REA Auction Catalogs Will Be Mailed April 16, 2012!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
click to enlarge images
The spring auction catalogs will mail on April 16, 2012. We will put the auction online on approximately same date (we may be able to do this earlier as we are ahead of schedule) and the final date of bidding will be May 12, 2012.
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 http://robertedwardauctions.com/ , click on “Free Catalog” on the REA “contact” page and provide your name and address. Catalogs mail on April 16, 2012. (If you have moved please let us know also so we send your 2012 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. Descriptions and images of a few auction highlights are presented on the REA homepage. 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 hard to do justice to every item. We hope everyone enjoys the auction and the catalog!
REA Presents Baseball Card and Memorabilia Treasures 1839-2009
WATCHUNG, NEW JERSEY. The catalog for Robert Edward Auctions’ 2012 blockbuster sale will ship on April 16, 2012. As always, 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 REA’s time-honored tradition. The remaining 10,000 catalogs will be sent to collectors all over the world who have been anxiously awaiting the baseball collecting world’s most highly anticipated auction. Inside the catalog will be hundreds of items worthy of the most prestigious collections in the world, both public and private. The final date of bidding in this year’s auction will be Saturday, May 12. Bidding begins April 16 by FAX, phone, or the Internet via the REA website at www.robertedwardauctions.com. 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 have been assembling material, writing, and researching all year long, hoping to make this a special event for everyone. At the same time, we hope to give collectors and historians valuable reference material,” says REA president Robert Lifson. “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, promotes a love of history, and that everyone can be a part of, as a bidder, a consignor, or just as an observer.” REA’s reputation for hosting the baseball collecting world’s most highly-anticipated event is built on forty years of experience. “We’re amazed at some of the special collections in this auction. We’ve been a magnet for vintage cards, including many incredible new finds. We also have an unusually strong boxing section and have assembled an extremely impressive selection of Americana. Every time we turned around, we were offered something great in baseball memorabilia, cards, boxing, and Americana. An incredible T206 Wagner. A Babe Ruth bat. Muhammad Ali’s trunks from the “Thrilla In Manilla” fight. A 1933 Goudey Lajoie in Mint condition. Babe Ruth’s rookie card. We have over 1,500 lots. Maybe it’s just that we happen to like all the items we accepted for auction, but to us it seems like every lot really is a highlight in some way.”
T206 Honus Wagner: The famous T206 Honus Wagner needs no introduction and is a star wherever he goes, but this auction features a particularly extraordinary example of the most valuable card in the world. The date “Oct 16 1909″ is stamped in purple ink on the reverse. “This is an incredible card with or without the stamp, but the date stamp gives this card an amazing significance,” notes REA president Robert Lifson. “Not only is this the only T206 Honus Wagner card that actually dates itself - which all alone is interesting as the T206 Honus Wagner card was only issued in 1909 - October 16th is the date of the final and deciding game of the 1909 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers.” REA estimates that only approximately fifty T206 Honus Wagner cards are known to exist. The date-stamped 1909 T206 Wagner has a reserve of $100,000 and is expected to sell for more than $300,000.
1912 Ty Cobb Tobacco Tin: The finest example in existence of the Ty Cobb Tobacco tin, one of collecting’s most legendary rarities, in unheard of MINT condition. There has not been (and we believe never will be) another example that can compare to this incredible gem. The Ty Cobb Tobacco Tin is one of the most elusive of all baseball tobacco-related items. It has the same rarity as the T206 Ty Cobb card with Ty Cobb Tobacco advertising back (approximately twelve of each are known). Even the original blue tobacco tax stamp paper strip is still attached. It is the only Ty Cobb Tobacco tin on which the original tax stamp strip remains. (Res. $40,000; est. open).
1923 Babe Ruth Bat: Included in the auction is an extraordinary 1923 Babe Ruth bat. The extensive research on this bat suggests it was probably with Ruth on opening day at Yankee stadium in 1923. It may have even been used to hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium! “That is a controversial claim, as another bat exists that has a very good claim to that honor,” notes REA officials. “But at the very least it is a great Ruth bat.” It is the very same style bat that factory records show were sent to Ruth one week before Opening Day, and that he is seen holding in all photos taken on Opening Day in 1923.
Legendary Card Rarities Including Babe Ruth Rookie. This sale will include virtually every one of the baseball card collecting world’s most revered “Holy Grails”. In addition to the famous T206 Honus Wagner, included are all of the others rarities of the T206 set, some with several examples. The rare T206 “Slow Joe” Doyle, NY Nat’l, one of fewer than ten examples known to exist, is the famous Joe Pelaez Collection example. One of the greatest treasures of all tobacco cards, the only other example of the rare T206 Doyle that REA has ever offered sold for $329,000 in 2009. The rare T206 Doyle has a reserve of $100,000. Not one but two examples of the 1916 Babe Ruth rookie card are featured, one in Ex-Mt condition and one in Vg-Ex, each with a reserve of $10,000. “The Babe Ruth rookie is never going out of style, and has been a particularly hot card in the marketplace lately,” notes REA’s Robert Lifson. “These are fresh to the collecting world examples.” The T206 Eddie Plank, another of card collecting’s most famous rarities, is represented in this auction with an astounding four examples. Ranging in grade from Good to Ex-Mt, each card is very different and will appeal to a different type of collector, with reserves ranging from $5,000 (estimate $10,000/$20,000+) in good condition to a reserve of $25,000 (estimate $50,000+) for the Ex-Mt example. Also featured is the finest example in the world of the famous 1933 #106 Nap Lajoie (graded MINT 9 by PSA) (res. $25,000, est. $50,000+). A second 1933 Goudey #106 Lajoie from an old-time collection is in Very Good to Excellent condition (res. of $5,000, Est. $10,000/$15,000+). Yet another legendary card on every short list of the collecting world’s most important baseball cards is the 1909-1911 E90-1 American Caramel Joe Jackson. Three examples of this iconic card are featured, including one in Vg-Ex condition (res. $10,000; est. $20,000+).
Nineteenth Century Baseball Memorabilia. 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. Among them: an extraordinary book owned and signed by Alexander Joy Cartwight Jr., the “Father of Baseball”, in 1839 that may have been his inspiration to form the New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club and to design the baseball field in the manner that he did! (Cartwright family provenance; Reserve $5,000; the estimate is “open”). An incredible newly-discovered collection of 1860s baseball CDV photographs and trade cards is one of the most extraordinary baseball card finds ever for cards dating from the dawn of professional baseball. Included among the eight circa 1870 team cards (many of which were issued by Peck & Snyder Sporting Goods) is the finest example known of the 1868 Brooklyn Atlantics (res. $5,000) and TWO 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings team cards (res. $5,000 each). Also included in the auction are over four hundred 1886-1890 N172 Goodwin Old Judge baseball cards, one of the largest collections to ever come to auction, including many Hall of Famers and rarities.
Prewar Card Rarities. In addition to the rarities described above, this year’s auction includes a staggering number of incredible prewar baseball cards. Among the many highlights are several remarkable original-owner collections including the Dawley Collection, featuring a complete near-complete set of 1916 M101-4 Herpolsheimer Clothing Company cards (194 of 200) including one of the two Babe Ruth rookie cards in the auction. The Dawley family originally lived in Grand Rapids, MI, where the company was located, and the grandfather personally got these cards in 1916 directly from the Herpolsheimer Company. They have remained in perfect condition, untouched, as family keepsakes for almost one-hundred years. Thousands of 1910 era tobacco and candy cards, and 1930s gum cards, representing virtually all important baseball card sets, are featured.
More Prewar Card Rarities. There are so many prewar highlights it would be impossible to list them all. A complete set of 1909 T204 Ramly Cigarettes cards (121) is one of the many great prewar card highlights (Reserve $10,000. Estimate $20,000/$30,000+). The 1912 Boston Garter advertising card of Eddie Collins (res. $10,000; est. open is an amazing highlight that has been locked away in a private collection and has not seen the light of day in the organized collecting world in decades. Many T206 rarities including three Magie error cards, many rare backs including Uzit and Drum, and many extremely high-grade T206 examples, in addition to several near-complete sets and original-owner T206 collections. An extraordinary selection of Cracker Jack baseball cards includes the highest-grade 1914 Cracker Jack card of Ty Cobb (PSA NM-MT+ 8.5; res. $15,000/est.$30,000+) and an incredible 1915 Cracker Jack of Ty Cobb (SGC NM/MT+ 92; res. $10,000; est $20,000+). The highest graded 1915 Cracker Jack of Christy Mathewson in the universe in unheard of MINT condition (res. $10,000; est. $20,000+) is also included.
