our auction has a special place in the field. We’re trying to do more than just have an auction. We’re trying to create a positive event that is historic, that makes collecting fun, and that everyone can be a part of, as a bidder, a consignor, or just as an observer.” Of course, having great material makes it all possible. “This year, really, we’ve gotten very lucky. The material is unbelievable. This may be our best auction ever.”
The 1915 Cracker Jack Poster on the catalog cover would be hard to top as the single greatest auction highlight, but there are many candidates. Also included in the auction are the two most valuable baseball cards in the world, the famous T206 Honus Wagner and the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie Card (each with a reserve of $50,000); an incredible newly discovered find of unopened 1930s gum cards, and the best Babe Ruth cap in the world from 1932, the year of “The Called Shot” (res. $50,000). The Cracker Jack poster, produced to promote Cracker Jack’s 1915 baseball card issue, is one of the rarest and most extraordinary of all baseball display pieces. The offered example, by far the finest of only two known, carries a minimum bid of $25,000. Lifson adds “We think this is such a great item we actually produced a celluloid magnet as a keepsake, featuring the poster. We made over 10,000 of them. Every catalog will include one. We know it sounds crazy, because this cost real money, but we’re excited about the auction and the poster, and this was a way to do something for collectors, and at the same time promote the auction. Only one person can get the poster but everyone can have a small refrigerator magnet version! It also seems in keeping with the spirit of Cracker Jack. You know, a prize in very box.” REA sold this piece to the consignor in a private transaction in 1989 for $35,000. Even in this economy, the auction house is very optimistic on high quality items. “We’ve been trying to get this back to auction for twenty years. We don’t know what it’s worth, but we think the owner is going to do very well. It’s the best Cracker Jack piece in the world. It’s the best twentieth- century baseball card advertising piece in the world. Great items always seem to do well over time and it doesn’t get any better than this item.”Coming to the block will be over 1,500 lots of baseball collectibles covering the entire history of the game. The incredible find of unopened gum boxes and packs from the 1930s, one of the great card collecting discoveries of the ages, will be offered in fifty lots. The 1932 Babe Ruth Yankees cap, a gift from the Yankees manager Joe McCarthy to his paperboy in 1932, has an unrivalled provenance. This may be the best baseball cap in the world (res. $50,000). The T206 Wagner is the very same card that was once owned by actor Charlie Sheen. He allowed the card to be displayed at the All Star Café in New York. In a plot worthy of a TV episode, many years ago the card was stolen from its display case by workers at the All Star Café, and replaced with a copy! When the theft was discovered, the thieves were soon caught, and the Wagner card was recovered by the FBI! The card is a low-grade example but a T206 Wagner is extremely valuable in any condition. It has a minimum bid of $50,000 and is expected to sell for in excess of $100,000. Many consider the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie Card to be the single most important and miraculous baseball card in the world. The 1914 Babe Ruth rookie card features Ruth as an unknown minor league rookie straight out of St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys. Only ten 1914 Baltimore Ruths are known to exist, including the one owned by the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore. The reserve for this card is $50,000, and it is also expected to sell for in excess of $100,000.
Nineteenth-century baseball cards and items of great historical significance have always been a special area of interest for REA. This auction has some of the most remarkable items in this important area to ever come to auction. An exceptional example of the famous 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings Peck & Snyder advertising trade card featuring the very first professional team is a special highlight (est. $25,000+, res. $10,000). Over six-hundred Old Judge baseball cards issued by Goodwin & Co from 1886 to 1890 are also included in the sale. This is one of the largest collections of Old Judges ever assembled. Also offered are a selection of N173 Old Judge cabinets, including many Hall of Famers, and an incredible twenty-nine 1889 Police Gazette cabinet cards, the largest-ever offering of these extreme rarities, including a particularly outstanding example of Hall of Famer Tim Keefe (res. $5,000).
