April 3, 2025: Spring Auction
Presented is a truly astounding group of the 1958-61 Jay Publishing Photo Packs, a massive array of more than 300 examples of the Type 1 Photos, including subgroups of the New York Yankees, the 1960 All-Stars and the largest section featuring the individual teams. The charming Jay Publishing Photo Packs that were produced from 1958-65 were a popular item for fans and collectors, the 5-by-7-inch black-and-white photos that were issued in 12-card Team Packs and distributed at major league ballparks and stadiums, plus some stores, along with a mail-in offer. In an array of more than 300 cards, the Hall of Fame names like Mantle, Aaron, Mays, Clemente, Musial, Banks, Berra, Maris, Ford, et al. headline a lineup that includes a dozen complete team sets and a similar number of near sets, often missing a single card or two. The offered group is in extraordinary condition, essentially Near-Mint or better, with the smattering of photos deemed Ex-Mt being those with those tiny dings common in team sets issued in envelopes; some of the few condition anomalies are noted in the listing below. The original mailing envelopes are included with the majority of the sets, with condition typically ranging from Good to Very Good, still highly collectible as an element that faced some distress simply by virtue of being opened. Still highly collectable six decades later, the Picture Packs were typically printed on a glossy stock and featured portraits and in-action images of the players, often with multiple poses for many and, by the same token, many images were reused in different instances, sometimes making determining year of issue problematic. For the hobby, the Packs are divided into Type One (this lot) and Type Two categories, with the former from 1958-61 employing a sans-serif font and Type Two from 1962-65 with serif, helping to make the two periods relatively easy to distinguish. In the detailed listing that follows, every effort was made to attribute properly to specific years, but the nature of the undertaking brings with it a degree of flexibility in that area. From the Yankees and All-Stars subgroups, there is some duplication, sometimes involving differing poses. The breakdown (327): 1) 1958-61 Jay Publishing New York Yankees (40) – Bauer (3), Berra (3), Blanchard, Boyer, Carey (4 – one is Very Good, one is Fair), Ditmar, Ford, Houk, Howard (3), Kubek (3 – one is Fair), Larsen (2), Lopez (Fair), Lumpe, Mantle (Fair), Maris, McDougald (5 – one is Fair), Richardson, Shantz, Skowron (2 – one is Fair), Stafford, Sturdivant and Turley (2); 2) 1960 All-Stars (46) – Aparicio (2), Banks (3), Boyer (3), Burgess (3), Daley (2), Fox (2), Friend (3), Jackson (3), Kuenn (2), Law (3), Malzone (3), Mathews (3), McCormick (2), Moon (3), Pascual (3), Power (2), Runnels (2), Walker and Wilhelm (2); 3) 1958-61 Jay Publishing Team Photo Packs Group (199) – 1960 Red Sox Near Set (10/12 missing Williams and Thomson), 1960 Cubs Set (12), 1960 White Sox Near Set (10/12 missing Wynn), 1960 Athletics Near Set (10/12 missing Herzog), 1961 Angels Set (12), 1958-61 Braves (40) – including complete sets from 1958 (12) and 1959 (12) and 1960 (12 – Aaron is Good); 1960 Phillies Set (12), 1960-61 Pirates Sets (12 each), 1959-61 Giants (36) – three complete Sets; 1960 Cardinals Set (12) and 1961 Near Set (11/12) and 1958-60 Senators (22) – missing Killebrew; and 4) 1954 Red Sox Team-Issued Photos (8) – 6-by-9 inches, with Boudreau, Brown, Dobson, Hudson, Kell, Owen and Werle, plus envelope.
1958-61 Jay Publishing Team Photo Packs Massive Type 1 Group Plus 1954 Red Sox Photos (327)
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