Postwar baseball cards are also in abundance in this incredible sale, including six examples of the classic 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle (among them an incredible gem that is believed to have originated from Alan “Mr. Mint” Rosen’s historic 1952 Topps find in the 1980s); a 1952 Topps near-complete set (res. $5,000; est. $10,000/$15,000); two examples of the 1968 Topps 3D Roberto Clemente, the single most valuable card from the entire decade of the 1960s (one MINT, the other GEM MINT; each carrying a reserve of $5,000); and extraordinary, high-grade examples of 1950s and 1960s cards of the era’s top stars like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax, and many more. Also included are complete or near-complete sets of virtually every major postwar issue from 1948 to 1972.
Game-Used Bats and Jerseys: The auction presents an exceptional selection of game-used bats and jerseys. Bats included are those of legendary Hall of Famers such as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Greenberg, George Sisler, Brooks Robinson, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, among others, as well as more modern stars such as Derek Jeter. Game-worn jerseys include those of stars such as Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, and others, highlighted by Hank Aaron’s 1976 Milwaukee Brewers Signed Road Uniform Dating From His Final Season - The Last Road Uniform He Ever Wore - with a letter of authenticity from Hank Aaron!
Autographs: Autographed memorabilia is another extremely strong area. Autographs of Ruth and Cobb and Gehrig are included, as well as almost-never-seen extremely rare items signed by early Hall of Famers such as James “Orator” O’Rourke, Cap Anson, Amos Rusie, and Henry Chadwick. Also of special note is an extraordinary 1933 American League All-Star Team-Signed Ball with Ruth, Gehrig and twelve other Hall of Fame players (total 20 Signatures), one of the finest in existence with regard to both completeness and condition (res. $10,000; est. open). Player contracts include many Hall of Famers, among them Pee Wee Reese, Nellie Fox, Duke Snider, Eddie Collins, Nolan Ryan, Hank Aaron, and many others. But perhaps the most fascinating player contract is that of a non-hall of famer: 1919 “Black Sox” member Chick Gandil. This contract comes with the extraordinary provenance of originating directly from the family of Bill Veeck, former owner of the White Sox who purchased the team from Charles Comiskey. In addition to autographed items from all eras, the auction also presents particularly rare and noteworthy single-signed Hall of Fame balls, including Jimmie Foxx, Jackie Robinson, Harry Hooper, George Sisler, and Rogers Hornsby, in addition to spectacular high-grade examples of Babe Ruth, and Mel Ott. Perhaps most extraordinary is a collection of five single-signed balls representing all five first Hall of Fame inductees, including Honus Wagner (res. $1,000; est. $2,500+); Walter Johnson (res. $2,500); and extraordinary rarity Christy Mathewson (res. $10,000; est. open).
Boxing, Football, Basketball: Sports other than baseball are also represented by a significant selection of extremely high quality items, including: The trunks worn by Muhammad Ali in his epic 1975 “Thrilla in Manilla” win over Joe Frazier. The trunks were saved by Ali’s assistant trainer and friend Drew “Bundini” Brown (res. $25,000; est. open); Nate “Tiny” Archibald’s personal example of the classic NBA “50 Greatest Players” Signed Limited-Edition Lithograph (res. $10,000; est. $20,000/$40,000); the “Michigan Farmhouse” example of the “Holy Grail” of football cards: the 1894 Mayo’s Cut Plug Football Dunlop which was miraculously just recently found, beautifully preserved in a scrapbook discovered in a farmhouse being cleaned out. The reserve is only $1,000. Also included: circa 1973-1974 Jerry West Los Angeles Lakers Signed Game-Used Road Jersey (res. $2,500); Muhammad Ali Fight-Worn Robe from the 1972 Heavyweight Title Bout Against Jerry Quarry (res. $5,000/est. $10,000+); and circa 1971-1972 Joe Namath New York Jets Game-Used Road Jersey (res. $2,500; est. $10,000+).
Americana: Items signed by virtually every US president are highlighted by two George Washington and four Abraham Lincoln signed documents. Included is a 1783 George Washington Signed Military-Discharge Document (res. $2,500; est 10,000+) and a 1787 George Washington Signed Potomac Navigation Company Document (res. $1,500; est 5000+). An 1865 Abraham Lincoln Signed Military Appointment - Signed by Lincoln Just Two Months Prior to His Assassination - carries a reserve of $1,500 and an estimate of $5,000+. Al Capone’s 1929 Signed Official Police Fingerprint Booking Card (res. $10,000; est. open) may be the single most desirable Al Capone artifact that could possibly exist. Important documents signed by household names such as Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Marilyn Monroe are also featured in the Americana section.
Non-Sport Cards and Original Artwork: A strong selection of nonsport cards and related items are yet another highlight section of the sale. Thousands of nonsport cards including many key sets dating from the 1880s to the 1960s are included. Perhaps most important among all nonsport card items is the only complete set in uncut sheets in existence of 1940 R145 Gum, Inc. “Superman” gum cards (res. $15,000; est. $30,000+). A selection of original artworks used to produce cards is also featured and include: two 1966 Topps “Batman” (Norm Saunders) and an incredible fifteen 1951 Bowman “Jets, Rockets, Spacemen” paintings. Any 1962 Mars Attacks original artwork is a great prize in the nonsport collecting world. The auction includes three examples: The 1962 Topps Mars Attacks original artworks for card # #4 “Saucers Blast Our Jets”, card # 17 “Beast And The Beauty” (The Ultimate Norm Saunders Card Artwork as Sauders is featured in the painting!), and for card #37 “Creeping Menace”. Each is an iconic painting by Norm Saunders and among the most desirable nonsport card artworks in existence (each res. $5,000; est. $10,000+).
Copies of the full-color premium catalog are available for free. To review the catalog online, learn more about Robert Edward Auctions, receive a complimentary copy of the catalog or inquire about consignments, visit http://www.robertedwardauctions.com. Robert Edward Auctions is currently assembling their next sale. For further information, contact Robert Edward Auctions, PO Box 7256, Watchung, NJ 07069, or call (908) 226-9900.
Robert Edward Auctions, LLC is one of the world’s leading specialty auction houses, devoted exclusively to the sale of rare baseball cards, memorabilia, and Americana.
1866 Currier & Ives Baltimore Base Ball Emporium CDV: The Only 1860s Advertising Card with James Creighton!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged UncategorizedNewly Unveiled Research Reveals True Significance of Unique and Fascinating Card
Recent research by John Thorn (Major League Baseball’s official historian, and author many extraordinary baseball books including Baseball In the Garden of Eden), has redefined the enormous significance of this card.
Presented is the only example known of an advertising card which has long been recognized as one of the earliest baseball cards known to exist. It can now also be recognized as the only example of the only advertising baseball card known to exist featuring legendary early pitching star James Creighton!
We have sold this very card previously and ever since have always felt that its enormous significance was not fully appreciated. The fact is, even we did not fully appreciate its great significance… until we read John Thorn’s article detailing the long-lost true identification of the scene and the players featured on the famous Currier & Ives American National Game of Base Ball lithograph that is featured on this 1866 baseball advertising trade card. Here is a link to the article detailing John Thorn’s remarkable research:
http://ourgame.mlblogs.com/2012/01/30/unraveling-a-baseball-mystery/
In short: Published in 1866, the American National Game of Base Ball was one of Currier & Ives most famous prints. The print features a game-in-progress scene that has long been described as the 1865 Grand Match for the Championship between the Atlantics of Brooklyn and the Mutuals of New York, which was played on August 3, 1865. But the fact is that this identification is totally inaccurate. The Currier & Ives American National Game of Base Ball print actually features an artist’s representation of an 1860 championship game between the Brooklyn Atlantics and the Brooklyn Excelsiors (with James Creighton on the mound pitching) that was never played! In 1860, the defending champion Atlantics and the Excelsiors had split their first two contests, but trouble with the crowds dictated that the Excelsiors abandon the field of the deciding championship match. The Atlantics and Excelsiors never played each other at the Elysian Fields, as featured in the famous Currier & Ives print. It is an artwork featuring the Championship game of 1860 that never was!
Discovered by REA in 2005 (previously unknown), this 1866 CDV baseball card features a photographic image of the famous Currier & Ives American National Game of Base Ball lithograph on the front. The reverse features an advertisement for George Gratton’s “Baltimore Base Ball Emporium.” This establishment was one of the first in the country to specialize in all products relating to baseball, including “bases, batts [sic], spikes, scores, shoes, shirts, caps, books,” etc. The Baltimore Base Ball Emporium, located on Baltimore Street east of Calvert, had its grand opening in 1866. Based on the style of the card, the year of the grand opening of the store, and the year of issue of the Currier & Ives print featured on the front (also 1866), it is our opinion that it is a certainty that this advertising card dates precisely from 1866. It is also very likely that the then just-released Currier & Ives print featured on the CDV was available for sale at the Baltimore Base Ball Emporium. Though Currier & Ives’ American National Game of Base Ball is one of baseball’s most famous early images, it has long been misidentified and only now, with the benefit of John Thorn’s extraordinary research, has the true significance of the image been revealed.