The auction includes an extraordinary array of rare nineteenth-century baseball cards including examples issued by Kalamazoo Bats, Mayo’s Cut Plug, as well as many rare nineteenth-century baseball cabinet cards; Cracker Jack baseball cards issued in 1914 and 1915; literally thousands of 1910-era baseball tobacco cards, one the largest selections to ever be offered at auction; complete Topps and Bowman sets from virtually every year, including three complete sets of 1952 Topps with the rare high-numbers. In addition to two sets of 1909-1911 T206 White Border tobacco cards, many other rarities from the T206 set, the most important issue of the 1910 era, are presented. These include four examples of the rare T206 Eddie Plank (one graded EX-MT 6 by PSA); five T206 Magie error cards; and numerous extremely high-grade T206 examples. The newly-discovered 1933 R306 Butter Cream Confectionery of Babe Ruth is another extraordinary highlight item in the sale. One of card collecting’s most interesting and legendary rarities, this is only the third example known (res. $10,000).
PSA-Graded Sets: Featured are a remarkable selection of PSA-graded complete sets of the card collecting world’s most classic issues. The highlight of these is one of the finest T206 White Border sets ever assembled, the seventh highest-graded T206 set on the PSA registry, a total of 520 cards with a grade point average of 5.65, offered as a single lot, including four PSA NM-MT 8, seventy-one PSA NM 7, 277 PSA EX-MT 6, 163 PSA EX 5, four PSA VG-EX 4 (est. $100,000+, res. $50,000). This is followed closely by an extraordinary world-class completely graded investment-grade 1952 Topps set, the most important issue in the entire world of postwar-card collecting (est. $50,000+; res. $25,000). This ultra high-grade set includes 42 NM-MT 8, 65 NM 7, 297 EX-MT 6, and just three cards grade lower (two Ex+, one Ex). In the more modern era, the 1963 Topps set listed as #5 on the PSA Set Registry is by far the finest ever offered by REA. This set includes eight PSA GEM MINT 10 cards, an astounding 124 PSA MINT 9s, and many highest-ever graded cards. The 1957 Topps PSA-Graded complete set listed as #9 on the Set Registry is another extraordinary highlight, with seventy-seven cards graded PSA MINT 9, 328 graded PSA NM-MT 8, and just two cards PSA NM 7 (est. $25,000+; res. $10,000). The 1968 Topps PSA-Graded set listed as #6 on the PSA Set Registry has an extraordinary grade point average of 8.94, and includes one GEM MT 10, 561 MINT 9, two NM-MT+ 8.5, and thirty-four NM-MT 8. The 1957, 1963, and 1968 PSA Registry sets are each the finest ever seen or offered by REA, and each one of the highest graded complete sets of these classic issues ever assembled.
Many highlights have been listed above, but there is much more. The auction includes countless important new discoveries and extraordinary rarities in all areas and from all eras, including an extraordinary selection pre-1900 baseball cards and memorabilia; display pieces; original art; rare pinbacks; autographs; graded cards; tobacco cards; caramel cards; regionals; 1930s gum cards; bats, uniforms, and other equipment, in addition to cards of note from all eras.
Graded Cards: Graded cards are a special strength. Among the many noteworthy individual cards of interest are: 1913 Voskamp’s Coffee Honus Wagner SGC VG 40 (Reserve $5,000), 1887 N690 Kalamazoo Bats Pete Gillespie, NYs, one of the finest portrait examples known, graded EX+ 70 by SGC (res. $5,000); a complete high-grade set of all six 1911 M110 Sporting Life Cabinets including Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Frank Chance, and Nap Lajoie, each offered individually; 1909-1911 E90-1 American Caramel Joe Jackson graded VG+ 3.5 by PSA. (est. $10,000+, res. $5,000); 1915 E145 Cracker Jack #88 Christy Mathewson - PSA MINT 9 - Highest graded example! (res. $10,000); 1916 M101-5 Sporting News #151 Babe Ruth Rookie PSA EX 5 (est. $10,000/$15,000; res. $5,000), and 1904 Allegheny Card Co. 1904 Allegheny Card Co. Fred Clarke graded EX-MT 6 by PSA (res. $500).
