December 1, 2016: Sports & Americana Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/1/2016
This is a fascinating lot of turn-of-the-century postcards, many with a baseball theme, and many created from material like silk and leather that bespoke of an era of greater elegance than our modern times. We’ll start with a circa 1890 Enameline College Colors Doll, an advertising premium picturing a 5 ½-inch standup doll in Princeton University outfit, a sparkling Ex-Mt presentation that includes the standup elements intact and only some light staining on the reverse. There is an outstanding group of nine (9) S21 Murad Cigarettes college silks from 1910, 3 ½-by-5 ½ inches, all in generally Excellent condition, with some exceptions noted. The lineup includes two silks from the University of Chicago (baseball) and (shotput, with small tear and light stain), Annapolis (baseball, with some staining), Stanford (track), Stanford (hockey, with slight fabric loss), Georgetown (rowing), Purdue (rowing, very light stain), Princeton (hockey) and Columbia (hockey, light staining at border). Another remarkable grouping of leather postcards (11) with embossed images is also generally Excellent, with a few better. Seven of the 11 have stamps, postmark and addresses on the back, and four are unmarked. Nine of the 11 picture college coeds in formal dress (Harvard, Illinois, public schools) and some have been hand colorized. One of the postcards pictures a footballer of the period and the final one features the lyrics of “Auld Lang Syne.” The final element of the lot is a dozen period postcards, most (9) intricately embossed, largely in Excellent condition. Five of the postcards are unaddressed and seven have stamps and writing primarily on the back. The lineup includes seven (7) with a baseball theme – all embossed – including one with “Ty Cobb” in red glitter on the front; four of the postcards picture Ivy League college coeds – Harvard, Cornell, Princeton and Penn.
Turn-of-Century Murad Cigarettes College Silks, Leathers, Postcards (33)
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