The players featured on this print are not generic depictions. As John Thorn details, on the large scale print Creighton can be identified and is the pitcher on the mound. The other Excelsiors players on the field are also actual likenesses. Six members of the Atlantics can be clearly identified at the bottom right. They are Sid Smith, Joe Start, Dickey Pierce, Fred Crane, John Galvin, and Tom Pratt. In the crowd scene, facing the viewer is Pete O’Brien. Because of the small scale of the CDV image, identification of the players on the card is impossible or at the very least far more difficult than when viewing the larger-scale Currier & Ives print, but O’Brien in particular can still be easily identified with a magnifying glass. As an advertising card, this style card is technically referred to as a “trade card.” In the mid to late nineteenth century, trade cards were a very popular form of advertising which merchants distributed to customers, and which featured advertising for the establishment or, in some cases, a particular product.
If the Baltimore Base Ball Emporium was, indeed, a seller of the Currier & Ives print in 1866, this card would also then hold the distinction of being the first baseball card issued to promote the sale of a specific manufactured product. Today fewer than ten original examples of the 1866 Currier & Ives American National Game of Base Ball print survive. The last example of this famous print to be sold realized over $80,000. This trade card is the only known example of the only known period card featuring this important and classic Currier & Ives image. By any measure, this is one of baseball-card collecting’s earliest issues, and is extremely important as one of the very few cards known baseball advertising cards dating from the dawn of the game’s great popularity as America’s National Pastime. The fact that it features James Creighton adds a fascinating and extremely important new dimension to its great significance. This is all the more so the case now that year of issue of one of the few cards previously believed to predate 1866, the James Creighton CDV card featuring his individual image, is in question (along with related questions regarding exactly who issued the card). As John Thorn notes, there are only three other depictions of James Creighton known: a team shot of the 1860 Excelsiors, the CDV produced after his death, and a crepe-draped woodcut portrait published in on November 4, 1865 in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper.
The card has clipped corners (which are not uncommon when dealing with 1860s CDVs) and is otherwise in Very Good condition. 2.375 inches x 3.75 inches. This item was sold at REA in 2005 and then again in 2008 for $2,088 and $1,880 respectively. It has been consigned to this auction directly from the buyer at the 2008 auction. Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open).
REA Presents: “The 1909 World Series” T206 Wagner!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized
1909-1911 T206 Honus Wagner - “The 1909 World Series Wagner”
Every T206 Wagner naturally has a great story, sharing the Wagner legend that is now part of classic American folklore, and every Wagner 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, and how they have happened to survive. Sometimes there are more questions than answers, and sometimes a Wagner is special in ways that no other examples share. Wagners that have great stories include “The Gretzky-McNall” Wagner (the most valuable and famous card in the world), “The All-Star Cafe Wagner” (when owned by Charlie Sheen, displayed at the All Star Cafe in New York, famously stolen by employees and replaced with a color Xerox, later recovered by the FBI); “The Nun’s Wagner” (a very low grade trimmed and shellacked T206 Wagner donated to an order of Roman Catholic Nuns who were shocked to discover its great value; the $262,000 that card sold for in 2010 was put to great use by the order). There is also “The Beckett Wagner” (a then newly-discovered example sent to Beckett Grading with an untouched original-owner T206 collection), “The Jumbo Wagner” (a T206 Wagner with very large borders), “The Burdick Wagner” (”Father of Card Collecting” Jefferson Burdick’s very own example, donated to The Metropolitan Museum of Art), “The Halper Cooperstown Gift Wagner” (in the 1980s when famous collector Barry Halper learned that the Hall of Fame did not have a Wagner, he gave them his duplicate as a gift!); “The Diecut Wagner” (the background was completely cut away on this card, leaving only the portrait and bottom border; REA sold this card in 1997); “The Nagy Wagner” (a very strong example once owned by legendary pioneer collector Frank Nagy), “The Restored Wagner”, and even “The Restored and Unrestored Wagner”. We’re sure there are others that are deserving of special distinction and mean no disrespect by not naming them. Every Wagner is different and every one has its own merits and story to tell. Perhaps no Wagner tells part of its story in quite the same way as “The 1909 World Series” Wagner.
This is an extraordinarily fascinating card in that the date “Oct 16 1909″ is stamped in purple ink on the reverse. When REA handled this card in 1997, we did not realize the enormous significance of this date. It is the date of the final and deciding game of the 1909 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers. Upon discovery of this fact, we could only ask, “Is this a coincidence? Is it possible this card was actually at the final game 1909 World Series? What is the story here?” Only so much can possibly be known, of course, and while we were not there to witness the card being stamped on October 16, 1909, common sense and all indications tell us that it was most certainly stamped on that very day. In fact, sending an image of the card to just one advanced T206 collector, we were shocked to receive a day later, in return, a scan of another T206 card with the very same purple ink stamp, obviously stamped in 1909 with the very same stamper and ink. The date on that card of Ames was a few days earlier (”Oct 5 1909″). We have provided an image on our website. There is no question that these cards, Wagner and Ames, were at one time together, stamped by the same person in 1909, and then long ago separated by time and hundreds of miles. There are obviously others similarly stamped. It is only by virtue of the “magic” of email and the Internet that we can become even become aware of this fascinating lost history.
While the T206 set was issued from 1909 to 1911, all T206 Wagners date from 1909. That was the only year they were printed, and that was the only year the few Wagners that were printed were issued in packs. This is the only Wagner dates itself! The fact that it is dated “Oct 16, 1909″, the last day of the 1909 World Series and the day on which Honus Wagner and the Pirates defeated the Tigers to become World Champions, may be a coincidence, or maybe there is more to it. We will probably never know. In either case, the original owner could not have had this card too long before it was stamped. It had only been printed that very year. Cigarettes have a shelf life, so the card may have been in a pack for weeks or months until October, or was in hand earlier and just not stamped until October. It is easy to understand the great appreciation many card collectors have for period ink stamps. They tend not to enhance monetary value, but greatly increase intrigue and the window into the past that cards can present. Thousands of T206 and other 1910 era cards have ink stamps. Sometimes the ink stamp is a name. Sometimes it’s a design. In this case it’s a date. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only T206 Wagner known that has a period ink stamp. We don’t think one could even hope for a more significant and interesting ink stamp on a T206 Wagner.
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. This is a particularly special example, both in terms of its story and its condition. Few in the modern collecting world (until now) have seen the date-stamped Wagner. It appears in no books or illustrated galleries of Wagners. This is because its only previous sale at auction predates the rise of the Internet. It has long been known to exist. Robert Edward Auctions presented the card at auction in 1997. It appeared as Lot 762 in the June 1997 REA auction, and sold for what was then a very impressive price of $119,310. At the time, it was one of only a few cards that had ever sold for more than $100,000. The card has been consigned to this auction directly from buyer at the 1997 REA sale.
The Card: This very attractive T206 Honus Wagner has vibrant colors, a bright orange background, and a crisp, bold portrait. The advertisement for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes is printed on the reverse. Graded GOOD 2 by PSA, the card naturally has various condition flaws, including evenly rounded corners, a very light surface crease to the right of Wagner’s cheek (very minor, virtually undetectable and mentioned strictly for the sake of accuracy), and a stray purple ink mark on the border in the upper left. The image is centered towards the bottom right borders. The low centering has affected the extreme bottom of the lettering in the caption. The reverse has light soiling and a few minor surface abrasions (mostly on the left portion of the card).
This is a particularly strong T206 Wagner that compares extremely favorably to most other Wagner examples. This can easily be seen even at a glance by comparing this card with images of other T206 Wagners. In fact, even in terms of PSA grading, it is superior in condition to the vast majority of T206 Wagners. According to the PSA population report, fourteen of the thirty-two T206 Wagners graded in the history of PSA are encapsulated as Authentic or graded a PSA 1, with just eight examples graded higher (four Vg, one Vg-Ex, one Ex qualified, one Ex, and the Gretzky-McNall PSA 8). PSA 2 GOOD condition is a relatively high grade for a T206 Wagner, and, technical grading labels aside, this is just a great-looking card, far more attractive than most T206 Wagners. “Eye-appeal” is naturally subjective, but this card has it, in addition to having an extraordinary and unique story. Reserve $100,000. Estimate $300,000+.
Alexander Cartwright Jr, The Origin of the Baseball Diamond, and the Formation of the Knickerbockers
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged UncategorizedWe will be posting a few interesting items and highlights on the REA blog as time permits and the auction gets closer.
Below is the preliminary catalog description for one of the most interesting items we have ever had the privilege to offer. It is a fascinating piece and one that may have great significance to the origin of the baseball diamond and the formation of the legendary Knickerbockers.