The Charlie Conlon Collection is presented in this historic auction. One extraordinary highlight is perhaps the finest example of one the rarest and most valuable cards in the world: the famous T206 Larry Doyle NY Nat’l (hands over head pose). This extreme rarity (graded VG-EX 50 by SGC) is one of only approximately seven authentic examples known to exist, making it the rarest of all T206 cards and almost ten times rarer than the famous T206 Wagner. The minimum bid is $25,000. The estimate has been left open but it is expected to sell for over $100,000. Other noteworthy highlights from the Conlon Collection include: 1933 R319 Goudey #106 Napoleon Lajoie SGC NM 84 (est. $20,000, res. $10,000); 1933 R300 George C. Miller Uncut Sheet of 16 Cards - Only Example Known! (res. $5,000); 1933 R300 George C. Miller PSA-Graded Complete Set: #1 PSA Registry! (est. 20,000/30,000; res. $10,000); and 1968 Topps 3-D Complete PSA-Graded Set (est. 10,000+; res. 5,000). Charlie Conlon was well known for cornering the market on the popular 1975 Topps Minis, buying many cases of this regionally issued Topps product, which happened to be sold in his area, long before they were extremely valuable. At one time it is believed he had over 700 cases, which he sold slowly over the next thirty years. No one knew how many he had, and buyers were always fearful it was a never-ending supply. It wasn’t. This auction includes the entire balance of his inventory: twenty-six complete wax box cases of 1975 Topps Baseball Minis.
Regionals: Several collections of rare regional issues are a special highlight of the auction. Included is a remarkable collection of 1953-1955 Briggs Meats cards, all in complete uncut two-card panels as originally issued, including panels with Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. The nine two-card panels (representing eighteen cards) are the largest and finest collection of these extreme regional rarities to ever be offered at auction, and may be the largest collection of uncut panels known (res. $5,000). The finest collection of rare 1953 Glendale Meats cards to ever be offered includes over sixty cards, among them a complete set and the highest-graded example of key card Art Houtteman, one of regional card collecting’s most legendary rarities (PSA EX-MT 6). There may never be a more impressive offering of Glendale Meats cards. Included are many of the highest-ever PSA graded examples from this classic 1950s issue featuring Detoit Tigers players. Other rare regional issues include: 1947 Bond Bread Jackie Robinson PSA-Graded Near-Complete Set (11 of 13 cards in the set), and a complete twenty-card set of 1954 Wilson Franks (Est. $4,000/$8,000; res. $2,000).
Additional Highlights: 1933 R319 Goudey uncut sheet with five Hall of Famers including #181 Babe Ruth (res. $10,000); a remarkable collection of seventeen 1910 E125 American Caramel Die-cuts including Honus Wagner; 1886 N167 Old Judge Buck Ewing Graded GOOD 30 by SGC (est. $10,000/$20,000; res. $5,000); a complete set of all four 1894 N142 Duke Cabinet baseball players offered individually; 1888 St. Louis Joseph Hall Team Cabinet Including Comiskey and McCarthy; 1886 N370 Lone Jack Cigarettes Chris Von Der Ahe (est. $2,000+, res. $1,000); and an exceptional collection of 1895 N566 Newsboy Tobacco Cabinets (fifteen cards in total) including Hall of Famers Amos Rusie and John Ward.
