December 1, 2016: Sports & Americana Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/1/2016
This is a cool example of yet another old-time auction lot, a grouping of 19th century Sporting Life and Harper’s Weekly magazine pages, a fascinating replica 1933 Goudey uncut sheet consisting entirely of Hall of Famers and a number of hardcover books, many of the truly iconic titles from legendary Hall of Famers and great stars of earlier eras. We’ll start with the Harper’s Weekly two-page centerspread artwork “Thrown Out at Second,” from 1887, a 10-by-32-inch gem that neatly captures the flavor of the 19th century game, found here in a highly presentable condition, jostled only by a couple of small tears. There also are 16 other pages of baseball artwork and content from the same magazine in 1997, the 11-by-15-inch pages in a similar overall condition, again with a few small tears and a 1-by-4-inch tear missing from the final pages. The final Harper’s Weekly group, 14 pages from the magazine in 1889, presents in Very Good condition with a few small tears and nicks at the spine. A grouping of 12 Sporting Life pages from 1900 rounds out this extraordinary array chronicling 19th century baseball, in the same general condition but with a small corner missing from the upper right on 10 of the 12 pages.
The second element is a truly striking replica Goudey sheet of 18 of the fabled cards from 1933, on a Near-Mint sheet that is rolled and features a lineup consisting entirely of Hall of Famers, including two Ruths. The roster: No. 42 Collins, 44 Bottomley, 51 Ruth, 56 Ruffing, 79 Faber, 89 Speaker, 92 Gehrig, 117 Maranville, 133 Lindstrom, 138 Pennock, 168 Goslin, 181 Ruth, 188 Hornsby, 189 Cronin, 194 Averill, 202 Hartnett, 222 Gehringer and 223 Dean.
There are four hardcover books: “Five O’Clock Lightning” by Tommy Henrich – Ex-Mt; “How to Steal a Pennant” by Maury Wills, with book Ex-Mt and a few nicks in the dust jacket; “Lefty” by Lefty Gomez, book and dust jacket Ex-Mt, and “The Home Run King,” by Babe Ruth in Good condition. There are also 11 DVD’s, including “The Natural,” various blooper films, the World Series, All-Star Game and Hank Greenberg, plus a DVD three-pack of Greatest Sports Legends and another of Baseball Legends, including Berra, Mantle and Hodges.
Sporting Life and Harper’s Weekly Sheets, 1933 Goudey Replica Sheet and Hardcover Books (70)
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