Extraordinary Alexander Cartwright Signed Book - The Epiphany for the Origin of the Baseball Diamond and for the Formation of the New York Knickerbockers
Offered here is what we consider to be one of the most significant Alexander Cartwright items in existence, and one that might also merit equal status with regard to the very origins of baseball: a 1834 edition of The Club, written by James Puckle and published by Chiswick Press, London. The historical importance of this book is based on a number of factors, the most salient of which are these: 1) To the best of our knowledge it features the only known full-name signature of Cartwright signed “Alexander J. Cartwright Jr.”, as well as the being earliest. 2) It represents the only item extant that it is a virtual certainty was carried by Cartwright on his journey across the country from New York to California, and then on to Hawaii, where he finally settled and remained for the rest of his life (indicating its importance to Cartwright); 3) Lastly, and most important, the book, both in its content and design, may have been related to his inspiration to form the New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club and to design the baseball field in the manner that he did.
That the book belonged to Cartwright is evident upon opening it. Affixed to interior cover is Cartwright’s personal illustrated bookplate bearing his name, “A. J. Cartwright.” The fact that the book is his, and not his father’s, is firmly established by the boldly scripted black-ink inscription on the front flyleaf that reads “Alexander J. Cartwright Jr./1939/New York” (grading “10″). To the best of our knowledge this is the only “Alexander J. Cartwright Jr.” full-name Cartwright signature extant and, equally significant, the earliest example as well. With regard to the second point, the Cartwright signature here may also represent not only the earliest known example for Alexander Cartwright, but also the earliest signature example for any member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
From Cartwright’s inscription, we know that this book was in his possession in New York prior to his having formed the Knickerbockers in the early 1840s. That he carried it with him to Hawaii (or had his wife, Eliza, bring this along with other important personal items when she came to Hawaii via ship) is a reasonable assumption based upon a second inscription, scripted in blue ink on the third page of the book, which reads “Robert E. Van Dyke/from/Ruth Joy Cartwright Doyle/1966.” Obviously, this book was handed down by Cartwright to family members, who in turn passed it on to other relatives. Ruth Joy Cartwright Doyle was Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr.’s granddaughter. In turn, we know from genealogy records (which are included with the book) that Robert E. Van Dyke was Ruth Joy Cartwright Doyle’s nephew. Van Dyke was born in 1936, making him thirty years old when he received this family heirloom from his aunt. Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr., left New York in 1849 and headed west to claim his fortune during the California gold rush. Failing to strike it rich, he continued on to Hawaii, where he ultimately settled. Since he experienced terrible sea sickness en route to Hawaii, he never left the island and remained there until the time of his death in 1892. Presently, this book is the only one of Cartwright’s personal possessions at the time of his death that can be conclusively traced back to his residency in New York. That fact is extremely significant. In 1849 a travel across the country from New York to California was a considerable undertaking. The transcontinental railroad had yet to be built, making travel slow and arduous. As such, anyone making the trek would have to travel light, out of necessity. The fact that this small book was one of the items Cartwright felt compelled to bring with him meant that he had a strong emotional attachment to it. The reasons why, as we shall see, may involve the very origins of the game of baseball.
1839 has always been an important year in the history of baseball, but for all the wrong reasons. In 1908, the Mills Commission, which was formed by Albert Spalding to investigate the origins of baseball, arrived at the erroneous conclusion that baseball was “invented” in the year 1839 by Abner Doubleday, who drew the first “diamond” in a field in Cooperstown, New York. Although most historians have since dispelled the “Doubleday myth”, the year continued to be the basis for celebrating baseball’s 100th and 150th anniversaries, respectively, in 1939 and 1969. However, 1839 might still prove to be a historic year, for it marked the time that a young nineteen-year old boy named Alexander Cartwright Jr., either received or purchased the offered copy of The Club, a book, that may have been the epiphany for the formation of the New York Knickerbockers and the origin of the baseball diamond.
The Club, which was first published in 1733, is a dialogue between a father and son, in which the son describes his visit to a friend’s club, called the Noah’s Ark. Assembled at The Noah’s Ark, were twenty-five typical personages, including an antiquary, buffoon, critic, quack, lawyer, news monger, rake, and usurer. The next morning the son offers his father a description of each of the club members. At the close of each personal sketch the father lectures on the habits of each personality-type described. In its simplest interpretation, this book expounds upon the virtues of forming a club and the benefits of having the club membership made up of individuals from different walks of life and with different personalities.
While the notion of forming a club, as Cartwright would do a few years later when he founded the Knickerbockers, is central to the book’s thesis, even more influential to young Cartwright might have been what he saw every time he went to open the book. The brown leather boards featured on the 1834 edition of this book display elaborate gilt dentelles on both the front and reverse. What is striking is the design they make. The pattern is very similar to that of an elongated baseball diamond. In fact, today, anyone seeing the cover and reading the gilt-lettered title on the spine would almost certainly think this was a book relating to baseball. Is it possible that Cartwright’s idea of forming a club to meet regularly to play baseball, and his implementation of a “diamond” design for the playing field were both related to and inspired by this book? The coincidence is hard to discount. It is also significant to note that this particular edition of The Club is the only edition known with the gilt “diamond” cover. Other known editions include those with green, red, brown, or black covers, some of which have an alternate cover design, or no design at all. Had Cartwright received one of those other editions, would the future of baseball been different?
The New York Knickerbockers, the baseball club which Cartwright formed in the early 1840s, was made up of gentleman of various occupations and backgrounds. Many of the men in the club were also volunteer fireman, and it has been suggested that the Knickerbocker name was taken from the Knickerbocker Engine Company No. 12, to which Cartwright once belonged. In 1845, the Knickerbockers drew up a constitution and a set of formal rules by which the game of baseball would be played. It is generally agreed that it was Cartwright who formulated most of the rules, especially the use of a “diamond-shaped” field. As early as 1864 there was a published account of the history of the Knickerbockers which identified Cartwright as having suggested the idea of organizing a formal club. Both Peverelly’s 1866 Book of American Pastimes, along with Alfred Spink’s The National Game, published in 1910, include passages of a letter written in 1877 by Duncan Curry, the first president of the Knickerbockers. It gives an account of Cartwright suggesting the formal organization of the club, and includes additional information about Cartwright proposing rules. Curry writes in part (from The National Game):
Baseball is purely an American game and owes it’s origin to Mr. Alexander J. Cartwright, who also suggested the organization of a club to play his new game… I do remember the afternoon when Alex Cartwright came up to the ball field with a new scheme for playing ball…with his plans drawn up on paper. He had laid out a diamond shaped field with canvas bags filled with sand at the three points and an iron plate for home base. At the time none of us had any experience in that style of play as there were no rules for playing that game. We had to do the best we could….aided by Cartwright’s judgement…When we saw what a great game Cartwright had given us, and his suggestion of forming a club to play, it met with our approval, we set about to organize a club.
Further credit to Cartwright for the creation of the baseball “diamond” is provided by author Jay Martin in his book Live All You Can: Alexander Joy Cartwright and the Invention of Modern Baseball (Columbia University Press, New York, 2009). First he quotes Hall of Fame shortstop George Wright, who wrote “In the Spring of 1845, Mr. Alex J. Cartwright, who had become an enthusiast in the game, one day upon the field proposed a regular organization” of the Knickerbockers’ game. Cartwright wrote the rules down in a little five-inch by three-and-a-half-inch black book that he took from his stationery shop. On the cover in gold letters, he stamped “Knickerbockers.” Later, Martin discusses the dilemma Cartwright faced with regard to the design of the field when formulating his new rules:
But how was the field to be designed? The rectangular field of play in rounders had variable distances between home and first, first and second, second and third, and third and home, initially gave advantage to the runner and then to the fielders as the batter attempted to round third and make home. This was not symmetrical. Cartwright solved these two problems at once by making the field of play square, turning it ninety degrees to make a diamond, and demanding that “fair” balls must be hit forward within the extension of the lines of the diamond into the outfield. Years later, Cartwright reminded Charles Debost that the first diamond-shaped field was on “the pleasant field of Hoboken in New Jersey, the Elysian Fields, . . . where . . . most of the early games were played.
We fully acknowledge that, just as there is eternal debate between the merits of Creationism and that of Evolution, there is and has always been great controversy regarding the origins of baseball, its rules, and the invention of the baseball diamond. There are those that believe the foundation of the rules of baseball (including the invention of the baseball diamond) was created or memorialized by a single individual (depending on whose theory is being promoted, by Alexander Cartwright Jr., Abner Doubleday, or others), and there are those who believe that the rules of baseball strictly evolved from other games, such as rounders and “town ball”, and no individual can take credit. We weren’t there, but perhaps there is some truth to both theories. Could all of the unique and extraordinary qualities of this book that once belonged to Alexander Cartwright Jr. just be a coincidence? Possibly. But that is a lot of coincidences to dismiss. It is also possible that this book was the inspiration for Alexander Cartwright’s contributions to the game, and as such is one of the most important items in existence relating to the true origins of baseball as we know it today.