Complete Graded Sets: Complete or near-complete sets of many classic vintage card issues include: 1911 T205 Gold Border Complete Set (208 Plus 2 Variations): #1 SGC Set Registry (est. $20,000/$30,000; res. $10,000); 1912 T207 Brown Background Near-Complete Set (191 of 200): 1909-1911 E90-1 American Caramel Near-Complete Set: 114 of 120 cards (res. $10,000). Complete sets of many other classic issues, such as 1911 T3 Turkey Reds, 1912 T202 Hassan Triple Folders, 1933 Goudey, 1933 DeLong, 1933 R338 Sport Kings,1934 Goudey, 1934-1936 R327 Diamond Stars, 1939-1941 Play Ball, and 1948-1949 Leaf Gum (including rarities) are also featured.
Game-Used Uniforms: An extraordinary selection of important baseball uniforms, one of the finest ever offered, is presented including: Tom Seaver’s 1967 New York Mets rookie home jersey, the best Seaver jersey in existence, graded a perfect A10 by MEARS (est. $25,000+; res. $10,000); 1927 Wilcy Moore New York Yankees Complete Game-Used Road Uniform (Jersey, Pants, and Hat) Ex-Halper (est. $10,000/$20,000); graded a perfect A10 by MEARS (res. $2,500), 1963 Don Drysdale Los Angeles Dodgers Signed Game-Used Road Jersey - Only Graded Example (est. $10,000+; res. $5,000, 1948 Charlie Grimm Chicago Cubs Game-Used Home Uniform (Jersey and Pants) and many rare jersey styles from the 1930s through the 1960s. The Val Picinich Collection is consigned directly from the Picinich family, and includes his 1924 World Tour Complete Uniform - Jersey, Pants, Hat, and Socks (est. 10,000+; res. $5,000).
Game-Used Bats: The auction also presents one of the finest selections of game-used bats to ever come to auction, including those of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, Pie Traynor, and Hack Wilson. Dozens of additional pro-model bats are featured, including a particularly outstanding 1937-1941 Hank Greenberg bat. The Mickey Mantle bat is of special note as it is from so early in his career and can be dated to a particular year, 1955. (est. $10,000+, res. $5,000).
Autographs: Autographed memorabilia is another extremely strong area. In addition to autographed balls from all eras, and signed photos of legends such as Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, the autograph album collection of early hobby pioneer Dr. John O’Meara, assembled in the 1930s, will be featured. The collection, presented in seventeen lots in its own catalog section, is especially noteworthy for its remarkable level of quality throughout and its inclusion of extreme Hall of Fame signature rarities, such as George Wright, Billy Hamilton, and Ned Hanlon. The highlight of all autographed items in the auction may be the 1899 Ed Delahanty Handwritten Letter (res. $10,000). This letter is all the more extraordinary due to its impeccable provenance. It originates from the files of the H&B Louisville Slugger Bat Company. Delahanty died in 1903. His signature is one of the true Holy Grails of Hall of Fame signature collecting, a virtually impossible-to-obtain stumbling block to any complete Hall of Fame signature collection. This is the first Delahanty signature Robert Edward Auctions has ever seen or offered in almost 40 years.