This is certainly one of the most intriguing items we have ever handled on many counts, especially given its very possible link to the origins of the modern game of baseball. Certainly it is the finest Cartwright signed piece extant. While no one will ever know if this little book is to be credited with giving rise of our national pastime, its content, unique cover design, and the fact that it was one of the few items deemed important enough by Cartwright to take with him when he left New York, suggest that it was more than merely reading material. Also significant is that as late as 1966, it was still being handing down among family members, suggesting that its value and significance were much greater than simply that of an old book once owned by Cartwright. The book (4.25 x 6.5 inches) displays moderate wear to the covers and a number of interior pages display light foxing and/or a few areas of light age toning. The binding remains tight and firm. In Excellent condition overall. LOA from James Spence/JSA. Reserve $5,000. Estimate (open).
Babe Ruth’s Rookie Card, Babe Ruth’s Last Will and Testament, and 1923 Babe Ruth Bat - Possibly used to Hit the First Home Run in Yankee Stadium!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized
We will be posting a few interesting items and highlights on the REA blog as time permits and the auction gets closer. Babe Ruth is always well represented in every REA auction.
This year’s auction includes Babe Ruth’s 1916 rookie card, his Last Will and Testament, and many items from the years in between.
But perhaps the most fascinating is a 1923 Babe Ruth Pro-Model Bat - Possibly Used to Hit the First Home Run in Yankee Stadium!
Below is the preliminary auction catalog description text. Your feedback is always appreciated!
Sincerely,
Robert Edward Auctions LLC
1923 Babe Ruth Pro-Model Bat - Possibly Used to Hit the First Home Run in Yankee Stadium!
Over the years Robert Edward Auctions has handled numerous Babe Ruth pro-model bats, including a number of the most significant examples in the hobby today; however, we have never seen one as intriguing or so potentially historic as that presented here. What makes this bat so special is the very real possibility that it might have been in Ruth’s hands on opening day in 1923, when the Yankees played the first game in the newly built Yankee Stadium on April 18th. If that possibility is acknowledged, and we feel it safely can be based upon all of the evidence we will present here, then logically it must follow, at the very least, that this bat might be one of only a handful Ruth could have used to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium on that historic day. While it is well beyond the limits of our research to either confirm or deny such a claim, the mere fact that even the slightest chance exists that this bat might have been used by Ruth to christen Yankee Stadium with its first home run makes it especially important.
The bat offered here is a Babe Ruth H&B 40K signature-model (predating model numbers) bat dating from the 1923-1925 labeling period. The bat, which is hand turned, measures 35 inches in length and weighs a massive 39.9 ounces. The “40K” denotes H&B’s patented line of “Kork-Grip” bats, which literally means that the handle was prepared at the factory with an applied cork grip. In the realm of Babe Ruth pro-model bats, the 40K is among the rarest of all models. According to H&B factory records for Ruth’s entire career, only ONE order of 40K bats can be found in the company’s shipping ledgers. What is significant is the date of that order: 4/10/23, exactly eight days prior to the Yankees’ home opener at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923. Unfortunately, there is no mention of either the size or weight of the 40K bats sent to Ruth or even how many. What is important to note is that this bat’s length and weight fall within the approved specifications for Ruth bats at the time. During the circa 1923 period, Ruth ordered long and heavy bats of 35 to 36 inches and approximately 40 ounces. This is the only 40K Ruth bat with brandings consistent with the 1923 order, and that is also to Ruth’s specifications that we have handled or seen. We know of two other examples of Ruth 40K bats that do not conform. The first dates from the 1925-1931 labeling period and therefore could not have been included in the order sent on 4/10/23. The second bat, which does date from the correct labeling period, measures 34 inches in length and weighs 36.5 ounces, which DOES NOT conform to the factory-listed lengths and weight previously noted. Therefore, the offered bat appears to be the only one of these three that could POSSIBLY have been part of that order on 4/10/23.
Of course, just because an order of 40K bats to Ruth on 4/10/23 can be found in the company ledgers doesn’t necessarily imply that he used a 40K bat during any of his plate appearances on opening day. However, we can state WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY that Ruth did indeed receive that recorded shipment of 40K bats, and that at least one of those 40K bats was in his hands prior to the game. We have found six different photos of Ruth holding a 40K Babe Ruth signature-model bat in his hands on April 18, 1923, all of which picture him posing with little Ray Kelly, the Yankees’ mascot, prior to the game. What is significant is that in each and every photo Ruth can be clearly seen holding a cork-grip bat (based upon the grain pattern it is not the same bat offered here). Equally important, our research has failed to find any other photos of Ruth from that day holding anything other than a 40K cork-grip bat. Again, the fact that we have pictures of Ruth holding a cork-grip bat on April 18, 1923, does not necessarily mean that he used one during the game, but it does necessarily allow for such a possibility. Certainly, the photographic evidence confirms the availability of 40K cork-grip bats to Ruth that day. Conversely, the definitive use of any other model bat by Ruth that day has yet to be confirmed in a similar manner. All known photos of Ruth holding a bat on Opening Day in 1923, in which the style of bat can definitively be identified, show him holding a 40K corp-grip style bat.
A number of collectors are probably wondering by now if we have forgotten that the bat used by Babe Ruth to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium appeared in a high-profile sports auction in December 2004, where it sold for a record $1.265 million. The bat was signed by Ruth and was fully documented by various period newspaper reports at the time. We have not forgotten that bat. We have no doubt whatsoever that the bat offered in that auction was a Babe Ruth game used bat, and that it was signed by Babe Ruth, and that it was presented to that young boy in Los Angeles at the time. But, when one examines all of the available evidence, some of which has already been alluded to here, there is room for doubt with regard to its claim of being the bat used by Ruth to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium. A leap of faith is required that has been glossed over. To begin with, it was Christy Walsh, Ruth’s agent, who came up with the idea of a home-run contest between Los Angeles high school baseball players, with the prize being the bat used by Ruth to hit his first home run of the 1923 season. Of course, Ruth’s first home run occurred on the first day of the season and also happened to be the first home run ever hit at Yankee Stadium. As far as the contest went, Ruth’s only level of participation in it was, outside of hitting the actual home run, signing the bat and posing for pictures when he gave it to a special messenger, who then took it back to Los Angeles for presentation to the recipient. Everything else was handled by Walsh, whose main concern was publicity. Remember, the presentation of the bat to the young girl acting as the special messenger didn’t take place until May 7, 1923, a full three weeks after the date of the home run. While we have no way of knowing for sure, we are skeptical that the bat used by Ruth to hit the first home run on April 18th was immediately tagged and segregated as such, and then given to Walsh immediately afterwards to safeguard for three weeks. The bat presented by Ruth in that contest was an H&B 125 Babe Ruth signature-model bat. Ruth’s bat order just prior to the first game of the year was for 40K cork-grip bats. All of the available photos we have of Ruth on April 18, 1923, picture him holding cork-grip bats. In fact, there is no evidence whatsoever, outside of the information Walsh provided to the press, to support the claim that the bat presented to the original recipient was the bat used by Ruth to hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium. Is it possible that three weeks later Walsh just grabbed a Ruth bat from the dugout and had Ruth sign it? Would anyone have been surprised, or cared, if he did? No one cared when the Ruth balls Walsh arranged to have given as prizes by Sinclair Oil were not actually signed by Ruth (they were “ghost signed”). No one cared when a different Ruth bat we have seen that was decorated as a home run bat and given as a prize in the 1920s was not really signed by Ruth (it also was “ghost signed”). No one cared when Walsh arranged for all of Ruth’s syndicated newspaper columns (as well as those of all of the other celebrity members of the Christy Walsh Syndicate such as John McGraw, Walter Johnson, and Ty Cobb) to be “ghostwritten” by established sportswriters (including Ford Frick, Damon Runyon, and Gene Fowler). This was how Christy Walsh was. He took a few accepted liberties. He used a little poetic license. In short, he was a great promoter. Times were much different back then and no one was scrutinizing such claims or requiring letters of authenticity. Also interesting is that Ruth’s inscription on the bat makes no mention whatsoever of its special history. He simply personalizes the bat “To the Boy Homerun King of Los Angeles.” Lastly, to fully show that Walsh was coordinating the whole promotion, and that Ruth’s involvement was purely ceremonial in nature, we cite the telegram that accompanied the bat. At the time of the official presentation to the contest winner in Los Angeles, a telegram, dated 3:15 pm June 8, 1923, was purportedly sent by Ruth in New York congratulating him once again on winning the contest. The only problem is that Ruth could never have sent that telegram, unless Western Union had an office in right field at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were in the middle of a game against the White Sox at the very time that telegram was sent; meaning Walsh sent it.
It should be fully understood that we are not claiming that the bat offered here was used by Ruth to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium. In similar manner, like nearly all other Ruth bats in the hobby, with the exception of a few documented examples, we cannot state with absolute certainty whether or not Ruth even used it in any game. All we can state are the facts. This bat has been authenticated by PSA/DNA and is accompanied by a letter from John Taube and Vince Malta. In the letter (which can be viewed in its entirety on our website), they describe the bat in the following terms: Hillerich & Bradsby model 40K George ‘Babe’ Ruth professional model bat shows evidence of heavy use with a handle crack that has been repaired. The original cork handle was no longer on the bat. The handle was taped and the handle tape was removed as part of the repair. Many ball marks and ball stitch impressions are visible on the right, left, and back barrel. Also visible on the barrel surface are various cuts and chippings.” Later in the comments section, they specifically talk about the bat’s use. “Judging by the visible use on the subject bat, and the condition of the handle prior to the repair, if the bat was part of the original order appearing on Ruth’s PBOR [Professional Bat Ordering Records], and was used by him, the bat saw additional use. Today, any Ruth characteristics cannot be determined. Three strong Ruth characteristics that we would hope to find would be the appearance of handle scoring, barrel scoring and a defined contact area on the left barrel above Ruth’s name. Numerous photographs from Ruth’s career depict Ruth as being a label down hitter resulting in a left barrel contact area. The subject bat displays heavy use on both sides of the barrel and handle scoring was not present prior to the repair of the crack. After a thorough examination of this George ‘Babe’ Ruth professional model bat, and its player use characteristics, it is our opinion the bat is authentic. The bat’s use by Ruth cannot be confirmed.”
As we began in our description, this is an extremely intriguing Ruth bat. It is undoubtedly a rare pro-model Ruth 40K bat, with 1923-1925 brandings, and the length and weight fall within the correct parameters for Ruth at the time. Ruth’s documented order of 40K bats a week before the first game of the season, combined with the photographic evidence, certainly lends itself to the possibility that Ruth used a cork-grip bat in that first game at Yankee Stadium. Could the offered bat be one of the 40K bats received by Ruth in the 4/10/23 shipment? (it is the only bat that has surfaced to date that conceivably could have come from that order.) Could the offered bat have been used by Ruth in the first game of the season, maybe even used to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium? The answer to both of those questions is yes, possibly, and just the mere fact that we can say possibly, makes this a very special Ruth bat indeed. Reserve $10,000. Estimate (open).
Introducing t206resource.com
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized
REA is posting this notice as a public service to make collectors aware that a new resource website has just launched that will be of great interest to many vintage card collectors. The site is called t206resource.com and, as you can probably guess by the name, it is devoted exclusively to the T206 set.
The most popular vintage baseball card set of all time is well known for providing an almost limitless intrigue and fascination to collectors. Rare backs, Wagner, Plank, Magie, Doyle, proof cards, Ty Cobb Tobacco, checklisting the set by advertising reverses, the mystery of how the set was printed, exactly when cards were released, printing errors….and that’s just the beginning. With T206s, it never ends! This site attempts to collect, organize, and present all information about the T206 set in one place. While it is always going to be a work-in-progress, and additional information will continually be added, what has already been assembled and presented thus far is a remarkable achievement. This is an extremely scholarly project, and is the result of an enormous effort by collectors Jim Rivera and Tim Cathey, along with Art Martineau and Brian Weisner. These gentlemen, and the host of contributors that have assisted them, are due a huge “thank you” from the entire collecting world for their Herculean efforts, and their generosity in sharing their work for the benefit of all collectors. We can’t imagine all the work that went into this project. (Well, actually we can, which is why we’re so impressed!)
Here’s the link:
We hope you find t206resource.com helpful.
Sincerely,
Robert Edward Auctions LLC
Dick Perez Original Hall of Fame Postcard Artworks - 2006 Negro League Inductees (17)
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
It is a great honor for Robert Edward Auctions to have been chosen by Dick Perez to offer his personal collection of original art in the spring 2012 sale. Presented will be 185 original Dick Perez artworks, featured in twenty-eight different lots. With the exception of five, all are the original paintings featured in the award-winning book The Immortals: An Art Collection of Baseball’s Best (Brilliant Graphics, Easton, Pennsylvania, 2010), and have not appeared in published form anywhere else. The Immortals, by Dick Perez, with text by William C. Kashatus, is a comprehensive career retrospective of Perez’s finest baseball works and features over 1,400 paintings, including numerous images of every member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Robert Edward Auctions gives thanks to Dick Perez, not just for the opportunity to oversee this special presentation, but for decades of creating the images which have come to symbolize the game for collectors and fans, over a period of time that now spans generations, and has enriched all of our lives. Robert Edward Auctions thanks Dick Perez for his immeasurable contributions to the rich tradition of art and its unique role in capturing the essence of the National Pastime. The images he has created have been enjoyed by millions, and are familiar to anyone who has ever had even a passing acquaintance with Major League baseball, as a visitor to the Hall of Fame, as a collector, or even as a casual fan.
One highlight of this historic offering is the inclusion of thirty-five post Perez-Steele Hall of Fame postcard artworks. Although the published Perez-Steele postcard series ended in 2001, Dick Perez has continued to create artworks (in the same style as that of the original postcard series) for each new Hall of Fame inductee. This offering features the artwork for every Hall of Fame member elected between the years 2006 and 2011. (Robert Edward Auctions previously sold the Hall of Fame artworks created for the seven inductees between the years 2002 and 2005.)
Below is the early catalog write-up for the seventeen original Dick Perez paintings pictured above. This is an incredible group of artworks and one that we thought collectors would enjoy seeing early.
Dick Perez Original Post Perez-Steele Hall of Fame Postcard Artworks - 2006 Negro League Inductees (17)
2006 was a historic year for the Baseball Hall of Fame as it welcomed a record eighteen new inductees, including the first woman ever elected: Effa Manley. The reason for the exceptionally large incoming class was the result of a decision made one year earlier in which the Hall’s board of directors approved a special election by the Committee on African-American Baseball to consider former Negro League players and executives who were worthy of induction, but were previously overlooked by earlier committees. When the final votes were counted, seventeen individuals, all of whom were deceased, had made the cut to right this enormous historical omission, and these seventeen pioneers were honored (along with Bruce Sutter) as members of the 2006 induction class.
Every year the official portraits of the newly elected Hall of Famers are created by Dick Perez, which, in the past, would then be published in the form of a Perez-Steele Hall of Fame postcard. With the induction of seventeen Negro League players and executives, 2006 proved to be an unprecedented challenge. Offered here are the post Perez-Steele Hall of Fame postcard artworks created by the legendary artist for each of the seventeen Negro League players and/or executives inducted by special initiative in 2006. These special artworks were first published by Dick Perez in his 2010 book The Immortals: An Art Collection of Baseball’s Best, but have not yet been published as postcards because all of the subjects were elected to the Hall after Perez-Steele Galleries’ last series update in 2001. Though Perez-Steele Galleries is no longer publishing, if the Hall of Fame postcard series is updated in the future, these are the images that will be used. These seventeen paintings alone would be worthy of a card set unto themselves.
Because of the exceptionally large 2006 induction class, the production of these paintings took a great deal of time and effort. They are being offered together as this is how they were intended to be displayed and because of their extraordinary significance as a collection. This is certainly the largest offering of Perez-Steele Hall of Fame postcard artworks ever to appear at auction as a collection (with the exception of Tinker, Evers, and Chance being sold as a trio many years ago, we have never seen even two Dick Perez Hall of Fame postcard original artworks offered together), and also the most important. The seventeen individuals portrayed in this group represent some of the finest players in the history of the game, who, simply due to the color or their skin, were for decades denied the recognition they truly deserved by organized baseball. In that sense, these paintings, in addition to celebrating the careers of the pioneers elected in 2006, tell a story and provide imagery in tribute to all the Negro League stars who toiled in obscurity in years past. While we understand that these paintings might sell for more if offered individually, it was Mr. Perez’s hope that if offered as a collection, it might be more practical for a buyer to consider purchasing the entire collection of seventeen paintings with the intention of keeping it intact, to be displayed together as intended. Each painting is done in watercolor on 100% cotton fiber arches WC paper and measures 13 x 18 inches.
The seventeen 2006 Negro League Hall of Fame inductees represented in this collection are: 1) Biz Mackey; 2) Pete Hill; 3) Frank Grant; 4) Andy Cooper; 5) Willard Brown; 6) Ray Brown; 7) Effa Manley; 8) Jose Mendez; 9) Alex Pompez; 10) Cum Posey; 11) Louis Santop; 12) Jud Wilson; 13) Mule Suttles; 14) L. L. Wilkinson; 15) Sol White; 16) Cristobal Torriente; and 17) Ben Taylor.
Are All 2001 Barry Bonds Home Run Jerseys Fake?
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged UncategorizedBarry Bonds 2001 Game-Worn Home Run Jerseys Revisited:
Have all the authenticators been wrong? Are all the 2001 Barry Bonds “Home Run Jerseys” in the marketplace fake? So many auctions have sold so many of these jerseys and so many authenticators have “authenticated” them. Could they all be wrong?