Memorabilia and Awards: Additional significant and historic memorabilia, including rings and awards, are also included: 1986 New York Mets World Series Owner’s Trophy (res. $10,000); 1968 Mickey Mantle New York Yankees game-used cap with extraordinary provenance (res. $2,500); 1922 New York Giants World Series Ring - The First World Series Ring Ever!!!! (est. $5,000/$7,500+; res. $2,500); 1971 Ron Santo Chicago Cubs Signed Game-Used Home Jersey (est. $5,000+; res. $2,500); 1956 Bucky Harris Detroit Tigers game-used road complete uniform (Jersey, Pants, and Cap); circa 1880 Deacon White catcher’s mask, with ideal outstanding provenance (res. $5,000). This is an extremely historic item as White was the first professional catcher to ever wear a mask. Also: Moe Berg’s 1923 Princeton University baseball jacket (res. $1,000); legendary one-armed ballplayer Pete Gray’s 1945 St. Louis Browns game-used cap; and circa 1875 Deacon White Game-Used Baseball Pants - The Earliest Known Major League Baseball Uniform Item! (1,000, 2,500+)
.Other Sports: Sports other than baseball are also represented by a significant selection of extremely high quality items, including 1937-1945 Don Hutson Green Bay Packers Game-Used Home Jersey with Phenomenal Provenance (res. $10,000); 1986-1987 Michael Jordan Game-Used Chicago Bulls Home Jersey (res. $5,000), one of only four Jordan Bulls jerseys ever graded a perfect A10 by MEARS; 1979-1985 Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers Signed Game-Used Home Jersey (est. $2,000/$3,000; res. $1,000); 1997 Dan Marino Miami Dolphins Signed Game-Used Road Jersey with LOA from Marino (est. $2,000/$4,000; res. $1,000); 1976-1978 Bob McAdoo New York Knicks Game-Used Jersey (est. $3,000+; res. $1,500); 1992 John Elway Denver Broncos Signed Home Jersey (res. $1,000); 1980-1982 Herschel Walker University of Georgia Jersey (est. $2,000; res. $1,000); 1960-1963 Jim Taylor Green Bay Packers Game-Used Road Jersey (est. $5,000+; res. $2,500); 1977 Pele New York Cosmos Home Jersey (est. $5,000+; res. $2,500), and an extremely Rare 1999 Augusta National Golf Club Masters Jacket (res. $2,000).
Non-Sport Cards: An incredible selection of nonsport card related items, the finest ever offered by REA, are yet another highlight section of the sale. In addition to the fifty lots represented by the astounding 1930s unopened box and pack find (modestly entitled in the catalog “The Greatest Unopened Find In The History of the Universe”), thousands of nonsport cards dating from the 1880s to the 1960s are included. Most important among them is the legendary 1879 N519 Marquis of Lorne - Thos H. Hall - The World’s First Tobacco Insert Card!!! One of only four examples known (including two in museums), this is the first example of one of card collecting’s most important and historic rarities ever offered by REA. The 1936 R60 Gum, Inc. “G-Men & Heroes of the Law” Complete Set: #2 PSA Registry (est. $5,000/$10,000; res. $2,500) and the 1933 R73 Goudey Indian Gum Complete Set: #1 on the SGC Registry are two particularly strong highlights. Also offered is a rarely seen complete 24-card set of R90 1935 Gum, Inc. Mickey Mouse and the Movie Stars Complete Set (est. $3,000/$5,000; res. $1,500). Any Mars Attacks original artwork is a special prize in the nonsport collecting world. The 1962 Topps Mars Attacks original artwork for card #1 “The Invasion Begins” is an incredible highlight, an iconic painting by Norm Saunders that is perhaps the best nonsport card artwork in existence (est. $30,000+; res. $15,000).Copies of the 672-page full-color premium catalog (shipping April 9) are available free. To review the catalog online, to learn more about Robert Edward Auctions, or to receive a complimentary copy of the catalog, or to inquire about consignments, visit http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/.
Robert Edward Auctions is currently assembling its next sale. For further information contact: Robert Edward Auctions, PO Box 7256, Watchung, NJ or call (908)-226-9900.For over 30 years Robert Edward Auctions has specialized in all areas of historic baseball collectibles, as well other sport, non-sport, and Americana collectibles including political and campaign memorabilia, autographs and manuscripts, and original illustration art. Robert Edward Auctions has been responsible for many of the most important baseball memorabilia sales including overseeing the sale of the $26-million Barry Halper baseball collection, universally recognized as the best and largest in the world; the legendary “Gretzky-McNail” T206 Honus Wagner card, $1.3-million; the uniform Yankee legend Lou Gehrig was wearing in 1939 when he gave his famous farewell speech, saying “Today, I consider myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth”, $306,000; and the 1854 Knickerbocker Trophy baseball, now on permanent exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, New York, at a then-record $72,000.
More Pictures From The Find:
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized
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