We think that is the case.
We hope we are wrong. But we don’t think so.
Even though the jerseys have originated from Barry Bonds’ own company (”Barry Bonds Authenticated”, which, ironically, was created specifically to protect the public from buying fake Bonds items), the evidence simply does not support the claims that these jerseys were used by Bonds in the specific games as represented when sold (or ever worn by Bonds in any game), and does appear to support the conclusion that they are not game-worn jerseys at all. We hope we’re wrong, but that’s what it looks like to us.
Below is an early auction preview write-up of a Barry Bonds “game-worn home run” jersey consigned to the Spring 2012 REA auction. When purchased by our consignor, this jersey was represented as the very jersey Bonds wore when hitting home run #543 of his career (and the 49th of the season) on August 9, 2001 at Cinergy Field in Cincinnati.
It is our hope that maybe by posting this catalog write-up early, we will be provided with additional information that will help us to provide the most accurate information possible for the final description for this lot.
2001 Barry Bonds Signed San Francisco Giants Jersey Represented As Game-Used While Hitting His 543rd Home Run (Authenticity In Question)
When is a Barry Bonds 2001 game-worn home run jersey not a Barry Bonds 2001 game-worn home run jersey? Probably when it is signed as such by Bonds and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Bonds’ own authentication company, “Barry Bonds Authenticated.” Confused yet? Don’t worry, you are not alone. While the Bonds steroid scandal continues to garner most of the national headlines, equally compelling is the controversy (that has received very little attention) regarding his game-used memorabilia, most notably those pieces dating from his record-breaking 2001 season. While we cannot possibly cover and discuss all of the issues regarding the sale of Bonds’ 2001 game-used equipment, we will relate many of the most important points and discoveries made, especially as it pertains to our offered piece: a 2001 Barry Bonds San Francisco Giants road jersey purportedly worn by Bonds when he hit his 49th home run of the season, and the 543rd home run of his career on August 9, 2001 at Cinergy Field in Cincinnati.
We should begin by stating that we do not believe that this jersey was ever worn in a game by Barry Bonds, let alone the game in which he hit his 543rd career home run in 2001. While we know that that opinion is not a popular one among some sellers and authenticators, and that many collectors have expressed a different viewpoint, it is our opinion and it is based upon all of the evidence we have to date. In fairness, it must be noted that many of the 2001 Barry Bonds game-used home run jerseys circulating in the hobby today, including examples sold by Robert Edward Auctions in the past (with full disclosure provided by REA on all of the issues surrounding each piece), have received the highest grade possible by an independent third-party authentication company, a fact which has only fueled the controversy and led to even greater confusion among collectors.
To begin, we will describe the offered jersey and its documentation, followed by analysis of both, which will include all of the pertinent information we have learned through our research. We are not authenticators, but we are armed with common sense. The grey knit jersey is lettered “San Francisco” across the front and features the name “Bonds” on the reverse. The number “25″ appears on the reverse directly below the name. All letters and numerals are appliquéd in black on orange tackle twill. A “Russell Athletic” label is located on the left front tail, directly below which is a white “2001 Barry Bonds Authenticated” label. A San Francisco Giants team patch adorns the left sleeve. The jersey has been signed and inscribed, presumably by Bonds, on the reverse in black Sharpie (grading “10″): “Barry Bonds/HR 543.” The Jersey is completely original, with no alterations, and displays light wear. (which would be expected if the jersey were only worn for one or two games). The jersey is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Barry Bonds Authenticated, dated “9/2/01.”
Taken at face value, the jersey, especially given the Bonds inscription and accompanying COA, appears to be a Bonds game-worn home run jersey from the 2001 season. Unfortunately, there are problems with the garment which have yet to be reconciled. Most of the issues with this jersey, and all other Bonds 2001 game-used jerseys marketed by Barry Bonds Authenticated, have been raised by members of the Game Used Universe Forum, and we encourage bidders to read more at this link (which includes many 2001 on-the-field Bonds images for comparison):
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=21500
In summary, the most compelling reason to dismiss this piece as something other than a 2001 Bonds game-used jersey is the absence of additional tagging, most notably a size tag. There are numerous photos available of Bonds on the field in 2001 (that are illustrated in the above link and elsewhere) with his shirt tail visible, and in every instance, one can clearly see a size tag, as well as additional customization tags located near the manufacturer’s labels. Furthermore, all other examples of 2001 San Francisco Giants jerseys (both home and away) belonging to different players, have size tags. Another major discrepancy is the Barry Bonds Authenticated label found on this jersey. Once again, all other available photos of Bonds on the field in 2001 with his shirt tail visible clearly show a different Barry Bonds Authenticated tag. In the tags seen on the photos, the year “2001″ is not present. It simply reads “Barry Bonds Authenticated,” which is different from the tag present on the offered jersey.
In addition to the empirical evidence, and what can only be described as a bizarre twist in the matter, Barry Bonds himself, through his business agent, has stated in writing to REA that all of the Barry Bonds “game-used” items marketed and sold through the business entity known as Barry Bonds Authenticated, are, in fact, not authentic. Of special note, Barry Bonds claims to still have all his 2001 game-worn jerseys. We believe him. Barry Bonds Authenticated was run by Steve Hoskins, who at one time was Bonds’ best friend. In 2003, Bonds and Hoskins had a falling out, the reasons of which have never been fully disclosed. It was shortly after the two had parted ways that Bonds began accusing Hoskins of selling memorabilia without his authorization and in some cases of forging Bonds’ signature on material. Hoskins countered by stating that Bonds was just trying to protect himself because he failed to declare any of the income he received from Barry Bonds Authenticated to the IRS. Whatever the truth was, the accusations did call into question some or all of the material sold by the Bonds camp under the Barry Bonds Authenticated name.
Robert Edward Auctions became directly involved in the “he said/she said” feud between Bonds and Hoskins in 2006. In May of that year, REA offered a Barry Bonds 2001 uniform ensemble (Lot 1071) that was comprised of a jersey, pants, hat, cleats, jacket, and wrist bands, all of which carried the special Barry Bonds patch and hologram label.
The items were purchased by our consignor from memorabilia dealer Brad Horne, who also provided a letter stating that all of the items were purchased directly from Steve Hoskins of Barry Bonds Authenticated. Days before the auction closed, REA was contacted by Jeff Bernstein of Pro Access, a Miami-based company that was handling Bonds’ marketing business. In an email to REA president Robert Lifson, Bernstein informed our company that all of the Bonds items offered in the lot were not authentic:
I showed the auction that you are featuring to Barry again, and he is comfortable saying with 100% certainty that these items are fakes. He is in possession of all of [sic] 2001 game used uniforms, and we have this confirmed through the clubhouse equipment manager and the jersey supplier.
Bernstein also said that Bonds had been “totally shocked” to hear these items had been purchased from Mr. Hoskins. “In his entire relationship with Mr. Hoskins, he never authorized or allowed him to sell an entire uniform from any season, much less 2001.” All of the information was provided in an addendum to bidders, and while this naturally put a damper on the bidding, the uniform was appreciated for what it was, and sold with full disclosure of the authenticity issues, including the assertion by Barry Bonds himself that the uniform was not authentic, and that he is in possession of all of his 2001 game-used jerseys. Here is a link to a Wall Street Journal article entitled Barry Bonds’ Other Campaign: Slugger Says Bats, Jerseys Aren’t Authentic published May 19, 2006 that featured the uniform:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114800007721057332.html
Back to the jersey offered here: With all due respect to the desires of collectors that own these jerseys, the sellers who have sold them as authentic game-used jerseys, and the authenticators that have guaranteed this to be the case, the fact that the physical attributes of the offered jersey do not match up to known authentic examples leads us to one simple conclusion: this jersey was not worn by Bonds during the 2001 season, despite the provenance direct from Barry Bonds Authenticated, the notations on the jerseys itself, and statements to the contrary on the issued COA. We can’t explain how these jerseys could have been marketed as game-worn home run jerseys. We could not possibly know if Barry Bonds was personally involved in their sale, or if he is a victim (which seems very likely to us). If Bonds is telling the truth and does retain possession of all of his 2001 jerseys, than the fraud perpetrated by Steve Hoskins and Barry Bonds Authenticated is certainly one of the most notable ever perpetrated in the memorabilia world. As we have seen, the physical evidence certainly seems to support Bonds’ assertion. Unfortunately, countless examples of Bonds 2001 game-used jerseys, bats, hats, cleats, gloves, etc., have been sold, both publicly and privately, in the past eleven years, many for large sums of money. The cloud over many of these items appears well deserved and may never disperse. The 2001 “home run jerseys”, however, are in a league of their own in terms of significance and value. Despite our opinion that this 2001 jersey was never worn by Bonds, we are confident it still has great historic value, though it may sell for a fraction of what an authentic game-used jersey would command. It is our belief that these 2001 Bonds “fake” jerseys (if, indeed, they are not authentic as we believe) will always be appreciated for the fascinating historical significance they do have. They are a part of the puzzle of the much larger controversial story that was Bonds’ career.
Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr. SABR Photo Identification Controversy Report
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
Are these photos of the same person? Are these both Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr?
The October-November SABR Pictorial History Committee Newsletter features a fascinating report calling into question the identification of Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr (”The Father of Baseball”) in the iconic image that has long been universally accepted as being a circa 1846 photograph of the legendary Knickerbockers team. This is a remarkable, extremely detailed, and heavily illustrated document. It presents the case for both sides of the argument, including a response by the owner. At a glance, the report might seem a little intimidating. But a closer look (especially with all the illustrations) will reveal it to be very accessible. It is just carefully written because so much is at stake, and it is naturally interactive as you can evaluate the evidence of each side and decide for yourself. Is the identification correct? Or is the identification an error. Help solve the mystery! We highly recommend reading this report. We’ve never seen anything quite like it!
The report can be viewed at the link below: Once clicked, you must then click the “Download Now” button and the pdf of the SABR report will appear:
http://www.gamefront.com/files/20873948/Mysteryphoto_10_11_pdf
1962 Mars Attacks Original Painting Auction Preview: The Ultimate Norm Saunders Artwork!
Published by Robert Lifson on Tagged Uncategorized 
original painting published card #17
The original paintings to the 1962 Mars Attacks set are the most desirable of all nonsport card artworks. Every time we have had the privilege of offering an original Mars Attacks painting, we have thought it might be the last. There are only fifty-five cards in the 1962 Mars Attacks set, so theoretically there could be as many as fifty-five original artworks in existence, although only a handful are known to have survived. Over the years REA has offered ten Mars Attacks artworks including the original painting to the iconic card #1 which sold at REA in 2009 for a record $82,250:
http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/auction/2009/1501.html
We have just received for auction a particularly extraordinary never-before-offered Mars Attacks painting. It is pictured below, along with the issued card. As can easily be seen, the original painting differs in a very significant way from the issued card. The painting pictures a man in the bed, while the issued card features a woman. This naturally led us to research the painting to hopefully understand why it is different (note: only the figure in the bed is different; this is the very painting that was used in the set, with the figure of the woman painted over and replaced by a figure of a man). The answer and information we found was so fascinating we thought it would be worth sharing as an early auction preview.
Here the catalog writeup with the whole story:
1962 Topps Mars Attacks Original Artwork for Card #17 - Beast And The Beauty - The Ultimate Norm Saunders Card Artwork!
Presented is the original painting to card #17 from the 1962 Topps “Mars Attacks” set, entitled Beast and the Beauty, created by artist Norm Saunders. The horrific scene pictures a Martian crashing through a window as it grabs a terrified man from his bed. Anyone familiar with the “Mars Attacks” set is probably shaking his head right now, because the artwork offered here is drastically different than that on the issued card, which pictures a woman, not a man, being menaced by the Martian. Fortunately, there is a very good explanation for the discrepancy between the image on the issued card and the artwork, which, as we shall document, is one of fourteen original “Mars Attacks” artworks later revised by Norm Saunders under the direction of Topps.The “Mars Attacks” set, with its violent subject matter and graphic scenes of men, women, and even pets being mercilessly slaughtered by the Martians, was somewhat controversial at the time. Topps obviously anticipated a negative reaction from parents and teachers, and this is the very reason Topps listed the name of a fictitious company, “Bubbles Inc., ” as the manufacturer of the series on the back of each card. Apparently, the controversy grew so great that Topps felt it had to “tone down” a few of the more gruesome scenes pictured on the cards, including those that saw humans being burned to death. To that end, artist Norm Saunders was recalled to touch up a number of the most offensive artworks. To date, fourteen original “Mars Attacks” artworks revised by Saunders have been identified. They are those used to produce card numbers 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 29, 30, 32, 36, and 38. The known revisions range from removing blood, impalements, explicit gore, bodies on fire (both the living and the dead), etc., to, most intriguing of all, threatened women being repainted as men. (”Destroying a Dog” was also revised to show a soldier in place of the dog!) Interestingly, Robert Edward Auctions sold the revised artwork for card #5 Washington in Flames, in our May 2006 sale; however, we did so unknowingly! We never noticed the slight difference between the artwork and the illustration on the issued card (Saunders removed the flames from one of the men being attacked) but obviously a few shrewd bidders did, because it sold for a much higher-than-expected sales price of $29,000. Only just recently has it became officially recognized as the fourteenth known revised “Mars Attacks” artwork.It should be noted that for many of the revised artworks the changes were slight, but for others, such as the offered card, they were major and drastically changed the content and emotional impact of the scene. What makes this particular artwork all the more significant is that the image of the man seen here is not a generic figure, but a self portrait of Norm Saunders himself! That information is derived from an interview with Norm Saunders’ son, David, that appeared in a 2009 article by Kurt Kuersteiner, titled “Norm Saunders: The Book & Cards!,” that appeared in The Wrapper. In the article, which is both a biography of Norm Saunders and a review of David Saunders’ new book, Norman Saunders (The Illustrated Press, 2009), Kuersteiner makes special note of the thirteen revised “Mars Attacks” artworks (at the time of the article only thirteen altered artworks were recognized):
Another issue this book resolves is that regarding the legitimacy of the 13 revised Mars Attacks cards. They were issued in 1984 by Steve Kiviat of Rosem Enterprises and were called Mars Attacks- The Unpublished Version. They show less violent versions of cards #3, 6, 8, 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 29, 30, 32, 36, and 38. Chris Benjamin’s guide was uncertain if they were real, since their exact origin couldn’t be documented. But according to the new book, “Topps hired Saunders to paint amended versions of the most shocking cards. [He was] amused by the hypocrisy of selling amended ‘indecent’ cards under a fake company name.” (Topps changed their copyright notice to “Bubbles, Inc.” to dodge any controversy that the cards might cause.) To make certain David wasn’t relying on an unreliable third party for his card censorship story, I contacted him to ask if he had any personal knowledge that they were definitely real. His response: “My father did paint them. I saw him doing it and I remember the entire controversial process of producing a less offensive version of certain cards. The image of the girl in bed that is being attacked by a Martian breaking through her window, was repainted to show a guy in bed, but instead of just any guy, Norm thought it was fun to make the guy a self-portrait, so that guy in bed with a mustache is a self-portrait of the fifty-five year old Norman Saunders! All thirteen images in that ‘unpublished’ set were painted by Norman Saunders.” The book concludes that particular controversy with this: “In the end, the lure of potential profits was not as great as Topps’ fear of bad publicity for their more lucrative business of selling wholesome bubble gum and baseball cards, so the revised set was shelved and no additional printings were made.” It also shows some colorful close up photos of the original revisions.
While it is not known for certain why Topps never issued the revised artworks, David Saunders’ conclusion is most likely correct. Topps’ baseball-card line was so profitable that there was no reason to jeopardize the company’s good name by continuing to print the set, revised or not. Economics probably factored into the decision as well. Because the reverse of each card featured a narrative of the scene pictured, and also listed the title of the next card in the series (which, as in the case of the offered artwork, would sometimes have to be changed as well), it was probably not economically feasible to redesign the whole set. They simply stopped printing the cards and the controversy went away.
What must be fully understood is that in each case, whenever Saunders made a revision, it was done on the original “Mars Attacks” artwork. Saunders did not create a new painting. He simply took his original artwork and painted over the piece in making his changes. That is easy to see on the offered piece. The woman in the original image had a large head of hair that the man does not have. Obviously, Saunders couldn’t make the man’s head as large as the woman’s, otherwise it would be disproportionate in size to the body. Instead he simply painted over the excess hair in brown to match the background of the headboard. That can be seen upon close inspection when viewing this artwork.
Any Mars Attacks original artwork is rare. Theoretically all of the other artworks exist, but few examples have ever come to the marketplace over the years. The images from the “Mars Attacks” set have been ingrained into the consciousness of our popular culture, and have had a lasting impact not only on the youth of the early 1960s, but on all generations since. Every painting in the set is a classic. The fact that this is one of only fourteen known revised artworks makes it especially desirable.
The offered artwork is undoubtedly the most significant of the fourteen revised versions produced by Saunders, not only for the amount of revision work done, but for the fact that he painted himself in the scene. This is the ultimate Norm Saunders Mars Attacks original artwork, and an extraordinary piece and one that would be a significant museum-quality highlight in any world-class Norm Saunders, Mars Attacks artwork, or non-sport collection. The artwork (5.25 x 3.5 inches) has normal production-related remnants on the reverse, including the card number “17A,” and is otherwise in Near Mint to Mint condition. Reserve $5,000. Estimate (open).
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